2025 Wu Tsai Performance Undergraduate Scholars

(From left to right)

Back row

• Uchenna Akanno, Human Biology, ’25 | Mentor: Matthew Smuck, Orthopaedic Surgery
  Analyzing Mobility Impairment of Stroke Patients Using a Single Wearable Sensor
• Katelyn Starr, Bioengineering, ’26 | Mentor: Scott Delp, Bioengineering
  Using OpenCap to Evaluate the Impact of Surface Type on ACL Injury-Related Kinematics
• Catya (Catherine) Littlewood, Mechanical Engineering, ’27 | Mentor: Michaelle Mayalu, Mechanical Engineering
  Modeling the Effects of Probiotics on Recovery from Exercise-Induced Inflammation in Athletes
• Ashley Vincent, Computer Science, ’26 | Mentor: Scott Delp, Bioengineering
  Optimizing Max Jump Height by Validating Kinetics Predictions During Volleyball Attacks Using Machine Learning
• Amelia Everett, Human Biology, ’27 | Mentor: Maléne Lindholm, Cardiovascular Medicine
  Comparative Effects of HIIT and MICT on Metabolic Hormones and Proteomic Signatures Over 12 Weeks in Sedentary Adults
• Paul Bergeron, Human Biology, ’28 | Mentor: Kevin Shea, Orthopedic Surgery
  Is the Luggage Tag Suture the Future for Repairing Pediatric Meniscus Root Radial Tears?
• Peter McGinnes, Biology, ’28 | Mentor: Ashwin Ramayya, Neurosurgery
  Continuous Psychophysics Dot Tracking Task for Brain Injury Diagnosis and Disease Monitoring by Assessing Predictive and Reactive Decision Making
• Ernest Zhang, Data Science , ’27 | Mentor: Matthew Wheeler, Cardiovascular Medicine
  Analyzing Metabolomic Responses to Endurance Training in Human Adults
• Miranda Johnson, Human Biology, ’26 | Mentor: Joshua Knowles, Medicine
  Knockdown of Handgrip Strength Gene (GBE1) Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle

Front row

• Elle Rosenfeld, Human Biology, ’27 | Mentor: Maléne Lindholm, Cardiovascular Medicine
  Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Haplogroups in Elite Athletes
• Hallie Schiffman, Human Biology, ’25 | Mentor: Justin Sonnenburg, Microbiology and Immunology
  Impact of Exercise and Diet on Intestinal Mucosal Thickness: A Comparative Imaging Study
• Ellie Harned, Human Biology, ’26 | Mentor: Seth Sherman, Orthopaedic Surgery
  Predicting Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Phase Transitions following Knee Procedures Using OpenCap Motion Analysis Software
• Maria Papworth Burrel, Psychology & Symbolic Systems, ’25 | Mentor: Laura Gwilliams, Psychology
  Investigating Real-Time Comprehension: Surprisal and Auditory Cues
• Angelina Huang, Human Biology, ’28 | Mentor: Marily Oppezzo, Medicine
  Assessing Lower Limb Strength in Resource-Limited Settings: Can Time-to-Failure Wall Sit Substitute Gold-Standard Dynamometry?
• Julia Flynn, Biology, ’26 | Mentor: Joseph Donahue, Orthopaedic Surgery
  Does Cardio-locomotor Synchronization Explain the High Incidence of False Positive Treadmill-based Cardiopulmonary Exercise Stress Testing, Particularly in Female Patients?
• Nesara Shree, Biomedical Computation, ’28 | Mentor: Jonathan Long, Pathology
  Investigating SLC Transporters in the Cellular Trafficking of BHB-Amino Acid Metabolites
• Michelle To, Biology, ’26 | Mentor: Katrin Svensson, Pathology
  Dual Brain–Gut Interactions of a Novel BRINP3-Derived Appetite-Suppressing Peptide
• Sophie Duncan, Bioengineering, ’26 | Mentor: Seth Sherman, Orthopaedic Surgery
  Establishing an Enhanced Baseline for Orthopaedic Vital Signs Using Smartphone-Based Motion Capture Analysis
• Shae Lembo, Human Biology, ’27 | Mentor: Kevin Shea, Orthopedic Surgery
  3D Motion Analysis of Single-Leg Hop Biomechanics in Pediatric Patients Following ACL Reconstruction With and Without Meniscus Repair
• Ally (Alexandra) Jones, Biochemistry, ’28 | Mentor: Michael Zeineh, Neuroimaging and Neurointervention
  Closed-Head Impact on Porcine Models Using MRI Validated by Histology

Learn more about the Wu Tsai Performance Undergraduate Research Program