Nearly 30 University of Utah undergraduate researchers presented their work to lawmakers at the state capitol this week. 

“This is a premier event that showcases the positive impact research has on society,” said Annie Isabel Fukushima, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “It also fosters a deeper connection for students with community and their governmental representatives.”

For 26 years, the University of Utah and Utah State University have partnered to connect legislators with the innovative work of undergraduate researchers by hosting the annual Research on Capitol Hill event. As Utah’s two Carnegie-designated R1 institutions, both universities play a key role in shaping the state’s future. 

“I have a firm belief that ideas in the hands and the minds of the next generation create nothing but hope and opportunity for society,” said Taylor Randall, U president. “Research is a major tool that we use to make change.”

A fourth-year student studying biology and philosophy of science, Katherine Berensen, is one of the students who participated in the Feb. 26 event. 

“My experience doing undergraduate research has been truly nothing short of transformative, Berensen said. “Being able to be in my lab and work in such a collaborative, warm and encouraging environment has changed the way that I think about the world, the way that I think about myself and the way that I view the future.”

As AI reshapes the job market at a rapid pace, undergraduate research equips students with the human skills they’ll need to stay competitive— critical thinking, communication, teamwork and creative problem solving.

“There are so many ways research helps undergraduate students grow,” said Sara Grineski, a  professor of sociology and environmental studies at the U. “From their own personal feelings of self-confidence to connection with their major and other students working in the same area.” 

Click here to see past projects and learn more about future applications.

Here is a full list of 2026 presenters: 

Prachi Aswani, Understanding Public Response to Crisis Communication Using Machine Learning and Large Language Models

Read more about Parchi Aswani and her project.

Katherine Berensen, Process Makes Perfect- The Adoption of Process Ontology in Biological Classification

Read more about Katherine Berensen and her project.

Katherine Boyce, Adolescents and Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Barriers and Facilitators of Self-Advocacy for Patients and Their Parents

Sydney Brooksby, Restoration of the ShoxA Box in Mosaic Turner Syndrome Patients Through CRISPR, HDR Pathway, and mRNA Delivery Methodologies

Read more about Sydney Brooksby and her project. 

Ashley Carras, Understanding the Predictive Nature of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Attachment Quality for Adult Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Camilla Cloward, Violence in the Palestine and Israel Conflict

Rebekah Doman, Creating Dielectrically Matched Material for Use in Detecting Cancer

Read more about Rebekah Doman here. 

Auriana Dunn, Mammalian Baselines Through Time in the Bear River Range

Mack Hinckley, HTRA1-mediated Degradation of Nidogen in Glomerular Basement Membrane

Leya Joseph, Investigating The Impact of Social Instability Stress On Behavior

Pramod Karthikeyan, Determining Cell Movements During The Development Of The Iris Stroma

Colton Lawson, From Utah Students to Utah Communities: Rural Health Outreach and the Future of Equitable Care

Sofia Leveratto, PPARγ Expression is Altered in a Sex-Divergent Manner in Human Placenta Supporting SGA and LGA Infants

Natalia Lopez, Latinx Criminal Justice Professionals: Exploring Career Motivations through Historical Research

Kaylee Meyers, Mammals on The Move: Spatiotemporal Response of Common Mammals to Extreme Weather Events

Ishmael Elliott Molina-Zepeda, GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler to Generate Transcriptome Data from Archived Tissues: Use in Breast Cancer Gene Mapping and to Understand the Role of Breast Density in Cancer Risk

Daniel Nguyen, Decreasing harmful UVR exposure through SHINE (Sun-safe Habits Intervention and Education)

Tiffany Nguyen, Adolescents and Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Barriers and Facilitators of Self-Advocacy for Patients and Their Parents

Trisha Nguyen, Out of Sync, Out of Health: Targeting Circadian Misalignment to Improve Metabolic Health in Habitual Short Sleepers

Sae Obayashi, Differences in Air Pollution Health Risk Perceptions by Pollution Source and Demographic Factors in Salt Lake County

Madilyn Palmer, Effect Of Circadian Intervention On Sleep And Metabolic Health In Adults With Habitual Short Sleep Duration

Kian  Robison, Water Quality and Public Health Risks in Indigenous Communities of the Bolivian Altiplano: Evidence from Sajama National Park

Isabella  Scalise, Overcoming Resistance to Targeted Therapies for Pancreatic Cancer 

Trey Smith, Hidden Nematodes in the US Food Supply: Detection of Free-Living and Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Legumes  

Jessica Venegas, Investigating How Odor-Guided Behavior Shapes Ecological Interactions in Drosophila Melanogaster

Aspen Warden, Arbor Dendritica: Topological Approaches to Understanding Neuroplasticity for Treating Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Monica Weedon, Autism Screening with the Parents’ Observation of Social Interaction Yields More Sex-Equitable Detection of Autism

Read about Monica Weedon and her project here. 

Samuel Young, From Utah Students to Utah Communities: Rural Health Outreach and the Future of Equitable Care