Tiered Mentoring Project Archive
Summer 2026 Tiered Mentoring Projects
- Wildlife Ambassador Enrichment Internship - Echague (Stark Parks)
- Wildlife Rehabilitation Enrichment Internship - Echague (Stark Parks)
- Wetlands, Streams, and Ecological Restoration Internship - Burns (Davey Resource Group)
- Understanding Ant Overwintering under Climate Change and Urbanization - Miller (The University of Akron)
- Microbes That Breathe Metals: Exploring Microbially Induced Corrosion in Natural Environments - Senko (The University of Akron)
- Beyond BIOL 364: Honors Research Adventures in Physiology - Bagatto (The University of Akron)
- Quantifying Pressures Exerted on the Shoulder by Different Guide Dog Harnesses - Olson (The University of Akron)
- Wiring the Eye: Mapping Retinal Circuits Through 3D Connectomics - Renna and Johnson (The University of Akron)
- Dopamine in 3D: Uncovering the Synaptic Wiring of Retinal Dopamine Circuits - Renna and Farley (The University of Akron)
Fall 2025 Tiered Mentoring Projects
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Detecting Vision Problems in Preschoolers - Hartmann (Akron Children's Hospital)
- Wildlife Watch: Exploring Animal Behavior and Wellbeing - Chandler (Akron Zoo)
- Creature Comforts: Designing Enrichment for Every Species - Chandler (Akron Zoo)
- Wetlands, Streams, and Ecological Restoration Internship - Burns (Davey Resource Group)
- Mind Over Matter: Neuron counts in the unusually large brains of whales - Cooper (NEOMED)
- Why do we have a neck? - Grider-Potter (NEOMED)
- Age-related differences in GABAergic and perineuronal net expression in the central auditory system - Mellott (NEOMED)
- Walking in the real world—how do precocial infants understand affordances for locomotion? - Young (NEOMED)
- Slithering Sleuths: Uncoiling the Sssecrets of Snake Biomechanics - Astley (University of Akron)
- Beyond BIOL 364: Honors Research Adventures in Physiology - Bagatto (University of Akron)
- Exploring the genetic conflicts between arboviruses and their multiple hosts - Chesarino (University of Akron)
- Branching into Branchiopods: Exploring Fairy Shrimp Diversity with Researchers and Citizen Scientists - Churchin (University of Akron)
- The Retina in 3D: Unraveling Retinal Circuitry with Connectomics - Johnson (University of Akron)
- Understanding Ant Overwintering under Climate Change and Urbanization - Miller (University of Akron)
- Diversity in Drinking Mechanisms: A Comparative Biomechanical and Phylogenetic Study - Olson (University of Akron)
- One to Many: Environmental Drivers of Animal Multicellularity - Wain (University of Akron)
- On the trail of a rare spring-flying butterfly (Pieris virginiensis) - Wilhelm (University of Akron)
Fall 2024 Tiered Mentoring Research Opportunities
- Evaluations of Vision Screening in the Real-World Setting: Investigating Accuracy of Referral Criteria Based on Follow-up Outcomes Within a Children’s Hospital System - Hartmann (Akron Children's Hospital)
- If a frog calls in a wetland and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? - Rivera and Bassett (Akron Zoo)
- Using science to help save critically endangered species - Rivera, Balogh, and Good (Akron Zoo)
- Wildlife Watch: Investigating Animal Behavior and Wellbeing - Chandler (Akron Zoo)
- Exploring the impact of lysosomal dysfunction on osteoarthritis progression in a mouse model - Ansari (NEOMED)
- Neuron counts in the unusually large brains of whales - Cooper (NEOMED)
- Vessels in the cartilage of long-lived whales - Cooper (NEOMED)
- Form and function in the primate head and neck - Grider-Potter (NEOMED)
- Synaptic changes in the Auditory Thalamus during Middle and Old Age - Mellott (NEOMED)
- Defining the Autonomic Brain in Autism - Seese (NEOMED)
- Use of novel autophagic modulating compounds in neurodegenerative disease - Smith (NEOMED)
- Sleep Disturbance in Traumatic Brain Injury - Kerstetter-Fogle (Summa Health Akron)
- Swimming through the genes: Zebrafish models unravel the mysteries of Rett syndrome - Kerstetter-Fogle (Summa Health Akron)
- Uncoiling the Sssecrets of Snake Slithering Biomechanics - Astley, Vega, and Garner (University of Akron)
- How ants respond to climate change - Miller and Londraville (University of Akron)
- Kinetics of Weave Pole Performance of Agility Dogs - Olson and Seitz (University of Akron)
- Connect the Dots: Mouse Edition - Exploring the Circuitry of the Retina - Renna and Johnson (University of Akron)
- Exploring the OFF-bipolar cell response in the zebrafish retina - Renna and Saunders (University of Akron)
- Secrets Beneath the Surface: Uncovering Microbial Metabolic Mysteries in Wetland Sediments - Senko and Weerasinghe (University of Akron)
Fall 2023 Tiered Mentoring Research Opportunities
- Puncture Resistance of Spider Egg Sacs - Blackledge lab
- Spring wildflower pollination and herbivory monitoring - Miller lab
- Synaptic changes in the Auditory Midbrain during Middle and Old Age - Mellott lab (NEOMED)
- Molecular Biology of Lifespan in Acorn Ants - Londraville lab
- The progression and severity of osteoarthritis in a mouse model of lysosomal dysfunction - Ansari lab (NEOMED)
- Can you hear me now? Detangling brain circuits for hearing and attention - Schofield lab (NEOMED)
- Fast and Furrrri-ous: Unleashing the Biomechanics of Agility Dogs - Olson lab
- Effects of circadian disruption on liver, gut, and brain physiology - Ferrell lab (NEOMED)
- Markless Motion Capture for Evaluation of Biomechanical Strategies in Canine Agility Teeter Performance - Olson lab
- The effects of invasive and naturalized worms on plant growth, soil nutrition, and each other - Mitchell lab
- Sleep Disturbance in Traumatic Brain Injury - Kerstetter-Fogle lab (Summa)
- Translational Interrogation of Seizure Models in Zebrafish - Kerstetter-Fogle lab (Summa)
- A Comparison of Adhesive Forces of Scansors Along the Toe Pads of Tokay Geckos (Gekko gecko) - Niewiarowski and Dhinojwala lab
- Dirty Work: Using Robotics to Understand Animal Digging - Astley lab
- Making novel prebiotic membrane-forming molecules with mineral catalysts - Sahai lab (UA Polymer Science)
- Catalyzing Innovation in Trauma and Surgery Research - Department of Surgery and Trauma Research (Summa)
- Impacts of major macronutrients on zebrafish physiology - Bagatto lab
- Tracing ultra-structural neural connection through the retina - Renna lab