Spring 2026 CNS Honors Thesis Symposium
Apr
16
2026
Apr
16
2026
Graduating honors students from all three college honors programs present their research in panel sessions. Student panels run concurrently, and each panel is moderated by a UT faculty member.
Presentation Schedule
Session 1 • 9:00-9:50 am
Human Relationships with Art and the Environment (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Jarred Lewis-Peacock, Department of Psychology
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Krithika Rajesh | Tasty Jackfruits, Hungry Elephants: Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Monsoons |
| Hillary Xu | Sustaining the UT Microfarm: Growing Food, Growing Community |
| Amelia Canright | Painting a Healthy Mind: Enhancing Emotion Regulation with Abstract Visual Art |
| Aira Balasubramanian | It's Getting Hot in Here: A Disability-Informed Framework towards Critical Heat Studies |
Disability and Access to Medical Care (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. Mike Mauk, Department of Neuroscience
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Adviti Pilla | Who Gets Left Behind? Digital Health, Operational Barriers, and AI Solutions for Patient Adherence |
| Priyanka Bhasi | Beyond Abortion: Restrictive Abortion Policies' Impact on Breast Cancer Care |
| Sneha Chandak | Death of DEI: Implementation and Impacts of SB-17 at UT Austin |
Session 2 • 10:00-10:50 am
Health Communication and Advertising (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Mike Mackert, Center for Health Communication
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Lily Boddy | Evaluating Large Language Models for Automated Assessment of OSCE Communication Performance |
| Sarah Ravdel | From Labs to Market: How Pharmaceuticals Impact Health |
| Lily Barrow | Framing the "Miracle Drug": Health Communication, Credibility, and Public Understanding of GLP-1 Medications |
Access to Medicine and Culturally Congruent Care (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. Amy Simmons, Butler School of Music
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Aditi Bhat | Misrepresented: Improving Treatment of Dementia in Asian Indian Americans |
| Sreya Yadavalli | Caught Between Two Cultures: Asian American Immigrant Healthcare |
| Juslyn Dhingra | Integrated Care Models for Maternal Mental Health in Rural and Immigrant Populations in Texas |
Session 3 • 11:00–11:50 am
Sports, Leadership, and Long-term Health (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Michela Marinelli, Department of Neuroscience
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Amshula Gajula | Investigating How Adolescent Sports Participation Impacts Long-Term Health Outcomes |
| Cameron Boswell | Put Some Ice on it: Impact of Leadership on Health in Ice Hockey |
| Anika Sarna | Squash as a Supportive Intervention for Adolescent Mental Health: A Narrative Review and Program Model |
Ethical AI in Clinical Communication and Diagnosis (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. David Laude, Department of Chemistry
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Kyle Kekish | Responsible Implementation of Large Language Models for Patient Education |
| Suhani Gajera | Designing for Trust: Ethical and Relational Challenges of AI Health Tools for Older Adults |
| Jessica Moran | Who Gets Diagnosed Early? At-Home Testing and the Future of Melanoma Detection |
Session 4 • 1:00-1:50 pm
Historical and Cultural Constructions of Medicine (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Chiu-Mi Lai, Department of Asian Studies
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Avery Matthews | A Body or Embodied: Arguing for an Embodiment-Focused Philosophical Anthropology in Medicine |
| Reethi Ravi | Mutation or Manipulation: The History Behind Modern-Day South Asian Genomes |
| Arissa Rahman | She's Just Hysterical!: Impact of hysteria on diagnosis and treatment for marginalized women |
Social Connectivity and the Lived Experience of Physicians and Students (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. Tepera Holman, CNS Assistant Dean for Community and Student Engagement
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Shubhranshu Mishra | Impact of Social Connectivity on the Effectiveness of On-Campus Mental Health Outreach at UT Austin |
| Grace Lee | The Triad of Distress: Burnout, Loneliness, and Empathy Fatigue in Liver Transplant Care Providers |
| Krishna Hariprasad | Navigating Gender-Affirming Care Amid Political Hostility: A Qualitative Analysis of Physician Narratives |
Session 5 • 2:00–2:50 pm
Psychological Health and Wellbeing (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Michela Marinelli, Department of Neuroscience
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Hannah Fialho | Online Mindfulness as a Mental Health Intervention in Higher Education |
| Sowmya Sridhar | The Quest for Social Connection in the 21st Century |
| Lauren Sukhu | Level the Playing Field in School Safety |
Pediatric Care and Chronic Illness (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. Amy Bryan, Human Development and Family Sciences
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Jeremiah Cano | How Pediatric Illness Affects Mental Health |
| Valerie See | Expanding Rural Pediatric Healthcare: The Role of Telemedicine |
| Lane Loudamy | The Current Landscape of Immunotherapy Within Pediatric Oncology |
Session 6 • 3:00–3:50 pm
Modern Topics in Mathematical Research (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Maggie Miller, Department of Mathematics
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Srikha Chaganti | Understanding the Unknotting Number Under Connected Sum and Mutation |
| Carrie Liang | Optimal Stopping Strategies and Decision Boundary Analysis |
| Allison Podanoffsky | Developments in Solving the Slice-Ribbon Conjecture |
Session 7 • 4:00-4:50 pm
Early Detection and Preventative Health (WEL 3.310)
Moderator: Dr. Steven Abrams, Dell Medical
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Kashish Sawant | Implementing Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Opioids in the Opioid Epidemic |
| Maitreyi Dhavala | Causes of inconsistencies in dermatological diagnoses |
| Aysha Ameerah | Enhancing Rural Prenatal Care with Pregnancy Care Kits |
Integrative Approaches in Biology and Health (WEL 3.320)
Moderator: Dr. Enamul Huq, Department of Molecular Biosciences
| Speaker | Research Title |
|---|---|
| Ivy Fan | Exploring microbial community operons with the ProximonGraph |
| Simali Shah | Effects of Alcohol on the Gut Microbiome and Autoimmune Neuroinflammation in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis |
| Yasmin Jackson | Investigating the molecular mechanisms by which phospholipase C (PLC) signaling regulates epidermal development in plants. |
Location
Robert A. Welch Hall (WEL), Room 3.310 & 3.320