Illinois Undergraduate
Research Ambassadors
About IURA:
Illinois Undergraduate Research Ambassadors (IURAs) are a collaborative cohort of accomplished and experienced students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
IURAs help to promote undergraduate research at the U of I and help the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) develop and maintain student-focused programs that represent the U of I’s diverse array of disciplines. As representatives of OUR, IURAs will be responsible for promoting undergraduate research to peers by holding informational workshops on undergraduate research, serving as a liaison between OUR and academic departments, and being knowledgeable about the resources that the U of I offers its undergraduate students interested in research and creative inquiry.
Curtis Althaus
Major: Chemistry
Experimental Battery Research through Electroanalytical Chemistry
Curtis will hold meetings in the Fall
Haihley Connors
Major: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences / Minor: Public Health
African American Breast ER+ Cancer Disparities
Haihley will hold meetings in the Fall
Kaitlyn Ho
Major: Mathematics / Minor: Secondary Education
Mathematics Education
Kaitlyn will hold meetings in the Fall
Erica Joo
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology Honors / Minor: Journalism
Molecular mechanisms of meiotic checkpoint pathways in mammals
Erica will hold meetings in the Fall
Mit Kotak
Major: Engineering Physics / Minor: Statistics and Computational Science & Engineering
Scientific Simulation using Supercomputers and Machine Learning Applications to Student Success Data
Mit will hold meetings in the Fall
Justine Macalindong
Major: Integrative Biology / Minor: Informatics
Changes in pollinator anti-predator behavior due to increased soil organic carbon
Justine will hold meetings in the Fall
Kira Martin
Major: Materials Science & Engineering
HiPIMS vacuum plasma deposition
Kira will hold meetings in the Fall
Megi Mecolli
Major: English / Minors: Political Science, Classics & Anthropology
Creative Writing and its Intersections with Real-World Industries and Movements
Megi will hold meetings in the Fall
Holly Panfil
Major: Speech & Hearing Sciences / Minor: Spanish
Aging and cognition of individuals with mild cognitive impairment
Holly will hold meetings in the Fall
Reilly Ruzella
Majors: Molecular & Cellular Biology and Brain & Cognitive Science
Interrelationship between long term physical activity and cognitive functioning tested through technology-driven interventions
Reilly will hold meetings in the Fall
Vani Sharma
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology / Minor: Public Health
Examining fall prevention methods in older adults with neurological disorders
Vani will hold meetings in the Fall
Shriya Srikanth
Majors: Information Sciences and Finance / Minor: Computer Science
Data privacy, specifically relating to education policy
Shriya will hold meetings in the Fall
Tyler Swanson
Major: Agricultural & Consumer Economics
Impacts of Renewable Energy Policy on Energy Generation Outcomes
Tyler will hold meetings in the Fall
Render Symanski
Majors: History and East Asian Languages & Cultures / Minor: Political Science
The history of Japanese and Okinawan social and political relations
Render will hold meetings in the Fall
Anna Tsyrulnikov
Majors: Molecular & Cellular Biology and Psychology
Behavioral effects of repeated exposure to psychoactive drugs
Anna will hold meetings in the Fall