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Postdoctoral Researcher hfedesco at uga.edu Heather N. Fedesco is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Georgia. She has a Ph.D. in Interpersonal Communication from Purdue University where she studied the ways in which interpersonal relationships, both professional and personal, influence the health and well-being of others, with an emphasis on how individuals can motivate one another to achieve desired outcomes. Upon graduating in 2015, she has focused specifically on the ways in which connections with an instructor can influence student motivation and other academic outcomes, which included leading a two-year, multi-institution Mellon Foundation funded study at Colorado College. Prior to her position at UGA, she was an Assistant Director at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching, overseeing graduate student professional development in teaching. Now, she is working to develop graduate mentorship assessment tools as well as processes mentors and mentees can use to improve their interactions and maintain high quality relationships over time. |
Postdoctoral Researcher, Teaching Associate Lisa.Limeri at uga.edu Lisa Limeri is a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Associate at the University of Georgia. She earned her Ph.D. in 2017 from the University of Pittsburgh studying evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology by investigating butterfly wing color patterns and mating preferences. After completing her Ph.D., she moved to UGA to work with Dr. Erin Dolan and transition to studying undergraduate education. With Dr. Dolan, she has investigated multiple aspects of the social and psychological development of undergraduate science students, including the experiences of graduate and postdoctoral mentors of undergraduate researchers and the negative experiences undergraduates have with their research mentors. In her own independent line of research, she is investigating mindset beliefs in undergraduate students. |
Graduate Research Associate Zaka.Asif at uga.edu I am interested in studying research as a context for learning. I study the effects of mentoring on students and different cultural contexts effect the conception of what it means to be a researcher, especially for South Asian students. I also study ways in which the quality management of training procedures can be done in the field of metabolomics research. |
PhD Student Rebecca.Cole at uga.edu Rebecca Cole is a second-year doctoral student in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program. As an undergraduate student, she studied psychology with a minor in religious studies. She worked in the Youth Development Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before beginning graduate school. Under Dr. Dolan, she assists in research surrounding remote undergraduate research experiences. Her research interests also include employee health, the work-nonwork interface, diversity in the workplace. |
PhD Student Riley.Hess at uga.edu Riley Hess is a third-year doctoral student in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program at the University of Georgia. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Kansas in 2017. With Dr. Dolan and Dr. Limeri, she conducts research to better understand the outcomes and correlates of negative mentoring experiences of undergraduate researchers in the life sciences. Her research interests also include the interaction of individual differences with job performance and the impact of artificial intelligence on workers and teams. |
Benjamin Listyg PhD student listyg at uga.edu |
Graduate Student Trevor.Tuma at uga.edu Trevor Tuma is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia and co-advised by Drs. Erin Dolan and CJ Tsai. His research in the SPREE lab focuses on the mentoring experiences of graduate researchers in the life sciences. Mentorship is an essential component of graduate STEM graduate education, as high-quality mentorship contributes to the development and training of graduate students. However, mentoring relationships can also have dysfunctional elements. His work seeks to understand how these mentoring experiences contribute to the personal and professional outcomes of graduate students. His research interests broadly include mentoring and relational processes, the work-life interface, and career decision making in STEM fields. |
Undergraduate Researcher Olivia.Erickson at uga.edu Olivia Erickson is an undergraduate researcher at the University of Georgia who is pursuing a major in Biology and a minor in Spanish. Olivia works as a tutor for the UGA Athletic Association and as a volunteer at Mercy Health Center in addition to her role as a research assistant. She is passionate about education, healthcare, and breaking down the barriers that prevent people from accessing them both. |
Undergraduate Student Katie.Holliday at uga.edu Katie Holliday is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Kennesaw, Georgia, majoring in Biology and Psychology, on the Pre-Physician Assistant tract. She is very interested in pediatric emergency medicine and plans to pursue a career in this field after completing physician assistant school. This is her second year being involved in undergraduate research on the VIP Instructor Talk team and she will be presenting our research in the Spring 2021 CURO symposium alongside her research partners. She volunteers with local Athens elementary schools by tutoring and mentoring young kids as well as working with the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia in the food2kids program. In addition, she has held leadership positions in organizations such as Greek Life and UGA Miracle throughout her undergraduate years. |
Undergraduate Student Jared.Isaacs at uga.edu Jared Isaacs is a third-year biology major from Knoxville, TN. He is currently an SGA Senator for the College of Franklin and has been a member of Medlife since freshmen year. He's really passionate about sustainability efforts as climate change is going to disproportionately affect marginalized, lower income communities. and increasing healthcare accessibility to all regardless of income. He recently joined a project that was put together by several other SGA members that has the goal of increasing sustainability efforts and awareness on campus, and more specifically as it relates to increasing Plant Based foods on campus. He also served as one of the Executive Members of his fraternity and hopes to pursue either a career in medicine as a DO or a career related to sustainability. |
Undergraduate Student Cj Jain is a second year undergraduate student from Marietta, Georgia, majoring in Biochemistry and molecular biology and Finance, on the Pre-Medical tract. He is interested in medicine as well as healthcare management, and plans to pursue a MD-MBA route post graduation. This is his second year being involved in undergraduate research on the Transitions team and he will be presenting our research in the Spring 2021 CURO symposium. He is part of the leadership in the Indian Cultural Exchange, and plans to get further involved with Phi Delta Epsilon. Additionally, he is also an undergraduate TA for the general chemistry lab department. |
Undergraduate Student Joel.Martin at uga.edu Joel Martin is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Georgia. He is a biology major with pre-med intent and he has future plans of becoming a Radiologist. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball, lifting weights with friends, and watching the TV show Friends. He is currently volunteering at Piedmont Athens Regional with the transport team. As a first generation college student, he plans on continuing his career in biology to develop new techniques for medical imaging. Currently, he is planning on graduating from Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in the year 2022. |
Undergraduate Researcher Halle.Mastronardo at uga.edu Halle Mastronardo is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Chemistry and biochemistry on the Pre-Medicine track. Upon graduating from the University of Georgia, she plans to attend medical school. She has taken part in a number of extra-curricular activities over her college career including being a member of UGA Red Cross, being a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma, a large community service organization, and being a member of the Phi Delta Epsilon, national pre-medical and medical organization. She has been involved in both the mindset and creativity projects in the last year. |
Undergraduate Researcher Briana.Outlaw at uga.edu Briana Outlaw is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Biology and Spanish. When she graduates in May 2021 she plans on attending PA school. In her free time, she loves spending time with family, traveling, and spending days on the lake/beach. She currently works as a CNA. |
Undergraduate Researcher Jay.Patel1 at uga.edu Jay Patel is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Lilburn, Georgia. He is majoring in Biology with a Pre-Medicine focus and hopes to become a future Orthopedic surgeon. He enjoys playing sports and playing video-games with his friends. He has been involved in the Mindset Measure undergraduate research project with Lisa Limeri and is now currently working on the Instructor talk team with Dr. Dolan. He has volunteered with Piedmont Athens Regional on the transport team and is currently volunteering on a COVID-19 hotline through the Good Samaritan Health Center of Atlanta. |
Undergraduate Student Mallory.Plunkett at uga.edu Mallory Plunkett is a second-year undergraduate Honors Program student from Peachtree City, Georgia. She is majoring in Biology and Psychology and minoring in General Business. She enjoys running and founded the Milledge Avenue Running Club at UGA. Mallory has plans to go into the Double Dawgs Program, and after graduation will pursue a career in either research or medical sales. She has been involved in the Instructor Talk project since Fall 2020 and will present at the Spring 2021 CURO Symposium alongside her research partners. |
Undergraduate Student Robel.Yohannes at uga.edu Robel Yohannes is a second-year Honors Program student from Johns Creek, Georgia. He is majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry with the intent of going to medical school after college. In his free time, he enjoys watching the English Premier League and running. In addition to the SPREE research team, he volunteers at Regency Southern hospice, tutors with Math Counts, and is a part of the MSSA (Minority Student Science Association) Executive board. He also plans on presenting at the Summer 2021 CURO symposium. |
Undergraduate Student Koleas.Zumbro at uga.edu Kole Zumbro is a third-year undergraduate student from Augusta, Georgia, majoring in Biology on the Pre-Medicine tract. Upon graduating summa cum laude from the University of Georgia, he plans to attend medical school. He has taken part in a number of extra-curricular activities over his college career, including being a mentor for an under-privileged middle school student in the Athens-Clarke area, being a member of UGA’s American Medical Student Association (AMSA), and being a member of the Georgia Alpha Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), the Health Preprofessional Honor Society. He has also been involved in Dr. Dolan’s undergraduate research project, Instructor Talk, for four semesters now and plans to continue participating in research for the remainder of his undergraduate career. He is a two-time CURO Research Assistantship Recipient (Spring 2020 and Fall 2020) and presented a poster at the 2020 Annual CURO Symposium. He will also be presenting the Instructor Talk team's recent research findings at the 2021 CURO Symposium this Spring. |