EURēCA! Summer Fellows

The EURēCA! Summer Fellows Program

The EURēCA! Summer Fellows program is a highly competitive summer research program that provides a small number of ��ջ� undergraduates with stipend support to conduct original research, creative, or other scholarly activities in collaboration with a ��ջ� | Anschutz faculty mentor. These eight-week fellowships last through June and July and include weekly professional development training, cohort meetups, and other learning opportunities. The EURēCA! Fellows program is open to all disciplines.

How it works:

Students work with their faculty mentor to complete a joint application, including a project proposal and faculty letter of recommendation. Reference this recommended during project development.
To be eligible, students must be a ��ջ� undergraduate student working toward a baccalaureate degree
Fellowships last 8-weeks
Applicants can request up to 40hrs/week in stipend support (inclusive of all program activities)
In addition to their research experience, EURēCA! Fellows attend weekly in-person professional development training and cohort meetups
EURēCA! Fellows present their work to the ��ջ� community at the conclusion of the program

Stipend Levels (total):

40 hrs/week - $5,000
20 hrs/week - $2,500

Summer 2026 Application Close March 2026

Prepare Your Application

View resources below and preview application materials
Email undergrad.research@ucdenver.edu or call 303-315-4000
Look at examples of past projects:

Application Information

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship FAQ

Students work with their faculty mentor to complete a joint application, including a project proposal and and faculty letter of recommendation. Reference this recommended during project development.
To be eligible, students must be a ��ջ� undergraduate student working toward a baccalaureate degree
Fellowships last 8-weeks over the summer term
Applicants can request up to 40hrs/week in stipend support (inclusive of all program activities)
In addition to their research experience, EURēCA! Fellows attend weekly in-person professional development trainings, office hours, and cohort meetups
EURēCA! Fellows present their work to the ��ջ� community at the conclusion of the program

Stipend Levels (total):
40 hrs/week - $5,000
20 hrs/week - $2,500

Fridays In-Person 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Topics include: Accessing resources, identity as scholars, research ethics and regulatory bodies, professional communication and networking, identifying leadership skills, designing a research poster, presentation skills, sharing research with public audiences

Office Hours and cohort Discussions with URCA Staff also available

Application Information ()

Student Info (including )
Faculty Mentor Info
Student Essays
- Past Research Experience (150 words)
- Career Goals (150 words)
- Description of Independence (150 words)
Project Summary (250-word abstract)
Uploaded Project Proposal
- Project Description and Objectives (500-700 words)
- Bibliography (3-5 sources cited in proposal)
- Detailed Project Timeline
Uploaded Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation
- Reference this recommended during project development

An essential aspect and expectation of the EURēCA! Fellows Program is mentorship. This experience should nurture the intellectual and scholarly development of the fellow, which requires active investment from their mentor.
Reference this recommended during project development.

A letter of support from faculty mentor will be uploaded by the student with the application. Applications will not be considered complete without this letter of support.
The letter could include the following:

Assessment of student potential as a scholar
Details about the work student will be doing and level of independence
Description of how mentor will support student
Details about how often mentor and mentee will meet

We recommend using a mentee-mentor contract to structure your conversation.

Undergraduate research, creative, or other scholarly activities that involve human subjects, animal care and/or areas of risk may need permission, waivers, and/or arrangements that comply with University of Colorado Denver policies established by the , the , and/or the .

Faculty mentors are responsible for completing the appropriate forms and following the policies for the research requirements below. These should be completed as soon as possible, so that students have ample time to complete their proposals. Funds will not be released until proof of appropriate approvals has been submitted to undergrad.research@ucdenver.edu.

Considerations:

1. Does the proposed activity involve gathering information from human subjects or using data previously obtained from human subjects?

If you are unsure whether your project falls under COMIRB regulations, we suggest attending their virtual office hours or arranging a 1:1 consultation -

2. Does the proposed project involve gathering information from animal subjects?

3. Does the proposed project involve any of the following possible ��ջ� Risk Management Issues?

- Use of non-university facilities (space, equipment)

- Travel (local, national, or international)

- Minors (less than 18 years old)

- Non-university personnel

- Use of any hazardous radioactive/biological/chemical materials

If a project is selected for funding, the following agreements will be enforced:

HOURS Students agree to work the agreed upon hours per week.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Students agree to participate in the required in-person Friday professional development trainings each week.
PROJECT PRESENTATION Students understand they are required to present at the Summer Research Symposium, and agree to present their work at RaCAS the following April.
ENROLLMENT Students agree to enroll in a not-for-credit (or for-credit) Experience through the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities and participate in pre- and post- activity assessments.
REGULATORY BODIES Students understand that all work involving human subjects needs to be approved by the COMIRB and all work involving vertebrate animal subjects needs to be approved by the IACUC.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Students will acknowledge financial support received from the ��ջ� Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities in any articles, presentations, exhibits, recitals, etc. that result from this funding.

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship Recipients

Anthony Arredondo, Psychology

Multi-method exploration of participant satisfaction in brief, virtual behavioral parent training group

Mentor: Jacob Holzman, Psychiatry

Ciana Beller, Psychology, B.S.

Dopamine Transmission and Exercise Studied Through Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry

Mentor: Benjamin Greenwood, Psychology

Yukthika Boddeda, Biochemistry

Decoding the structure and function of CHCHD10 using NMR

Mentor: Woonghee Lee, Chemistry

Elizabeth Chung, Psychology

Therapeutic Contact Lens for Corneal Diseases

Mentor: Jung-Jae Lee, Chemistry

Nikola Hilderbrand, Mechanical Engineering

Additive Manufacturing of Metal Filament: Exploring Capital gain, and Tailoring Post Processing Parameters

Mentor: Guoying Dong, Mechanical Engineering

Matt Johnson, Biology

Hydnellum of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Mentor: Andy Wilson, Biology

Andrew Keady, Architecture

Design Fabrication Analysis of the Potential of Mycelium-Based Materials

Mentor: Assia Crawford, Architecture

Gale Khayut, Psychology

The Poison Tester Manuscript.

Mentor: Eliot Wilson, English

Arthur Mason, Psychology

Harm Reduction Practices among BIPOC and Low-Income Individuals who Consume Psilocybin for Personal Use in Colorado

Mentor: Marty Otañez, Anthropology

Omar Mendoza, Physics

Bridging the Past and Future: Designing an AR Device for Exploring 3D-Scanned Historical Sites

Mentor: Michael Rogers, Physics

Sarah Mentzer, Biology

Predicting interspecies protein interaction using structural bioinformatics

Mentor: Janani Ravi, Biomedical Informatics

Grace Spillers, Bioengineering

Electrical Stimulation to Emulate Exercise in vitro

Mentor: Brisa Peña, Medicine-Cardiology

Hunter Swartwout, Physics

Comparative Analysis of Digital Cameras in 3D Generated Model of The Distal Radius Articular Surface

Mentor: Michael Rogers, Physics

Idris Tinwala, Mechanical Engineering

Optimizing Hybrid Materials and Structures through Voxel Printing and AI-Driven Analysis

Mentor: Guoying Dong, Mechanical Engineering

Daniel Torres Diaz, Political Science

The 1921 Pueblo Flood - A Social Autopsy

Mentor: James Walsh, Political Science

Isabel Wolf, Economics

The Relationship Between Substance use, Legalization/Decriminalization, and Crime

Mentor: Laura Argys, Economics

Ian Espinoza, Biochemistry

Enhancing Stroke Care Evaluating Pre-hospital On-scene Times and the Impact of Language Barriers on Patient Outcomes

Mentor: Angela Wright, Emergency Medicine

Juliet Freund, Psychology

Effects of estrus phase on striatum - hippocampus pathway activity during fear extinction

Mentor: Benjamin Greenwood, Psychology

Maia Griffith, Mechanical Engineering

Generative Artificial Intelligent Design of Multi-material Lattice Structures for Voxel Printing

Mentor: Guoying Dong, Mechanical Engineering

Kevin Harris, Civil Engineering

Artificial Intelligence Applications for the Electrical Construction Industry

Mentor: Bing Han, Civil Engineering Department

Juan Hernandez-Jimenez, Mechanical Engineering

Development of spray tunnel to examine the wettability and durability of superhydrophobic surfaces

Mentor: Linyue Gao, Mechanical engineering

Lo Bailey Laboda, Physics

Calculating Electron Collision Cross Sections of Neutral Gold

Mentor: Kathryn Hamilton, Physics

Michelle Le, Psychology

The Association Between Communal Coping and Smoking Cessation Attempts

Mentor: Krista Ranby, Psychology

Isabella Luna, Sociology

The Effects of Familial Socioculturalization on First-Born Latinas' Romantic Relationships

Mentor: Edelina Burciaga, Sociology

Maleeha Shah, public health

Drivers of Birth Trauma in AAPI Communities (Mental Health Effects)

Mentor: Nelson Hyeyoung, Health and Behavioral Sciences

Aaron Sullivan Stremel, Civil Engineering

Virtual Reality (VR) for determination of motion perception thresholds in a floating environment.

Mentor: Shengzhe (Jackson) Wang, Civil Engineering

Citclali Tizcareno-Martin, Biology

Integrative Analysis of Microbial Diversity and Chemical Dynamics in the Lowry Environment: Towards Understanding 1,4-Dioxane Degradation Processes

Mentor: Timberley Roane, Integrative Biology

Michelle Vasquez Loya, Criminal Justice

Exploring Misogynistic Radicalization: The Role of the Internet in Incel Subculture

Mentor: Melissa Tackett-Gibson, Criminal Justice

Trevor Walker, Civil Engineering

Verifying Quasi-static Compression Testing Results of Hypar-derived Metamaterials Using Numerical Models

Mentor: Shengzhe (Jackson) Wang, Civil Engineering

Isabel Wolf, Economics

China’s Declining Labor Force Participation and Gender Inequalities

Mentor: Laura Argys, Economics

Pari Abdulloeva, Physics

Measuring Photoabsorption Times in Single Atoms

Mentor: Kathryn Hamilton, Physics

David DeBonis, English Creative Writing

Efficacy of Explicit Instruction in Pronunciation and Phoneme Acquisition in First-Year English Speaking Spanish-as-a-Second-Language Students

Mentor: Alyssa Martoccio, Department of Modern Languages

Vera Kilman, Bioengineering

Using Engineering Devices to Assess Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Mentor: Brisa Peña, Bioengineering

Isaiah Lowe, Biochemistry

An Approach to study the effects of cytokine treatment on protein modification in B-cells

Mentor: Jeff Knight, Chemistry

Faith Montemayor, Biochemistry

Ascertainment of NarK Nitrate/Nitrite Antiporter's Mechanism Using Adaptive Partitioning Multilayer Dynamics Simulation

Mentor: Hai Lin, Chemistry Department

Christiana Smith, Psychology & Criminal Justice

Scene Safety Judgments Impact Criminality Ratings

Mentor: Carly Leonard, Psychology

Trevor Walker, Civil Engineering

Geometric Mechanics of Hypar-derived Metamaterials

Mentor: Jackson Wang, Civil Engineering

Zowie Werner, Biology

From Proteins to Phenotypes: Decoding Autism's Molecular Puzzle Through the STORM

Mentor: Woonghee Lee, Chemistry

Sebastian Zegarra-Pardo, History

Gendered Effects of Economic Crisis in 1930s Britain

Mentor: Marjorie Levine-Clark, History

Zenetta Zepeda, Biology

Exploration of barriers to medication adherence in patients with epilepsy

Mentor: Marielle Darwin, Neurosurgery

Vrishank Bikkumalla, Biology

Membrane Release Kinetics of Synaptogamin-7 C2 Domains

Mentor: Jefferson Knight, Chemistry

Meghann Brown, History

Finding Space in Outer Space: Fanzines, Feminism, and Star Trek

Mentor: Rachel Gross, History

Chloe Campbell, Film and Television

The Ideal Woman

Mentor: Bill Adams, Visual Arts

Elise Carter, Bioengineering

Transition frequency as a quantitative feature of the EEG signal to sort slow waves as a potential biomarker of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Mentor: Brice McConnell, Neurology

Orin Crouse, Econ/Math

A novel use of insurance claims to model the relationship between voting and economic impact

Mentor: Erin Austin, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

Aurelia Guerue, Political Science

Wilma Mankiller's Medical Diagnoses and Political Activism: Disabled?

Mentor: Donna Martinez, Ethnic Studies

Rebecca Han, Psychology

Dopamine Circuits Modulating Fear Extinction

Mentor: Ben Greenwood, Psychology

Anne Hull, Criminal Justice

Irish Women and Children of Leadville

Mentor: Jim Walsh, Political Science

Nathan Jett, Chemistry

Control of RNA structure via addition of benzothiophene to carbon 2 of ribose

Mentor: Marino Resendiz, Chemistry

Dylan Kammerzell, Psychology

An investigation of attentional capture at the fovea

Mentor: Carly Leonard, Psychology

Mindy Kennedy, Biology

Characterization of 1,4- Dioxane Degrading Bacteria at a Wastewater Bioremediation Site

Mentor: Timberley Roane, Integrative Biology

Liz Kuhn, Environmental Sciences

Exploring Seasonal Variations of Floral Resources for Honey Bees in Urban and Suburban Settings

Mentor: Christy Briles, Geography & Environmental Sciences

Luz Moreno, Education & Human Development

Bilingual Education: Metalinguistics

Mentor: Adriana Alvarez, Education and Human Development

Miarri Phillips, Psychology & Sociology

Public Health & Mass Incarceration Relational Analysis

Mentor: Jenny Vermilya, Sociology

Jessica Valdez, Criminal Justice

COVID-19, Hate Crimes, & Police Perceptions: A Qualitative Study of Asian-American/Pacific Islander Perceptions of the Police

Mentor: Melissa Tackett-Gibson, Criminal Justice

Zoe Vavrina, International Studies

Russian Coloniality and the Czech Women; How Multidimensional Patterns of Russian Imperial Power Affect the Czech Women’s Relationship Between Gender and Nation

Mentor: Katerine Mohrman, Ethnic Studies

Daisy Wanless, Physics

Physical Sciences VR/AR Teaching Demonstrations

Mentor: Michael Rogers, Physics

Ilana Amaria, Political Science

Ideas About Biocentrism: Developments Across Space and Time

Mentor: Christopher Stefes, Political Science

Zeyna Aouad, Biology

Construction and equilibration of nitrate/nitrite antiporter NARK

Mentor: Hai Lin, Chemistry

Vrishank Bikkumalla, Biology

4-Hydroxynonenal Inhibition of Insulin Secretion via Single Vesicle Imaging

Mentor: Jeff Knight, Chemistry

Kira Boatright, History and Spanish

Rocky Mountain Molly Maguires: Irish Labor Radicalism and Resistance in Cripple Creek and Victor, 1890-1910

Mentor: James Walsh, Political Science

Kelsey Bonar, Psychology/Biology

When Public Health Crises Collide: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Syringe Services Programs and People Who Use Drugs

Mentor: Angela Lee-Winn, Epidemiology

Daniel Casillas, Public Health and Biology

Evaluation of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Glucose and Lipid Metabolism and Impact on Neonatal Growth Outcomes among Women with Gestational Diabetes

Mentor: Mary Sammel, Biostatistics and Informatics

Abigail Chiu, Biochemistry and Chemistry

Accelerating Two-Dimensional NMR-based Metabolite Identification by Developing POKY Extensions

Mentor: Woonghee Lee, Chemistry

Willa Cohn, Film and Television

Womanhood: The Series Empowering Women through Media

Mentor: Jessica McGaugh, FiTV

Jyotshila Dhakal, Public Health

Defining Measures of Emergency Care Access in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

Mentor: Corey Bills, School of Medicine

Isabel Dias-Bertch, Biochemistry

Improved modeling of proteins to study drug-protein interactions in the stomach

Mentor: Scott Reed, Chemistry

Lucas Duddles, English Creative Writing

The Contemporary American Short Story

Mentor: Joanna Luloff, English Department

Noha Eljalafi, Biology

Impact of Antibiotic Pollution on Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria Residing in Freshwater Ecosystems

Mentor: Annika Mosier, Integrative Biology

Adrienne Ellett, Bioengineering

FES Cycling - A Remote Control for Paralyzed Legs

Mentor: George Marzloff, Anschutz Campus - School of Medicine - Physical Medicine and Rehab

Juan Franco Orellana, Public Health

How Rhetoric and Legislation Impact Undocumented Immigrant’s Ability to Find Housing

Mentor: Marisa Westbrook, Health and Behavioral Sciences

Daniela Gonzalez, Biology

IRAK-M suppresses human melanoma cell invasion through upregulation of novel gene

Mentor: Eduardo Davila, Department of Medical Oncology

Aurelia Guerue, Political Science

You Are Always On Stolen Land: The History of Broken Treaties, and Anti-Indian Legislation

Mentor: Donna Langston-Martinez, Ethnic Studies

Eve Guess, Biology

Evaluating Sense Codon Reassignment in E.coli

Mentor: John (Nick) Fisk, Chemistry

Ryan Hanlon, History

Progressive Pedagogy: A Legacy of Activism

Mentor: Rachel Gross, History

Jaylin Hodge, Psychology

Intergenerational Effects of Slavery; A Mixed-Methods Study

Mentor: Jonathan Shaffer, Psychology

Hiba Hussain, Information Systems

Understanding Legislative Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor in India Through a Socio-Legal Perspective

Mentor: Keith Guzik, Sociology

Kristine Kohlmeier, Economics

Cashmere Production Increases Dust Storms: Evidence from Mongolia

Mentor: Maulik Jagnani, Economics

Kayla Medina, Integrative Biology

The role of Structural Variants in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

Mentor: Tamim Shaikh, Pediatrics

La-Doniea Nisbeth, Environmental Sciences

FinTech and its Correlation to Positive Social Impact In Developing Countries

Mentor: Esther Sullivan, Sociology

Raven O'Rourke, Computer Science

Integrated Solar Energy for Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Communities

Mentor: Serena Kim, Public Affairs

Keira Richards, History

Mile High Punk: The Front Range Punk Scene of the Late 1970s

Mentor: Rachel Gross, History

Shawn Schowe, Chemistry

Post-translational oxidative damage to RNA and its affect on XRN1 activity

Mentor: Marino Resendiz, Chemistry

Hoda Sherif, Biochemistry

Objective sleep in adolescents with chronic migraine: comparisons with National Sleep Foundation recommendations

Mentor: Michelle Clementi, Departments of Psychiatry & Pediatrics, CU Anschutz

Mike Swing, Biology

Construction and equilibration of nitrate/nitrite antiporter NARK

Mentor: Hai Lin, Department of Chemistry

Jessica Valdez, Criminal Justice/Biology

Police Community Relations: A Qualitative Study of Community Perceptions

Mentor: Melissa Tackett-Gibson, Criminal Justice

Melissa Allen, Geography

Native Bees and Floral Resources

Mentor: Christy Briles, Geography

Nour Awad, Chemistry

Finding the Mechanism on how Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Affect Fish

Mentor: Alan Vajda, Integrative Biology

Baris Aydintug, Biochemistry

The Same But Not; Constructing a Computational Model of a CLC "Like" Transmembrane Protein

Mentor: Hai Lin, Chemistry

Kira Boatright, History

Putting the Sons and Daughters of Erin on the Map:

The Irish in Colorado and Denver, 1880

Mentor: James Walsh, Political Science

Brandon Choi, Psychology

Does feature-based attention spread to task-irrelevant features?

A reanalysis using data from the Open Science Framework

Mentor: Carly Leonard, Psychology

Dani Dillon, Biology

The Development and Characterization of a GFP Based

System for Evaluating Translational Attenuation in The M13 Bacteriophage

Mentor: John Fisk, Chemistry

Seth Drake, Bioengineering

Adapting a 3D bioprinter to an open source format

Mentor: Steven Lammers, Bioengineering

Hillary Hillam, Geography

First Fundamental of Bee Identification

Mentor: Christy Briles, Geography

Nashra Jamil, Psychology

Sex Differences in the Neural Circuits Underlying Voluntary Exercise

Mentor: Ben Greenwood, Psychology

Ariel Lafuente, Mechanical Engineering

Mentor: Kristin Wood, Design and Computing

Jack Lewis, Music

The Synesthetic Mindscape

Mentor: Cecilia Wu, Music & Entertainment Industry

Lauren Moment, Psychology

Cannabis - Induced Psychosis in Adults with Early Onset in Adolescents

Mentor: Jonathon Shaffer, Psychology

Jillian Oviedo, Biochemistry

Dynamics of the Villin Headpiece Protein's Subdomain HP-36: Effects on Energy Barriers by Hydration Levels

Mentor: Hai Lin, Chemistry

Anthony Porcaro, Illustration

Using Design Innovation Method Cards as a Vehicle to Study Interdisciplinary Challenges

Mentor: Arianne Collopy, Comcast Media and Technology Center

Emerald Saldyt, Psychology

The Effect of Video Games on Emotional Reactivity

Mentor: David Albeck, Psychology

Matin Sanaei, Biology

Characterizing Markers of Neurogenesis in Diapausing Rhagoletis pomonella

Mentor: Greg Ragland, Integrative Biology

Isaac Sargent, Psychology

Strangers Praying to Heal People with Disabilities

Mentor: Karen Crawford, Psychology

Ashell Sickmen, Recording Arts

Designing New Course via music technology for student-centered learning in higher education

Mentor: Cecilia Wu, Music & Entertainment Industry

Mary Span, Physics

Course Development

Mentor: Amy Roberts, Physics

Jacob Torrens, Marketing

Defining Gamers Personal Values

Mentor: Vicki Lane, Business

Aurelia Valente, Biology

Effects of Sex on stress behaviors of stalk-eyed flies

Mentor: John Swallow, Integrative Biology

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EURēCA! Summer Fellows

The EURēCA! Summer Fellows Program

How it works:

Stipend Levels (total):

Summer 2026 Application Close March 2026

Prepare Your Application

Application Information

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship FAQ

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship Recipients

LynxConnect

�����ջ�

EURēCA! Summer Fellows

The EURēCA! Summer Fellows Program

How it works:

Stipend Levels (total):

Summer 2026 Application Close March 2026

Prepare Your Application

Application Information

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship FAQ

How it Works

Professional Development Training

Application Components

Mentoring Plan

Regulatory Bodies

Fellowship Terms

Information

EURēCA! Summer Fellowship Recipients

2025 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

2024 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

2023 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

2022 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

2021 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

2020 EURēCA! Summer Fellows

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