This research has been supported by Elon’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP), including Grants-in-Aid support and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) funds that supported the work of Charlotte Dagli ’25, Ryder Hutchinson ’28 and Alice Efremov ’26, all of whom are co-authors on the research publication. Travel assistance for the conference was also provided by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Biology Department Gift Fund.

Lab attendees included Ryder Hutchinson ’28, Alice Efremov ’26, Alex Roberts ’27, Kalialani Choate ’28 and Zach Stein ’29. In addition to attending conference sessions and supporting the lab’s presentation, the trip served as the group’s first laboratory retreat, giving students an opportunity to strengthen connections as a research team through shared meals, informal mentoring and a visit to the Georgia Aquarium before returning to North Carolina.

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For Ryder Hutchinson ’28, impactful research was not something to be completed towards the end of his college experience. The nursing student began research on how to fight various cancers with different viruses after only his first semester at Elon.

“We use a type of virus that does a really good job at not killing your healthy cells but does a really good job at killing cancer cells,” Hutchinson said. “They use this technique at clinical trials right now for common cancers such as breast and colon cancer in combination with chemotherapy drugs. But my big question was: what about the other cancers?”

Hutchinson began this research with Efrain Rivera-Serrano, assistant professor of biology. While taking his cell biology course, Hutchinson began shadowing Rivera-Serrano weekly in the lab as he worked with other students on research projects. Hutchinson was then accepted by Rivera-Serrano as a research student, in addition to his acceptance into Elon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, where he stayed on campus over the summer of 2025 with a grant to continue research on the project.

Given his grandmother’s diagnosis of leukemia, Hutchinson was initially interested in exploring this specific type of cancer. However, given the difficulty in testing certain types of cancers, the pair compromised and used existing research and expanded upon it with Hutchinson’s desire to help cancer patients.

“It was a different way of using what he knows, with what I know, and making a really cool research project out of it,” Hutchinson said.

When describing the various types of viral strings, Hutchinson compared them to “personalities,” for the layman viewer of his project to understand.

“This one virus can have many different strings, or as I like to say, many different personalities,” Hutchinson said. “And they’re using a specific string or specific personality in clinical trials, but there’s so many more out there. So, I did testing on 35 different strings and found that within the rare cancers I tested on, the one I found is different than the one in clinical trials, and it shows to be better at killing than the one’s they’re currently using.”

During SURF Day on April 28, all other campus activities are suspended so the Elon community can come together around students’ creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five Elon Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that Elon graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

After he presents at SURF, Hutchinson plans on conducting more specific research to the field of nursing with chemotherapy patients at Cone Health hospital that align more closely with his goal of a profession in nursing.

In addition to his research project, he is in the process of receiving feedback for two professional articles: one of which he is publishing himself, and another in which he is the co-author.

“I have always wanted to have a purpose,” Hutchinson said. “I wanted to make an impact, and I feel like I’m slowly doing that, or headed in the right direction of making a difference or impact on people’s lives.”

Elon students’ presentations spanned both the ages and the globe, with presentations ranging in focus from ancient Maya society to generative AI’s role in online public relations discourse, and spanning both the experiences of Syrian refugees and the indigenous politics of Peru.

The setting in Richmond offered a unique opportunity for mentor/mentee pair Amanda Kleintop, assistant professor of history, and Athena Vizuete ’26, a history major from Carrboro, North Carolina, who study Civil War history. In addition to presenting, they built in time to tour local historical sites that inform their research projects.

“It was amazing to see the quality of Elon’s undergraduate research in our students’ presentations,” said Kleintop. “I was very proud of Athena, who presented on her research on Reconstruction in North Carolina that was threeyears in the making! Plus, there nothing like visiting Richmond as a Civil War and Reconstruction scholar!”

“NCUR is a wonderful opportunity,” Vizuete said. “I am so happy I got to present my research on a national scale and attend so many fascinating presentations by my fellow students.”

Senior Professional Writing and Rhetoric major Caden Halberg is mentored by Travis Maynard and presented his work entitled, “The Whey Forward: Successfully Advocating for the Galactosemia Community.”

“Presenting at NCUR allowed me to raise awareness about rare disease advocacy while connecting with students across disciplines, many of whom had never encountered this topic befor,” said Halberg.

Several students presented their work from the School of Communications. Senior strategic communications and public policy major Teresa Cao is mentored by Shanetta Pendleton, and presented her project entitled, “Sorry, Not Sorry: Exploring Communication Patterns and Perceived Authenticity of Influencer Apologies on Social Media.”

“NCUR was great because I loved being able to see the range of students and how the chose to pursue their interests,” said Cao. “It reinforced to me how there’s always something to learn or dig deeper into, and in my case, that was influencer apology videos. Pop culture is often a mirror to what’s happening in society on a broader scale, so I loved being able to share my insights on something that’s seemingly very superficial. It was also really encouraging to be around students from other disciplines since I got to hear their perspectives on my research, what they admired, and advice on how they’d do things differently.”

Students were accompanied by faculty members Eric Hall, Justin Clar, CJ Fleming, Jen Hamel, Amanda Kleintop and Judy Folmar. Folmar presented two mentor-led sessions accompanied by her research students in which they shared their research process with other student-mentor pairs.

NCUR was first held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1987 and Elon students have been attending the conference since 1993. Elon typically has more than 40 students present at NCUR each year. Next year’s conference will be held April 12-14, 2027 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Butterbach’s path to research started in a cell biology course taught by Assistant Professor of Biology Efrain Rivera-Serrano, where she consistently asked questions and engaged deeply with the material. This curiosity led her to join the interdisciplinary project.

“It was a very ‘right place, right time’ circumstance,” Butterbach said. “This research was exactly the sort of thing I was looking to get involved in.”

Through her Lumen Prize, Butterbach is working alongside two faculty mentors from different fields of study, Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu and Rivera-Serrano, to study viral myocarditis, or heart inflammation, that occurs during the infection of many viruses. Her research is focused on examining the pathways that lead to excessive inflammation and how inflammation can be reduced without compromising the immune system’s ability to clear the virus.

“My research focuses on creating math out of biological reactions,” Butterbach said. “Ultimately, the goal is to create a framework that helps us better understand and predict how cardiac inflammation progresses.”

Viral myocarditis occurs when inflammation damages heart tissue, sometimes leading to long-term complications or sudden cardiac failure, particularly in young, active individuals. Although inflammation is a natural immune response, Butterbach’s research is exploring what causes that response to become excessive.

Butterbach uses mathematical modeling to integrate biology and immunology into a modeling framework to identify factors that most strongly drive harmful inflammation, revealing pathways that could be therapeutically targeted.

“It’s a balancing act to use equations to model what’s happening,” Butterbach said. “If the model is too simple then it is not realistic to the human heart, but if the model is too complex, it becomes difficult to work with.”

Taking an interdisciplinary approach

This research project’s strength lies in its collaboration and intersection between mathematics, biology and engineering. Mathematics offers the language and tools to create the models, while biology provides the foundation for understanding the disease. Engineering ties it together through design, problem-solving and a systems-level mindset.

“This project works precisely because it sits at the intersection of all three areas,” Rivera-Serrano said. “Elise is especially well suited for this work because she is genuinely interested in connecting these disciplines rather than treating them as separate silos.”

Ryu echoed this statement on Butterbach’s interdisciplinary approach.

“Elise approaches research with a rare combination of intellectual curiosity, maturity and persistence, and she is genuinely committed to understanding how mathematics and biology inform one another,” Ryu said. “Her ability to engage across disciplines and contribute thoughtfully at that intersection is what makes her such a strong and promising researcher.”

Butterbach, Rivera-Serrano and Ryu meet weekly to refine their model, troubleshoot challenges and discuss literature.

“The steady back-and-forth is one of the strengths of the project,” Rivera-Serrano said.

For Butterbach, working across disciplines has shaped how she approaches problems.

“I’ve always found that when different disciplines collide, it actually becomes easier to understand complex concepts,” Butterbach said. “Working across engineering, mathematics and virology is fascinating because each discipline approaches the same problem in a completely different way. Learning to think adaptively across disciplines and translate between them has been one of the most valuable parts of this experience.”

Butterbach is motivated by the possibility of using interdisciplinary research to better understand human disease.

“The interdisciplinary nature and the way the team bring together mathematics, biology and engineering is not always easy to achieve, but Elise has embraced it fully and become an essential part of that process,” Ryu said.

Collaborating on this research has been rewarding not only for Butterbach, but for her mentors as well.

“Working with Elise has been incredibly rewarding,” Rivera-Serrano said. “She approaches a difficult project that requires her to be conversant in multiple disciplines with curiosity, maturity and persistence.”

One takeaway she learned from working in disciplines outside of her major is that discoveries in one field almost always influence others.

“By learning how to think like a biologist, a mathematician and a physicist, I have become much more comfortable applying ideas from one subject to another, even when they seem unrelated at first.”

She also values the work with her two mentors, Rivera-Serrano and Ryu, as they have helped her grow as a researcher.

“Dr. E spends a lot of time looking for resources that I can use to calculate the values of different parameters,” Butterbach said. “Similarly, Dr. Ryu works tirelessly to not just improve my mathematical skills but also teaches me how to see mathematical theory working in the real world. They’re not just dedicated to this project; they’re also thinking about what comes next for me.”

Expanding her research

Butterbach was recently selected for a competitive Physical, Engineering and Biology Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Yale University, focused on physics, engineering and biology. Butterbach hopes to expand her research on the cardiovascular system.

“Elise’s acceptance is especially meaningful because it reflects national-level recognition of her promise as an undergraduate researcher in an interdisciplinary space,” Rivera-Serrano said.

For Butterbach, the opportunity was surprising and motivating.

“I tried not to set any grand expectations for myself, so when I received the email I was genuinely surprised to be selected for the program,” Butterbach said. “It felt incredibly validating of the hard work and dedication I’ve put into my studies.”

At Yale, the program, like her research, is interdisciplinary covering biology, physics and engineering. She will expand her experience in computational and biological modeling while working alongside researchers.

“To me, this program represents the opening of new doors,” Butterbach said. “It’s an opportunity to continue growing as a researcher, meet people working at the forefront of interdisciplinary science and explore new directions that I may not have encountered otherwise.”

Ìętoo often poisons the air we breathe as we think about climate change. This is particularly true when it comes to understanding theÌęÌęby theÌęU.S.ÌęEnvironmental Protection Agency to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding established in 2009.

Climate regulation might lose its teeth due to the EPA’s decision, but politically viable climate solutions remain possible.

Many Democrats see climate change as an existential threat. To them, the recent actions of the EPA confirm their pre-existing belief that Republicans actively deny science, and that under Team Trump theÌęUnited StatesÌęis powerless to fight climate change.

Meanwhile, many Republicans are yawning over breakfast. The day after the endangerment finding was repealed, the top headlines atÌęfoxnews.comÌędescribed various criminal investigations, gerrymandering by Democrats, and a tantalizing story about a NASCAR driver. The EPA story was nowhere to be found.

Lawyers on both sides are steeling themselves for a bitter fight over the science behind the endangerment finding. Lawyers who chant “We Love Trump” are correct that CO2Ìęis not a local pollutant and that breathing it in does not endanger anyone. Lawyers who chant “We Hate Trump” are nevertheless correct that climate change has negative effects on the health of Americans, which means CO2Ìęcan be considered aÌęglobalÌępollutant.

It remains unclear who will win the legal fight, but to some extent these legal battles are a sideshow. What we really need in our toxic political environment is for partisans to learn from each other.

Republicans need to question their assumption that climate change is a trivial issue. PresidentÌęDonaldÌęTrump is correct that climate regulations sometimes present infuriating problems for business, and he is amazing at controlling the media narrative. But Trump is also an old man who will become irrelevant within just a few years. Just like the nation’s debt, climate change is an ongoing problem, and forward-thinking Republicans cannot dodge the issue forever.

If Democrats stopped treating Republicans as enemies, then conservatives might care more about the climate concerns of liberals.Ìę. Younger Republicans know this, and they take the issue much more seriously than their elder colleagues.

Just as the Democratic Party became less relevant by ignoring border problems, the Republican Party will become less relevant if they continue to ignore the importance of climate solutions. In the long run, anyone who agrees with Trump that burning lots of fossil fuels is our best long-term strategy will likely become ostracized in global, business, and even political circles.

Democrats need to question their assumption that the loss of EPA climate regulation means all is lost.Ìę. Our contribution is not trivial, but the world does not depend exclusively on the US to fix climate problems. Furthermore,Ìę, including under Trump’s first term.

Even under Trump 2.0,Ìę. The rest of the planet is also onboard. Just last year, for example,ÌęÌę– roughly enough to power the entire East Coast.

Democrats also need to learn thatÌę, not by their hatred of science.

A more productive strategy for climate-motivated Democrats would be to seek climate solutions that rely on markets rather than regulation and minimize the role of the federal government.Ìę For example,Ìę.Ìę.

Ultimately, EPA regulation is just one of many tools that belongs in a modern environmental toolkit. In a divided society, the most sustainable climate solutions will be tolerable to both Democrats and Republicans.

Community-based learning (CBL) gives students opportunities to address real-world challenges by partnering with local community organizations. Through their experience leading a community-engaged unit in environmental studies, Merricks and Bitting recognized that little research directly examines how CBL affects students from historically underrepresented STEM backgrounds (e.g., women, students of color, and first-generation college students).

Working with Akman, an expert in systematic reviews, the team analyzed existing research on whether CBL experiences influence students’ pursuit of STEM majors or minors, their career intentions, and their sense of belonging in STEM fields. From more than 500 publications published between 1999 and 2024, the authors identified nine studies that met the criteria for inclusion.

Their analysis revealed a major gap in the literature. Few studies systematically examined the impact of CBL pedagogies in STEM. Most did not compare CBL with other teaching approaches, making it difficult to draw strong conclusions about its effectiveness. In addition, only a small number of studies analyzed outcomes across demographic groups such as race/ethnicity, first-generation status, or gender. The authors conclude that more rigorous research is needed, including studies that compare CBL with other pedagogies and systematically examine outcomes across different student populations.

Since his 2023 arrival at Elon, Kelly has hosted a ‘listening tour’ and spent time with each department to hear directly from faculty and staff about what they value. Kelly said that common themes soon emerged from those conversations and the new statement reflects dozens of discussions.

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences new vision statement reads: “The Heart of an Elon Education: Ignite Curiosity, Engage Challenges, Transform Worlds.”

The mission statement then declares:

“Upholding the centrality of the liberal arts, we explore and apply disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge for inquiry, creativity, discovery and problem solving in a complex and changing world.”

The statement lists core values that include accessibility, belonging, critical thinking, diversity, equity and inclusion, integrity, intellectual curiosity, problem-posing and respect for human dignity.

Community Reflections

• “There were several opportunities for different groups, departments, branches, interdisciplinary programs, to discuss versions on the table. It was in those conversations where we might learn how a word or phrase was heard within and across disciplines; where we found convergence, deeper awareness, and respect. The both-and of this process modeled what we value and genuinely captures our shared identity as Elon College.” – Caroline Ketcham, associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of exercise science
• “It was always important to us that this wasn’t a process where faculty were just asked to weigh in at the end, after the real decisions had already been made. From start to finish, it was grounded in listening to what faculty across the college say we do well and what values they believe guide our shared work. Our task wasn’t to invent a mission, vision and values, but to clearly articulate what faculty are already living and leading with. I think that’s why faculty can so readily see themselves and their departments represented in the final statements.” – David Buck, associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and an associate professor of psychology
• “Having shared goals and articulated values helps everyone in the college feel connected as a community, value each other’s work and prioritize our energies on initiatives that matter to us.” – Shannon Duvall, interim associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of computer science
• “I appreciated the collaborative nature of it all, not just between the dean’s office and department chairs, but also extending to faculty members across Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. It really did involve all of us. What particularly stood out to me were the conversations in our chairs’ meetings with the dean where we came to agreements on core values. It’s inspiring to see that distinctly different types of disciplines uphold the same core values.” – Joel Karty, chair of the Department of Chemistry and 51±ŹÁÏÍű’s Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of chemistry
• “I appreciated being part of a process that felt genuinely collaborative. Our participation was not merely symbolic. It felt meaningful, and I experienced the dean’s office as truly listening. The process itself was also inspirational, and I feel bolstered in leading my own department through similar work. It was powerful to see such a broad, collective effort take shape into something tangible.” – Samantha DiRosa, chair of the Department of Art and a professor of art and environmental studies
• “The process of creating a new vision statement, mission statement and core values for Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences was both thoughtful and deeply collaborative. Over many months, department chairs worked together to reflect on what makes us distinctive and how best to express those qualities in guiding statements. The process intentionally sought input from across departments, ensuring that everyone in the college had the opportunity to contribute their perspectives. Personally, the time spent reflecting with fellow chairs on what makes each of our departments special fostered a deeper sense of shared purpose and collective commitment.” – Carrie Eaves, chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Policy and associate professor of political science and public policy

Kelly said he was pleased the final language resonated with the faculty in the college.

“The true measure of a successful attempt to lead a group or an organization towards a renewed vision, mission and core values is whether the words and sentiments ‘sound like us’,” he said. “When I heard that some faculty believed my presentation of our vision, mission and core values at our spring faculty meeting ‘sound like us,’ I knew that our work together in small and large group settings was a huge success. It means that stakeholders were heard and that the words resonate so much so that the tune or melody is familiar. The vision, mission and core values reflect truly who we are and where we are going with much intention.”

Led by Parker and Gammon, the team created a 100-person simulation to help students re-trace the footsteps of ancient human populations as they migrated within and out of Africa, eventually becoming the indigenous populations around the world. Using a large chalk-drawn map, students “walk the path” used by humans over the past 100,000 years, while tracking changes in DNA sequences relative to modern human DNA. By the end of the simulation, students can use genetic evidence to identify major migration routes of humans.

In addition, the simulation offers opportunities to learn the difference between genetic features that relate to biological traits (e.g., genes that determine traits like blood type or eye color), and those that do not (e.g., ancestry-informative markers or AIMs). Finally, instructors guide students through reflective prompts and discussion about the diversity of modern human populations and race as a social construct.

The published case study provides the materials needed to recreate the simulation, including a customized card deck representing snapshots of the geographic movements and genetic changes of human populations over the last 100,000 years, and detailed teaching notes to support the accurate teaching of these scientific concepts.

“” is available for download now. Viewers can access the student-facing case study materials for free, but membership is required to access the teaching materials.

“There’s a continuum from the very beginning, and we are a part of it,” Touchette said. “And we have a role that will now influence the future of this direction of the planet.”

The Distinguished Scholar Award is given to Elon faculty members recognized by the Elon community and the larger community in their discipline for excellence in scholarship. Touchette earned the award in Spring 2025.

In the hour-long lecture, Touchette discussed Earth’s many eras, stretching from the Big Bang all the way to the modern-day Anthropocene, or human-dominated era, that we are currently living in. He described the conditions, species and eventual mass extinctions of each period, placing emphasis on how climate change has the power to completely alter life on Earth.Ìę “We see this pattern a lot,” Touchette said. “You change the climate, you’re going to lose species.”

Touchette joined Elon’s faculty in 2001 and has made many contributions to ecological science. With the goal of discovering how plant communities react to stressors such as drought, pollution, salinity and climate change, he has created a research program that combines fieldwork, laboratory science and environmental policy. Besides advancing ecological science, this program has also framed conservation practices and fostered student research.

During the lecture, Touchette explained his research on dodder, a parasitic plant that looks for a host to latch onto when it germinates. He and his team of student researchers found that dodder only chooses to parasitize plants that are most beneficial to it. These findings were corroborated by the results of other research projects, affirming the plant’s ability to choose and control its own host.

“It’s just a remarkable creature in terms of what it can do,” Touchette said.

Besides revealing the amazing aspects of Earth’s species, Touchette’s research has brought up a question: what can humans do to protect them from extinction?

“Climate change is one of the bigger risks we have for biodiversity,” Touchette said. “This is one of the number one concerns scientists have in terms of life on this planet.”

Touchette explained that extinction is a normal process, with 10 species naturally disappearing from our planet each year. Because of natural speciation rates, however, the Earth Ìęalso gains 10 species each year, effectively replacing the lost. Humans have completely upset this balance, causing Earth to lose between 27,000 and 30,000 species each year instead of just 10.

“80 species a day,” Touchette said.“Four species have disappeared while I’m up here talking to you about species disappearing. That’s tragic.”

He also highlighted that climate change is not just impacting plants and animals, but humans as well. Statistics from his research reveal that 2 billion people on Earth do not have access to clean drinking water, and that 1,000 children under the age of 5 die each day from consuming contaminated water.

“More people die each year from unsafe drinking water than all other forms of human violence, including war,” Touchette said.

Other concerns relate to air pollution. According to Touchette, 8.1 million people die prematurely from inhaling polluted air, making it a more ruthless killer than tobacco.

When talking about the value of plants, the biology professor brought up the important point that many of our medicines are derived from their properties.

“We have to recognize that 25% of all medicines come directly from plants. Fifty percent of our medicines have at least some compound that has been dried from plants,” Touchette said. “And that’s in developed countries. In countries that are developing, 80% of people use plants for medicine.”

Touchette concluded his Distinguished Scholar Lecture with an inspiring call to action. Besides explaining the importance of passing legislation that will reduce emissions, protect endangered species and get people closer to relying on cleaner energy sources, he left listeners with a few questions to think about.

“How can we coexist with other living creatures? How can we manage a planet for the betterment of future generations and the natural environment?” Touchette asked the audience. “And finally, how can we preserve these wonderful creatures, these arrangements of stardust, that began when the universe was started?”

Touchette earned the Distinguished Scholar Award,ÌęElon’s top faculty research award, in Spring 2025,Ìęacknowledging the “scope, impact and continuity” of his scholarship.ÌęIn hisÌęDistinguishedÌęScholarÌęLecture, Touchette will share the main themes from his research findings and the vital role of collaboration with both colleagues and students that have helped shape his research career.

His recommendations for the Distinguished Scholar Award came from colleagues at institutions across North Carolina, including North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Over more than two decades, Touchette has developed a research program that bridges fieldwork, laboratory science, and environmental policy—exploring how plant communities respond to stressors like drought, pollution, salinity, and climate change. His work has not only advanced ecological science, but also shaped conservation practices and mentored a generation of student researchers. He will share insights from this rich body of scholarship and discuss how the study of aquatic and wetland plants can inform broader environmental resilience in a changing world.

Touchette, who joined Elon’s faculty in 2001, has authored or coauthored 33 peer-reviewed scientific journal publications, 10 book chapters and proceedings, 20 technical reports, along with more than 75 professional presentations, seminars and guest lectures. Of these presentations, 23 included published abstracts at regional, national and international conferences. He has also received 20 external research grants and contracts, along with 14 education grants.