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Faculty Mentors and Competitive Thesis Grants

In addition to being encouraged to apply for Thesis Grant Funding (which takes place during the semester one is enrolled in the HC 3900 course), The Honors College aims to provide high level mentorship and mentor support.  If you are an HC3900 student and seek information about Thesis Grants, please contact Dr. Susan Lynne Beckwith

Faculty Mentors listed in the following fields of study are not all inclusive to those available to our students.  You can find mentors in a variety of departments throughout Oakland University.  Mentors regularly conduct research and are always pursuing their passion for discovery.  Not all research is science related so please feel free to discuss your options with an Honors College Counselor.

The key areas The Honors College aims to provide their students are as follows:

  • Undergraduate research and advanced creative activities
  • Graduate School and career strategies
  • Leadership development in research, service and team building

As an undergraduate researcher, you are afforded assistance from the Michigan Center for Undergraduate Research (MCUR).  For more information on MCUR, please browse the link provided and or email:  mcur@oakland.edu.

Biological Sciences

Amy Banes-Berceli
banesber@oakland.edu
Hypertension and the renal and vascular complications of diabetes

Fabia Battistuzzi
battistu@oakland.edu
When and how species have evolved and investigate the connections between their genetic innovations and variations in environmental conditions

Rasul Chaudhry
chaudhry@oakland.edu
Embryonic stem cell development and differentiation - osteogenesis and neurogenesis; Tissue engineering; Regulation of gene expression; Metabolic pathways of hazardous chemicals; Environmental biotechnology and toxicology

Elizabeth Delorme-Axford
delormeaxford@oakland.edu
Molecular mechanisms regulating cellular autophagy

Vandre' Figueiredo
vcfigueiredo@oakland.edu

Mary Jamieson
mjamieson@oakland.edu
The effects of global environmental change on species interactions and biological diversity

Lan Jiang
jiang23@oakland.edu 

The regulation of tracheal gene expression and how tracheal-expressed genes control the complex cellular behaviors that result in the formation of a continuous tubular network

Shailesh Lal
lal@oakland.edu
A multidisciplinary approach in genomics, genetics and bioinformatics to study fundamental processes that impact gene expression in plants from a genome-wide perspective

Gerald Madlambayan
madlamba@oakland.edu
Define the integrated roles of different stem and progenitor cell populations in cancer initiation, progression and relapse

Raffel Thomas
raffel@oakland.edu
Understand how parasites influence the ecology and evolution of their hosts, and how ecological and anthropogenic factors affect parasite-host dynamics

Mi Hye Song
msong2@oakland.edu
The molecular and genetic mechanisms of centrosome assembly by applying biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, proteomics and quantitative imaging to the study of centrosome biology in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans model

Scott Tiegs
tiegs@oakland.edu
Use field-based experimental and observational approaches — usually in aquatic ecosystems — with the aim of better understanding how human activities impact aquatic ecosystems

Luis Villa-diaz
luisvilladiaz@oakland.edu
The self-renewal properties of hPSCs, which are influenced by the microenvironment in which they are cultured, in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM)

Satish Walia
walia@oakland.edu
Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and biodegradation of xenobiotics such as polychlorinated biphenyl, nitrotoluenes, and the mutagenic properties of their biodegradation products

Douglas Wendell
wendell@oakland.edu
Develop molecular markers for rapid-cycling Brassica rapa

Randal Westrick
rjwestrick@oakland.edu
Understanding and preventing the development of pathologic intravascular blood clot formation

Chemistry

Ferman Chavez
chavez@oakland.edu
Develop small molecule models for the active sites of these enzymes which will help to understand the role of various metals in this family and help to probe the mechanisms involved for these enzymes

Roman Dembinski
dembinsk@oakland.edu
The synthesis of analogs of natural products, particularly coordination complexes of nucleosides and nucleotides

Michael Sevilla
sevilla@oakalnd.edu
The chemistry of free radical species produced by the high energy irradiation of DNA by gamma irradiation and ion beams

Evan Trivedi
trivedi@oakland.edu
Light activation and near infrared light

Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

Sumit Dinda
sdinda@oakland.edu
Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

Constance Burke
caburke2@oakland.edu
Physician Assistant Science

Christina Lim
lim@oakland.edu
Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

Sara Rivard
sararivard@oakland.edu
Radiologic Technology

Elena Borrelli
eborrelli@oakland.edu
Physician Assistant Science

Christopher Davis
cdavis7@oakland.edu
Physician Assistant Science

Dale Telgenhoff
dtelgenhoff@oakland.edu
Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

William Van Dyke
wvandyke@oakland.edu
Radiologic Technology

Stephanie Mabry
srink@oakland.edu
Medical Laboratory Science

Communication and Journalism

Erin Meyers
emeyers@oakland.edu
Digital or “new” media technologies, most notably the Internet, and the audiences who engage with them

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Hoda Abdel-Aty-Zohdy
zohdyhsa@oakland.edu
Bio-technology with bio-inspired intelligent signal perception and processing (ISPP)

Jai Li
li4@oakland.edu
Statistical signal processing for biomedical imaging and communications, computer graphics, pattern recognition and algorithms

Engineering and Computer Science

Subramaniam Ganesan
ganesan@oakland.edu
Divisible load scheduling; condition based maintenance for military and manufacturing; real time DSP/multi-core systems for specific applications; agent based health monitoring

Khalid Mahmood
mahmood@oakland.edu
Open source speech and Video API in android platform; programming and GUI design

Gautam Singh
singh@oakland.edu
Information system modeling, management and efficient data retrieval; temporal database design for applications in manufacturing and process monitoring

Xia Wang
wang@oakland.edu
Fuel cell and battery modeling and testing, biomass pellets optimization, turbulent boundary layers with separation, forced convection turbulent boundary layers

Peng Zhao
pengzhao@oakland.edu
Combustion and reacting flows, internal combustion engines, energy conversion, environmental science

Environmental Health and Safety

Richard Olawoyin
olawoyin@oakland.edu
Human Health Exposure Risk Assessment, NanoEHS (nanotechnology), Fire Protection Engineering, Global Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Hazard Management in Nuclear Safety

Exercise Science

Myung Choi
choi@oakland.edu
Regulation of local and whole body lipid metabolism in sedentary overweight and obese humans before and after exercise training and nutritional intervention

Eye Research Institute

Frank Giblin
giblin@oakland.edu
The possible role of oxidative and free radical processes in the formation of nuclear cataract, resulting in blindness, along with the unusually active antioxidant mechanisms present in the epithelium of the lens that help to keep the tissue transparent

Dao-Qi Zhang
zhang@oakland.edu
The regulation of dopamine release in the vertebrate retina, a simple and accessible model of the CNS

Health Sciences

Jennifer Lucarelli
lucarell@oakland.edu
Prevention and improvement of chronic diseases in children, adolescents and adults in community-based settings

Melissa Reznar
reznar@oakland.edu
Behavioral nutrition, lifestyle interventions food environment, college health

Nursing

Physical Therapy

Sara Arena
arena@oakland.edu
Cardiopulmonary, blood pressure, health promotion and wellness, home care

Deborah Doherty
doherty@oakland.edu Oncology rehabilitation; Cultural competency

Melodie Kondratek
mdkondra@oakland.edu
Orthopedics: intervention techniques for spinal conditions; Pediatrics: the use of orthopedic manual therapy techniques in the treatment of children

Kristine Thompson
kathomps@oakland.edu
Professional issues, professional development

Physics

Ilias Cholis
cholis@oakland.edu
Theoretical high-energy astrophysics and on astroparticle physics with a significant focus on indirect dark matter searches. Many questions in these fields are at the intersection of astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics.

Brad Roth
roth@oakland.edu
Biological physics and computational physics: Electrical stimulation of cardiac tissue

Steffan Puwal
smpuwal2@oakland.edu
Biophysical methods in heart defibrillation

Yang Xia
xia@oakland.edu
Multidisciplinary microscopic imaging study of articular cartilage

Psychology

Mark Manning
markmanning@oakland.edu
Social psychological examinations of race, racism and health behavior, and their downstream effect on racial health disparities.examine the interaction between psychological stress, anxiety, and health

Michele Purdie
parkhill@oakland.edu
Predictors and consequences of sexual assault perpetration and victimization, with a particular emphasis on childhood trauma, substance use, and emotion regulation

Todd Shackelford
shackelf@oakland.edu
Human sexual psychology and behavior with special focus on sexual conflict between men and women

Kanako Taku
taku@oakland.edu
The construct of posttraumatic growth (PTG), personal growth experienced as a result of the struggle with major life crises or traumatic events

Jennifer Vonk
vonk@oakland.edu
Cognitive continuities and discontinuities between humans and both closely and distantly related species

Lisa Welling
welling@oakland.edu
Hormonal and psychological sources of individual differences in human mate preferences and behavior

Virgil Zeigler-Hill
zeiglerh@oakland.edu
Self-esteem, narcissism, cognitive representations of the self, and interpersonal relationships

Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice

Jon Carroll
jwcarroll@oakland.edu
Cultural transmission, social interaction and integration, political and economic organization, social science applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and computer modeling and simulation, archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands of North America

Suzanne Spencer-Wood
spencerw@oakland.edu
Feminist theory in anthropology and archaeology, nonlinear systems theory, archaeological theory and method, feminist historical archaeology, historical archaeology of class, ethnicity, market access and settlement, industrial archaeology and cultural resource management