Five Villanova University Undergraduates Participate in Fifth Annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium
From left to right: Patrick Morin, Corey McCall, Brianna Bean, Claire Whitesell and Claire Donnelly represnted Villanova University at the BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 14.
VILLANOVA, Pa. (March 17, 2026)—Five Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellows (VURF) represented the University at the fifth annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 14, with one researcher—Corey McCall ’27 CLAS—earning first-place recognition in the Social Sciences, Humanities and Business category. The symposium, which took place at Madison Square Garden, is held ahead of the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Championship. It features undergraduate researchers from all 11 BIG EAST institutions, presenting projects across a wide range of disciplines.
“Undergraduate research opportunities are formative experiences for students. They center curiosity, innovation and creativity, enhance critical thinking, develop writing and oratory skills, and help forge important, career-building relationships,” said Catherine Stecyk, Director of the Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF). “The impact of programs like VURF and other CRF-sponsored research initiatives is evidenced in the accomplishments of students like Corey, Claire, Brianna, Claire and Patrick, who will go on to innovate, pursue pressing challenges and make important contributions to their fields.”
A total of 55 undergraduate research teams—five from each BIG EAST school—presented their work in a poster session competition. Each team consisted of one or two students, who were evaluated on multiple criteria including visual content, clarity of introduction and results, discussion of findings, presentation style and responses to questions.
Corey McCall won first-place recognition for his presentation on alcohol consumption and anxiety-like behavior in mice.
Villanova’s representatives were selected from the 2025 summer VURF cohort, which consisted of 47 undergraduate researchers using similar criteria to those employed at the BIG EAST competition. Five were invited to represent the University at the conference-wide event.
McCall’s award-winning presentation focused on how binge alcohol consumption in mice may contribute to anxiety-like behavior. Other Villanova projects looked at whether bilingual experience improves cognitive control, links between road salt pollution in watersheds and dissolved carbon levels, how parasitic infections can increase feeding rates of mudsnails and a mechanical treatment to earthworm hemoglobin which can sterilize it for medical use.
Below are the Villanova students who participated in the BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Symposium, along with their poster titles and faculty mentors.
Brianna Bean ’28 CLAS
Faculty Mentor: Steven Goldsmith, PhD (Geography and the Environment/College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Title: “Strong long-term relationship between chloride and dissolved organic carbon export in road salt-affected exurban and suburban watersheds”
Claire Donnelly ’27 CLAS
Faculty Mentor: Grant Berry, PhD (Psychological and Brain Sciences/College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Title: "Using Structural Equation Modeling to Understand the Relationship Between Bilingualism and Cognitive Control”
Corey McCall ’27 CLAS
Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Sachs, PhD (Psychological and Brain Sciences/College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Title: “Discovering How Alcohol Consumption alters Depression and Anxiety-like Behaviors in Mice”
Patrick Morin ’26 CLAS
Faculty Mentor: Shelby Ziegler, PhD (Biology/College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Title: "Geographic variation in parasite prevalence and its influence on feeding rates of the eastern mudsnail”
Claire Whitesell ’27 COE
Faculty Mentor: Jacob Elmer, PhD (Chemical and Biological Engineering/College of Engineering)
Title: “Improving Sterilization of a High-Molecular Weight Red Blood Cell Substitute (LtEc)”
About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu