Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

9 Winners Selected Among Record 66 Entries in Falk Student Research Celebration

Monday, April 18, 2022, By Matt Michael
Share
Falk College of Sport and Human DynamicsResearch and Creativestudent research

With a record 66 poster submissions, picking the winners of the sixth annual Falk Student Research Celebration was more difficult than ever.

“I have to thank the (Research Celebration) committee–that was a tough job to decide,” says Sara Vasilenko, the committee chair and an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science. “The incredible participation shows the vitality of the research that’s being done at Falk.”

Held virtually March 29, the Research Celebration highlighted students’ research collaborations with their faculty mentors. Undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students who are enrolled in a Falk degree, minor or CAS (Certificate of Advanced Study) submitted electronic posters of completed or in-progress empirical, exploratory, policy analytic, systematic review, or hypothesis-driving research projects using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods for display.

2022 Falk Student Research Celebration

Graduate student Abigail Picinich (right) submitted one of the winning posters for this year’s Falk Student Research Celebration. She’s standing in front of her poster with faculty mentor Sara Vasilenko.

The committee selected nine winners—three each in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral categories (the winners are listed at the end of this story). Kathryn Gratien, research operations specialist in the Falk College Research Center and a member of the Research Celebration committee, says the winning posters are displayed on the third floor of White Hall in the Falk Complex, across from the Research Center (Room 344).

“Congratulations to all the students and faculty mentors for an outstanding virtual display of research projects,” Gratien says. “We are so excited that the interest and participation in the Falk Student Research Celebration keeps growing each year and thank you to all the students and their mentors for their hard work and high-quality poster submissions.”

The posters were judged by the Research Celebration committee, which is comprised of faculty and staff. Faculty mentors who are on the committee did not participate in rating their students’ posters.

“I want to thank all of the faculty members who were involved in mentoring the students,” Vasilenko says. “There’s so much great research happening at Falk involving students, and that’s something the faculty should be really proud of.”

2022 Falk Research Celebration Winners

Undergraduate Student Poster Winners

  • Accumulative Effects of Novel Biomarkers on Identification of Individuals at Increased Risk for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D)

Names: Nathan Redmond, Jared Rosenberg and Professor Joon Young Kim

Program/Major: Health and Exercise Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Joon Young Kim

2022 Falk Student Research Celebration

The poster from Samantha Jezak (left) and Olivia Templeton was selected as one of the three winners for undergraduate students. Their faculty mentor is Jessica Garay.

  • The Effect of a 3-month Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diet Intervention on Diet Quality

Names: Olivia Templeton and Samantha Jezak

Program/Major: Nutrition Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Jessica Garay 

  • Association between Cognitive Function and Metabolic Syndrome in US Firefighters: Does Metabolic Syndrome (MetSyn) Matter?

Names: Sewina Yu, Professor Joon Young Kim and Myong-Won Seo

Program/Major: Health and Exercise Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Joon Young Kim

Graduate Student Poster Winners

  • Risks and Protective Factors for Veterans’ PTSD, Mental Well-being, and Substance use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Names: Jacqueline Allen, Professor Xiafei Wang and Professor Ken Marfilius

Program/Major: Social Work

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Ken Marfilius 

  • Interparental Conflict in Early Childhood as a Predictor of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety

Name: Abigail Picinich

Program/Major: Human Development and Family Studies

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Sara Vasilenko 

  • Paternal Obesity and Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on Offspring Metabolic Health

Names: Akriti Shrestha, Mariana Perez Lugo and Professor Latha Ramalingam

Program/Major: Nutrition Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Latha Ramalingam

 Doctoral Student Poster Winners 

  • Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Healthy Young Adults With and Without History of COVID-19

Names: Burak Cilhoroz, Sydney Brackett, Leah Rozumov, Sophia Luchs, Zachary Greely and Professor Kevin Heffernan

Program/Major: Exercise Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Kevin Heffernan 

  • Examining Cardiometabolic Disease Risk in Normal Weight (NW) and Overweight/Obese (OB) Individuals: Results from 2017-2020 NHANES

Names: Lindsey Clark, Myong-Won Seo and Professor Joon Young Kim

Program/Major: Exercise Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Joon Young Kim 

  • The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Cardiorespiratory Function

Names: Andrew Heckel, Danielle Arcidiacono, Kailee Coonan, Jacob DeBlois, Alaina Glasgow and Professor Kevin Heffernan

Program/Major: Exercise Science

Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Kevin Heffernan

About the Falk College Research Center

The Falk College Research Center promotes a robust, collaborative research community in which students play an active role. At Falk, graduate and undergraduate students have the opportunity to work directly with faculty to collect data, analyze findings and draw conclusions on relevant topics surrounding public health, food studies, nutrition, sport management, human development and family science, social work, exercise science, and marriage and family therapy.

  • Author

Matt Michael

  • Recent
  • DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
    Friday, June 6, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In Campus & Community

DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is thrilled to announce that it has achieved accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the leading authority for campus public safety. Fewer than 100 agencies have earned this distinctive…

Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members

Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad welcomed 34 graduates of the Class of 2025 as new members of the Founders Circle. They were selected in recognition of launching or leading ventures at the University while students, as well as contributing to…

Neal Powless Inducted Into American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame

You could say that lacrosse is in Neal Powless’s blood. Powless G’08, the University ombuds, is a member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan. He is the son, grandson and brother of legendary lacrosse players. Powless picked up a lacrosse…

The Milton Legacy: Romance, Success and Giving Back

Growing up, Stacey Milton Leal ’75 and Chris Milton heard countless stories about how Syracuse University brought their parents together in what would turn out to be a fairy tale romance with a happy forever ending. So it was no…

Syracuse University Libraries’ Information Literacy Scholars Produce Information Literacy Collab Journal

Earlier this month, Syracuse University Libraries’ Information Literacy Scholars published their first open access information literacy journal, Information Literacy Collab (ILC). It is available on SURFACE, the University’s open access institutional repository. ILC is a diamond open-access publication by and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.