Research Ambassadors

The OUR Research Ambassador team is a group of undergraduate students who have their own experience in undergraduate research and a passion for promoting undergraduate research at The University of Alabama.

The Research Ambassadors represent a variety of research disciplines and academic backgrounds, ranging from STEM to social sciences to humanities and fine arts, and they help to connect undergraduate students to research opportunities both on and off campus.  

What Do OUR Research Ambassadors Do?

• One-on-one advising with students to help students find research opportunities and develop individualized research plans.
• Promote undergraduate research involvement and opportunities.
• Visit classes, clubs, and other organizations to discuss research opportunities. 
• Participate in all events sponsored by the Office for Undergraduate Research

Reina Bell

Las Vegas, NV

Research & Academic Interests: Morphology, Macroevolution, Transdisciplinary Research, Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Participatory Action Research

Mentors: Dr. Edward Burress, Dr. Darren Surman

Zach Blincoe

Louisville, KY

Research & Academic Interests: Economics, Geopolitical Risk

Mentor: Dr. Hasan Isomitdinov

Kylie Buchanan

Lake Toxaway, NC

Research & Academic Interests: Biology, Infectious Diseases, Cancer, Immunology

Mentor: Dr. John Victor Napoleon

Katy Butler

Oakwood, OH

Research & Academic Interests: Chemistry, Biophysics/Structural Biology, Machine Learning

Mentors: Dr. Małgorzata Makoś, Dr. Sergei Gleyzer

Patrick Byrd

Atmore, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Ecology, Hydrology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics

Mentors: Dr. Julia Cherry, Dr. Nate Jones

Emily Centamore

Madison, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Particle Physics, Machine Learning, Mathematics

Mentor: Dr. Sergei Gleyzer

Emma Coley

Trussville, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Criminology, Psychology

Mentors: Dr. Michael Barton, Dr. Randall Salekin

Freya Cordell

Knoxville, TN

Research & Academic Interests: Geology, Legal & Political Philosophy, Constitutional & Administrative Law

Mentor: Dr. Fred Andrus

Nick Curry

Dallas, TX

Research & Academic Interests: Kinesiology, Exercise Science, Pre-Med

Mentor: Dr. Laura Reed

Diana Desroches

Houston, TX

Research & Academic Interests: Finance, Accounting, Psychology

Mentor: Dr. Buvaneshwaren Venugopal

Arman Dolatabadi

Birmingham, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Linguistics, Foreign Languages & Literature, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Bryan Koronkiewicz

Zach Goldman

Tampa Bay, FL

Research & Academic Interests: Physics, Biophysics, Neuroscience, Pre-Med

Mentor: Dr. Atulya Iyengar

Zach Griffith

Pittsburgh, PA

Research & Academic Interests: Atmospheric Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Zhongyang Wang

Hari Gunda

Montgomery, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Sustainable Development, Environmental Economics

Mentor: Dr. Michael Price

Cheryl Harden

Tuskegee, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Public Health and Medicine

Mentors: Dr. Nathan Culmer, Dr. Todd Smith

Allison John

Idaho Falls, ID

Research & Academic Interests: Stream Science, Genetics, Museums

Mentors: Dr. Arial Shogren, Dr. Laura K. Reed, Dr. Brandon Thompson

Raeed Kabir

Biloxi, MS

Research & Academic Interests: Economics, Mathematics, Policy

Mentor: Dr. Michael Price

Piper Larkin

Huntsville, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Biology, Cancer, Environmental Epidemiology, Pre-Med

Mentor: Dr. Shreyas Rao

Daniel Le

Murfreesboro, TN

Research & Academic Interests: Nutrition, Neuroscience, Anthropology

Mentors: Dr. Han-A Park, Dr. Holly Horan

Hayeon Lee

Lexington, SC

Research & Academic Interests: Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Dawen Li

Eli Moore

Hartselle, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Political Science, Religion, Policy

Mentor: Dr. Amanda Edgell

Megan Netzelman

Argyle, TX

Research & Academic Interests: Biology, Toxicology

Mentor: Dr. Stanislava Chtarbanova

Elizabeth Owens

Pensacola, FL

Research & Academic Interests: Aerospace Engineering, History, Public Policy, Pre-Law

Mentors: Dr. Jordan Lawson, Dr. Easir Papon

Ayush Pathak

Delhi, India

Research & Academic Interests: Biology, Computational Biology, Genetics

Mentor: Dr. Laura Reed

Vibu Puvvala

Crofton, MD

Research & Academic Interests: Economics, Human Behavior, Healthcare Policy

Mentor: Dr. Michael Price

Caroline Rider

Chapin, SC

Research & Academic Interests: Public Health, Healthcare Strategy and Innovation

Mentor: Dr. Lisa Pawloski

Savannah Sempier

Ocean Springs, MS

Research & Academic Interests: Neuroscience, Biology, Child Development, Linguistics

Mentor: Dr. Yanyu Xiong

Emie Vandiver

Hatton, AL

Research & Academic Interests: Genetics, Genomics, Computational Biology

Mentor: Dr. Laura Reed

Jordan Yu

Hartford, WI

Research & Academic Interests: Chemistry, Biology, Community Health

Mentors: Dr. Stephen Woski, Dr. Jessica Wallace

Saraah Zaheer

College Grove, TN

Research & Academic Interests: Animal Science, Ecology, Wildlife Conservation, Veterinary Medicine

Mentor: Dr. Edward Burress