• Cover Art: “aλλος” 

  Black, Olivia (University of Oregon, 2024)

  aλλος is a part of the Greek root word for "allergy." aλλος, meaning "other," has held significant meaning for me growing up with a severe allergy to milk. This illustration depicts me as a child during allergy testing. I ...
• Meet the Editorial Board 

  Unknown author (University of Oregon, 2024)
• Art Feature: "Portals for Everyday People" 

  Bisheimer, Elle (University of Oregon, 2024)

  This photo series illustrates the power of captivating, freeform imagery that can spawn organically in our surroundings. The unique movement of black lines in the images result from the natural composition of the environment ...
• Journal Editorial: "On Libraries Supporting Undergraduate Research" 

  Vieger, Rayne (University of Oregon, 2024)

  In an unexpected way, the challenge of learning how to do undergraduate research is what led me to a career in libraries. As a freshman and first-generation college student, the imposter syndrome was strong; I lacked ...
• Art Feature: "Autonomy in the Anthropocene" 

  Bisheimer, Elle (University of Oregon, 2024)

  This drawing explores several of the complex relationships between human innovation, morality, and how progress is defined through time. Who defines progress, and who is truly capable of harnessing its successes? In our ...
• Letter from the Editors 

  Taylor, Jay; Schmitt, Kyla (University of Oregon, 2024)

  It is our pleasure to present Volume 22, Issue 1 of the Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal (OURJ) this spring of 2024. This issue showcases the best undergraduate scholarship we have encountered during the 2023–2024 ...
• Predicting Explore-Exploit Behavior from Personality Traits 

  Nashawi, Lynn (University of Oregon, 2024)

  The explore/exploit trade-off theorizes that individuals learn and make decisions in two different ways. Exploration entails trying new approaches that one is unsure about in order to gain new information. Exploration can ...
• Being Bosnian: The Means and Ends of Territoriality and the Genocide of Bosniaks in the Fromer Yugoslavia 

  Petrik, Charles (University of Oregon, 2024)

  The “Bosnian Civil War” (1992–1996) was a conflict that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks. In the vacuum left by the fall of Communism, religious identification across space ...
• Childcare in the Free Market Society of F. A. Hayek 

  Bernard, Myra (University of Oregon, 2024)

  As free market structures increasingly dominate contemporary life, it is important to examine their influence on social structures as well as economic ones. Seeking to answer questions such as How do market forces interact ...
• Exploring the Role of Microbiota in the Development of Insulin-producing Cells in Drosophila melanogaster 

  Mullen, Nicole (University of Oregon, 2024)

  Resident microbiota can influence many aspects of host health and disease. Research by the Guillemin lab demonstrates that gut microbiota induce the expansion of insulin-producing beta cells in zebrafish and mice via a ...
• Relief, An Ethical Reflection on Animal Welfare Poem 

  Johnson, Ryan

  “Relief” is a poem about anthropocentric moral policy, and a critical reflection on animal welfare designed to provoke questions about why humanity uses non-human species the way we do. The purpose of the poem is not to ...
• Healthy Minds Study Pre- and Post- Covid Onset Years: University of Oregon Mental Health Needs and Access 

  Welburn, Aubrey; McWilliams, Kaitlyn; Watt, Lauren King; Snyder, Sophie; Nunez, Zoe

  The University of Oregon (UO) participated in the 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023 Healthy Minds Study (HMS), a survey-based assessment of mental health status and service utilization among college students. A trend analysis of ...
• Women's Empowerment on Lesbian Lands: Challenging Gender Norms 

  Deivanayagam, Nithi; Kehoe, Nitsa

  Women throughout history have stood in the face of inequality, usually due to gender stereotyping and biases. This research goes into the women's experiences at WomanShare, a lesbian land community in Southern Oregon, ...
• The Effect of Zinc Status on Cognitive and Vascular Function in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease 

  Isakharov, Lazar N.; Molina, Yamila R.

  Exploring potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is important as the aging population continues to increase (Cummings, 2004). A hallmark of AD is excessive oxidative stress (Cheignon et al., 2018). Previous ...
• Stable Oxygen Isotope Signature of Extant and Extinct Aplodontiids and Evidence for Water Use 

  Hillard, Thomas

  Aplodontia rufa has a unique kidney anatomy that is inefficient at concentrating urine, and as a result the water intake for the species is high and its range is limited to the high precipitation regions of the Pacific ...
• Sex-Based Differences in Plantar Pressure Distribution to Inform Soccer Cleat Design 

  Saing, Audrey

  Existing soccer cleats on the market are biased towards male biomechanical data, which may hinder female soccer players’ performance. This study explores plantar pressure differences between males and females during tasks ...
• Novel Interspecies Interactions of Oral Commensal Corynebacterium and Opportunistic Pathogen Candida albicans 

  Rozendal, T.

  Sophisticated synergistic and antagonistic relationships within the oral commensal community contribute to host defense against invading pathogens. Dysbiosis in the oral microbiome can lead to oral diseases and systemic ...
• Core Temperature and Thermal Sensation Change after Cold Water SCUBA Diving 

  Orman, Tucker; Perez, Makayla; Bradbury, Karleigh

  Objective: To measure core temperature (Tc) and thermal sensation (Ts) before and after cold water SCUBA diving in male and female recreational divers wearing wetsuits and drysuits. It has been shown that ∆Tc can be impacted ...
• What Controls Sex Development in Fish? 

  Breslin, Sophia; Postlethwait, John H.; Desvignes, Thomas

  “What controls sex development in fish?” is a collaborative graphic novel composed by Thomas Desvignes, John, and myself that explores the many ways sex is determined in fishes. My contribution focused on translating ...
• Seeking the Structure of Matter 

  Gordon, Ella; Soper, Dave (2022)

  This hand drawn comic explains physicists' understanding of the fundamental particles that make up the universe. It focuses on scientists' quest to find evidence for the long theorized Higgs boson. Created in collaboration ...

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