March 16, 2026
Contact: Janese Heavin, heavinj@missouri.edu
Photos by Abbie Lankitus
At the University of Missouri, students get a head start in research labs across campus. Undergraduates work alongside world-class professors to test theories, expand perspectives and discover solutions to real-world problems.
Recently, 10 Mizzou research teams traveled to the Missouri Capitol to present their work to lawmakers and government officials as part of the University of Missouri System’s Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol.
Scroll to learn more about their innovative projects.
The Mizzou participants pose with staff from the Office of Undergraduate Research, Sarah Humfeld second row, left) and Vesna Johnson (second row, right).
Rachel Trosky is a junior nursing major pictured with Lori Popejoy, dean of the Sinclair School of Nursing. For her project, Trosky surveyed rural nursing home administrators to determine how they’re responding to federal policy changes. Leaders cited issues such as limited resources and staffing — findings that could help inform future decisions to protect access to high-quality care. Trosky is also pursuing the Honors Certificate from the Honors College.
Juniors Gianni Ioannou and Olivia Franken from the College of Engineering co-presented two projects showing how extended reality can address key challenges in advanced manufacturing. For one, they demonstrated how manufacturers could use virtual reality to provide effective training at a lower cost. For the second project, the team developed a mixed-reality system to simplify the operation of automated manufacturing machines and 3D printers.
Hunter Hollomon, a junior studying biochemistry in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is researching the impact of high-protein diets on heart health. He found that excessive protein consumption reduces the production of a critical natural oxide and increases inflammation, ultimately increasing the risks of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.
Senior Carissa Bersche from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources who is also pursuing an Honors Certificate, is studying how immune proteins move within plants to help fight diseases. By better understanding how plants defend themselves at the cellular level, the work could lead to the development of stronger, more resilient crops.
Zach Borowiak, a junior studying statistics and physics and astronomy in the College of Arts and Science, presented work on how artificial intelligence can evaluate and influence baseball players’ performance. He found that hitters at the top of the order start stronger and get better as the game goes on, while those at the bottom show less improvement. Using these types of models could help teams adjust their line-ups and adjust other strategies to become more competitive.
Junior Nya Dodd, a psychology major and Honors College student, studied whether deep worries about life, such as fears about being alone or losing one’s identity, are connected to symptoms of borderline personality disorder. The findings suggest that people who report more borderline personality disorder symptoms could tend to experience higher levels of existential worries, which may help researchers better understand and treat mental issues.
Abigail Dowell, a senior animal sciences major, evaluated the impact of a certain soybean variety on pig health. She found that pigs on diets containing ultra-high protein, low-oligosaccharide (UHP-LO) soybean meal had greater usable caloric intake than pigs fed corn or conventional soybean meal. The findings suggest that pork producers could improve feed efficiency using UHP-LO soybean meal.
Mathew Kimaku, a senior majoring in health sciences and nutrition and exercise physiology, studied the success of two community leadership programs: The Neighborhood Leadership Academy in St. Louis and the Neighborhood Leadership Fellows, which has been implemented statewide. Kimaku, who’s also pursuing an Honors Certificate, found that the programs effectively foster engagement and leadership and are worthwhile investments.
Junior biochemistry major Katherine Spitzmiller studied the impact of American elderberry compounds on flu symptoms. Spitzmiller found that elderberry compounds were an effective treatment of influenza compared to a common over-the-counter medicine. Spitzmiller plans to further the work in hopes of adding financial value to American elderberries and to encourage Missouri farmers to grow more specialty crops for drug development.
Jose Torres-Gomez, a junior majoring in information technology, used Boston Dynamic’s robotic dog, Spot, for his project. He programmed Spot with a large language model to allow the robot to describe its surroundings, answer questions and otherwise engage with people while navigating a building. The work demonstrated how mobility and artificial intelligence can be combined to create socially capable robots.
Mizzou students joined undergraduate researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri University of Science and Technology and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
