URCC Peer Research Mentors
Do you wonder what it might be like to participate in a faculty research project at Brandeis? Do you want to learn from experienced student researchers about steps you can take to get involved? A URCC peer research mentoring group is for you!
- Visit the Events page for Spring 2024 workshops dates and peer research mentor drop-in hours.
- View the list of 2023-2024 URCC Peer Research Mentors.
What is a peer research mentoring group?
A peer research mentoring group consists of a small group of undergraduates who want to get involved in research. Each groups is facilitated by two-three experienced undergraduate or graduate trained peer research mentors.
What are the areas that I can get help with?
- Identify your research interests
- Learn to approach potential mentors about research opportunities
- Secure funding or academic credit for your research, and more!
What research support is provided?
- Regular group meetings with your mentors and other undergraduates interested in research
- Weekly drop-in advising hour with your mentors to ask questions
- Workshops and interactive discussions on undergraduate research opportunities, skills, funding, and strategies
Sign up for the URCC newsletter and weekly mailing to receive more information.
2023 Peer Research Mentors
Graduate Peer Research Mentors
Major: History, MA
Ewa is a masters student in the department of History. Her area of focus is American History, with an emphasis on indigenous North American communities in American society and politics.
Major: Biotechnology, MS
Shoshana is a senior studying Biology and HSSP, in addition to being a first year in the Biotechnology Masters Program. Her interests include scientific innovation, specifically in pharmaceuticals.
Major: Chemistry, PhD
Anurag is a chemistry undergraduate from Presidency University, Kolkata, India and has done his Masters from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India. He has a keen interest in total organic synthesis, Glycochemistry and chemical biology. And is currently a 3rd year Doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemistry.
Major: Social Impact MBA, Sustainable International Development, MA
Major: Philosophy, MA
Jake is a Master’s student in the Philosophy department at Brandeis. Their primary area of research is in Epistemology and focuses on issues of justification, evidence, and epistemic normativity. In addition, Jake researches topics related to the ethics of emerging technologies at the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston. Most recently, this research has focused on LLMs and their potential impacts on higher education.
Major: Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, MA
Devon is a graduate student in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, currently working on her master's thesis concerning the royal iconography of Ptolemaic Egyptian queens. Her research interests are numerous but as a MA student she has been particularly focused on Greco-Roman Egypt, women of power in the ancient Mediterranean, and iconography of the Ptolemaic and Julio-Claudian dynasties.
Major: History, MA
Undergraduate Peer Research Mentors
Major: Biology
Catie is an undergraduate senior majoring in biology. Her research is evaluating intra-individual variation in blood glucose values in humans, specifically in the context of dietary fibers. She is interested in all things nutrition such as using food as medicine.
Major: Biology, Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP)
Ava (class of '26) is double majoring in Biology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP). She is a member of the Garrity lab, where she studies how fruit flies and mosquitoes detect and respond to changes in temperature and other sensory stimuli.
Major: Neuroscience
Maya is from New Jersey and a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Biology. She currently works in the Sengupta Lab, where she is studying olfactory behavior in C. elegans.
Major: Neuroscience and Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP), English
Annetta is currently an undergraduate junior pursuing neuroscience, with minors in English and HSSP. She is interested in memory and early development, and specifically how those areas relate to depression and emotional regulation, and is currently working as an undergraduate research assistant in the CoPE Lab.
Major: Psychology and Business, Philosophy
Sara is an undergraduate senior thesis student majoring in Psychology, minoring in Business and Philosophy. Currently studying cognitive aging, her research interests lie in the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Major: Sociology and Legal Studies, Social Justice and Policy, Studio Art
Norah is a senior majoring in Sociology and minoring in Social Justice Social Policy, Legal Studies, and Studio Art. Her research interests lie in taking a sociological lens on different legal constructions. Currently she is conducting a senior thesis focused on immigration law looking into different age, gender, and racial dynamics.
Major: Neuroscience, HSSP
Tolani is a senior double majoring in Neuroscience and HSSP. She is researching the Hidden cost of speech perception: the effect of background noise on cognitive efforts in older and younger adults despite accurate responses.
Major: International and Global Studies, Philosophy, Psychology
Jiayi is a senior at Brandeis majoring in IGS, Philosophy, and Psychology. Her areas of research interest are topics in cognitive sociology, exploring questions such as how the construction of national narratives influence individual consciousness.
Major: Economics, Psychology
Harry Xiao (he/him/his) is a junior double majoring in Economics and Psychology with a minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. His research interests include behavioral economics and psychological labs. He also has a passion for social media and the humanities and is dedicated to fostering social justice and equality.
Major: Biology
Major: Sociology, Politics