From Disease Prevention to Artificial Intelligence: ÐÔÊÓ½ç SURE Students Tackle Real-World Challenge
Published: August 7, 2026.
ÐÔÊÓ½ç undergraduate students presented their summer research findings at the Dr. James Girard Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) 2026 Symposium on August 3 on the Romeoville campus.
The symposium was the culminating event of the collaborative experience for ÐÔÊÓ½ç students from multiple disciplines who engaged in undergraduate research over the summer.
ÐÔÊÓ½ç SURE students are tackling real-world challenges that affect everyday life through innovative undergraduate research, from improving healthcare and fighting antibiotic resistance to advancing clean energy, safer transportation, artificial intelligence, and disease prevention.
Working one-on-one with a faculty mentor, students receive program funding for the summer and benefit from an experiential learning environment that accelerates their research careers, with many presenting their outcomes at conferences and/or in publications.
The following students presented their research.
- Md Mehedi Hasan – Data Science - Role-Stability Analysis for Transportation Networks: Quantifying Disruption in Chicago’s Transit (CTA) System
- Javier Romero – Physics - Engineering Novel Si-MOF Hybrid Photocapacitors for Green Energy Storage
- Alanna Marie San Luis – Cybersecurity - Analysis of the Correlation Between Wind Direction vs Flight Direction for eVTOL Route Planning
- Maxim Cilek – Computer Science - Examining Choking and Clutch Performance in Professional Tennis
- Jo Jarmuz – Mathematics and Applied Physics - Combinatorial Descriptions of Kostka-Foulkes Polynomials
- Michael Mihailov – Computer Science - Mathematically Modeling C. difficile Transmission Across Healthcare Facilities
- Dylan Street – Cybersecurity - Security-Aware Virtual Machine Placement Using Reinforcement Learning for Enhanced Cloud Security
- Sara Ryan – Biology - Assessment of Macrophage Cell Viability and Gene Expression upon Hydrogel Co-Culture
- Samantha Hebrard Flores – Biology - Characterization of Microbial Community Metabolism with Biochar
- Marwa Khanani – Data Science - Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction of Missing Volume Using 3D Partial Convolutions
- Reese Capion – Biochemistry - Targeting the New Delhi Beta-Lactamase: AI-Driven Molecular Design of 8Hydroxyquinoline Analogues to Overcome Microbial Resistance
- Quoc Thai Dinh - Aviation Maintenance Technology - Training AI to Make Money, Not Just Predictions: Decision-Focused Learning for Battery Storage Arbitrage
- Allyson Boehm – Psychology - Beyond the Treatment Plan: Developing Clinical Adaptation in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students
- Anasemon Botros – Biology - Optimizing Oligonucleotide Sequence and Chemistry to Promote ATXN3 Exon 10 Skipping as a Potential Treatment for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3
ÐÔÊÓ½ç is a modern, enterprising, Catholic university with a growing student enrollment from GED through doctoral level programs. As part of the global Lasallian network of 65 universities, ÐÔÊÓ½ç is known for preparing graduates who impact the world for the better. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.
