Celebrating High Achievement in Undergrad Research: the 2026 LAURE Awards
Six outstanding undergraduate students were presented with the Libraries' Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE) at a May 26 celebration in the Knight Library Browsing Room.
Graduating seniors Lazar Isakharov, a human physiology major and Solange Dzeketey, majoring in communications disorders and sciences received awards for their honors theses. Both students plan to pursue graduate studies related to their research topics: medicine and audiology respectively.
In the category of papers written for 300-400 level courses, global studies major Jack Sackman and history major Alexa Rose, also a graduating senior, were honored. Anthropology major Charlie Dickey and Dina Goldman, a double major in Judaic studies and art & technology received awards for their work in 100-200 level courses.
"At the University of Oregon, 74 percent of our undergraduate students engage in research and creative scholarship at some point in their degree programs," noted Vice Provost and University Librarian Alicia Salaz. "The LAURE award is our way of recognizing the highest level of achievement in applying library research skills to produce original works of scholarship."
For more than two decades, the UO Libraries has recognized undergraduates' outstanding scholarly work with the Libraries' Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE). Students in all of UO's schools, colleges and academic majors are eligible for the awards.
This year's pool consisted of 45+ submissions from student researchers, along with their recommendations from UO faculty members. Another core component of the application is a 1,000–1,500-word essay in which the student describes and reflects on their research process and learning journey.
Since LAURE's inception in 2004, the awards have recognized single term papers and projects from courses at the 200 level or above, as well as theses or multi-term papers and projects. This year for the first time, work produced in introductory, 100-level courses was also made eligible. The award was restructured to recognize students in three different categories: research projects completed for a 100–200 level course; research projects completed for a 300–400 level course; and thesis or multi-term research projects. There were first and second place winners in each category who each received $2,000 and $1,000 dollar awards respectively.
“Students start engaging with hands-on research from their first term of classes," said Chloe Barnett, the undergraduate engagement and student success librarian and 2026 LAURE committee chair. "We felt the time was right to open the awards to the exciting work that is being done by outstanding scholars in the earlier stages of their undergraduate careers."
Winners have their work added to Scholars' Bank, an open access digital archive for the scholarly and creative output of the University of Oregon community. The awards are made possible with generous support from the Milton C. and Barbara B. Sparks Endowment and the Jon and Lisa Stine Endowment.
“We thank our donors for helping to honor our student researchers and the willingness of those students to share their research experiences,” said Barnett.
1st Place: Multi-term Project or Thesis
Lazar Isakharov
College of Arts and Sciences & Clark Honors College '26
Faculty advisor: Abby Cullen
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32631
Title: "The Effects of Dietary Zinc Imbalance on Cognitive and Vascular Function in a Young Mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease"
This study investigated the association between dietary zinc imbalance and Alzheimer's disease (AD) to elucidate potential long-term preventive treatments. Using a mouse model of AD, I hypothesized that a low-zinc diet would impair cognitive and vascular function through the dysregulation of superoxide dismutase-mediated oxidative stress relief. While cognitive dysfunction was not observed across groups, results revealed distinct sex-dependent cerebrovascular dysfunction. Male mice on a low-zinc diet exhibited endothelial cell dysfunction, whereas female mice on the same diet displayed vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction. No significant differences were found in NADPH oxidase or superoxide dismutase gene and protein expression. These findings provide evidence for a sex-specific effect of dietary zinc imbalance, independent of superoxide dismutase. This research addresses a critical gap in the literature regarding the role of nutritional zinc in AD pathology and vascular aging.
2nd Place: Multi-term Project or Thesis
Solange Dzeketey
College of Education & Clark Honors College '26
Faculty advisor: Lyndsay Duffus
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32632
Title: "Making Sound Decisions: Understanding the Communication Choices of Black Hearing Caregivers of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children"
Two to three out of every one thousand children born in America are born with hearing loss (NIDCD, 2024). For the greater than 90% of these children born to hearing parents, communication difficulties often emerge. Unlike their Deaf counterparts, hearing parents and their deaf children do not immediately share an accessible language. Early childhood barriers to language access can lead to language delays and social-emotional difficulties later in life (Murray et al., 2019). Therefore, it is critical that hearing caregivers of deaf children quickly decide how to communicate with their child. This thesis will describe (1) how Black hearing parents of deaf children choose their method of communication with their child, (2) what the factors influencing these decisions may reveal about this group's unique decision-making process, and (3) how speech and hearing clinicians can work to meet the needs of this group.
1st Place: Research Paper or Project, 300-400 Level Course
Jack Sackman
College of Arts and Sciences '27
Faculty advisor: Lanie Millar
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32622
Title: "School of the Assassins: El Salvador’s Involvement in the School of the Americas and Resulting Human Rights Consequences"
Founded in 1946, the School of the Americas (SOA) is a U.S. Army training facility for Latin American personnel. This paper investigates El Salvador's involvement in the SOA during the late 20th century, as well as the ongoing social movement to shut the facility down. Drawing on academic literature, declassified documents, and reports from international human rights institutions, it seeks to understand how engagement with the SOA impacted military practices and patterns of human rights violations within El Salvador. Case studies such as the Missionary Murders, the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the El Mozote Massacre, and the Jesuit Murders highlight a clear trend of human rights abuses perpetrated by military personnel who attended the SOA. This deep-rooted connection raises serious questions about the role of U.S. training in encouraging sustained, state-sanctioned violence and human rights violations throughout Latin America.
2nd Place: Research Paper or Project, 300-400 Level Course
Alexa Rose
College of Arts and Sciences '26
Faculty advisor: Steven Beda
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32629
Title: "Fighting for the Soul of a Nation: Pierce v. Society of Sisters, Education, and American Democracy"
This paper examines early twentieth-century social discourse around democratic principles and American public education in the context of the 1925 Supreme Court case, Pierce v. Society of Sisters. A legal battle resulting from opposition towards the passage of the Oregon Compulsory Education Act in 1922, the case brought debate around religion, personal liberties versus national security interests, and the role of the school into the forefront of the American public consciousness. The debates characterized popular conceptualizations of democracy in a post-war era, tensions around religious instructions in schools, and educational reform efforts of the 1920s Klan in the Pacific Northwest. Incorporating social historical analyses, this paper argues the role of Pierce v. Society of Sisters in establishing the view of democratic values and public schools as intertwined systems within the social consciousness of the United States that continues to be repurposed in the modern day.
1st Place: Research Paper or Project, 100-200 Level Course
Charlie Dickey
College of Arts and Sciences '27
Faculty advisor: Leslie Selcer
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32633
Title: "Controversial Representations of Consent"
"Gender fraud" is a legal attack used against trans masculine people. Cis women are the primary complainants, typically accusing trans men after sexual intercourse where they were not aware they were being penetrated by a penile prosthetic. In cases of gender fraud, common sense backs judicial rulings. However, common sense is rooted in cisnormative ideas of the trans body and heteronormative ideas of consent. I will analyze case studies of controversial representations of consent in order to illustrate how gender concealment manifests in the lives of trans people. I argue that we need to view agents of gender affirmation as being embodied by the trans person. Otherwise, we will always reduce trans people to their genitals, painting their bodies as illegitimate. The gender fraud phenomenon is not widely discussed, but is necessary to analyze if we want to understand the socio-cultural circumstances that impact trans people.
2nd Place: Research Paper or Project, 100-200 Level Course
Dina Goldman
College of Arts and Sciences, College of Design '28
Faculty advisor: Larissa Stiglich
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/32630
Title: "Suppression and Emigration: Jewish Identity and Departure in Soviet Ukraine"
This paper examines Jewish emigration from Ukraine during the late Soviet period. After the Holocaust devastated Jewish communities, Ukraine remained home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the Soviet Union. At the same time, Soviet authorities restricted Jewish religion, culture, and emigration. This paper asks why large-scale Jewish emigration did not occur until the late 1980s. It combines historical research on Soviet policy with an oral history interview with Victoria Markman, who emigrated from western Ukraine to Israel in 1990. Using government policy, historical scholarship, and personal testimony, the paper analyzes how political repression and later reforms shaped both Jewish identity and the possibility of leaving.
2026 LAURE Committee: Chloe Barnett, Katherine Donaldson, Rayne Vieger, Mandi Garcia, Jason Stone, Jaz Tojong
Reviewers: Kristin Buxton, Katherine Donaldson, Franny Gaede, Lauren Gross, Gabriele Hayden, Abby Johnson, Joel Liesenberg, Kevin McDowell, Emily Moore, Ben Murphy, Chelsea Nestel, Miriam Rigby, Mahala Ruddell, Ann Shafer, Jeffrey Staiger, Erin Winter, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Research Kevin Hatfield (external reviewer)
For library help, LAURE recipients cited: Isabel Dalisay, Katherine Donaldson, Cameron Mulder, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski, Knight Library staff, Special Collections and University Archives, Research Guides, 24x7 Chat service
Story by Jason Stone | Event Photos by Izzy Smith (Class of '26, Media Studies)
About the LAURE
With generous support from the Milton C. and Barbara B. Sparks Endowment and the Jon and Lisa Stine Endowment, the UO Libraries’ Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE) recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate excellent library research skills with a $2,000 scholarship. (Currently enrolled students receive awards as scholarships and recent graduates receive a cash award.) Established in 2004, LAUREs are given annually in three categories:
- Single-term papers and projects from a 100-200 level course
- Single-term papers and projects from a 300-400 level course
- Theses or multi-term papers and projects
Research projects from all schools, colleges and academic disciplines are welcome. The Awards Committee, composed of UO faculty librarians and other library personnel, reviews applications once per year. Interested applicants and faculty members wishing to encourage their students to apply for the LAURE can find the details about requirements, judging criteria and timelines in this guide to the LAURE award. You can also learn more about previous LAURE winning papers and projects.
Questions? Contact Undergraduate Engagement and Student Success Librarian Chloe Barnett.