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Summer Research
There are plenty of opportunities for chemistry and other science students to conduct research over the summer.
Summer Science Research
Each summer, there are opportunities for Beloit College students to work with science faculty on their research or through the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program. These opportunities are either 4 weeks or 8 weeks in length. Students receive college credit and a stipend for their work. All participating students live on campus.
The Summer 2026 research opportunities are listed below. All of these projects are part of the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program. All projects will be 8 weeks in duration (May 18 - July 10, 2026). Students will work with a faculty mentor to develop a research question and participate in the weekly 2-hr professional development seminar (1 unit of special project). Fellows will receive a stipend of $5500, to help offset the costs of summer tuition, and room and board. All students are welcome to apply, but preference will be given to students who have not previously participated in the Pakula Program. To review the available projects, click on the topics below. For more details, contact the principal investigator for each project directly. For general questions about the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship program, contact Dr. Tawnya Cary (caryt@beloit.edu).
Students interested in working in other STEM disciplines should check the respective discipline website or contact individual faculty members.
Projects
This project is part of the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program.
Amphibian populations have decreased by ~40% over the past three decades, capturing the interest of both the scientific community and the general public. A leading hypothesis to explain these declines is that pollutants weaken amphibian immune function such that subsequent exposure to pathogens results in increased disease susceptibility and death. Therefore, measures of immune function provide a way to analyze how pollutant exposure may be linked to disease susceptibility. Furthermore, amphibians can serve as model organisms for immunotoxicity because they share many of the same structural and functional immunological features as mammals and fishes, making it possible to transfer knowledge to other vertebrates. Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), a.k.a., “forever chemicals”, have emerged as chemicals of concern as more and more PFAS-contaminated sites are identified in Wisconsin ecosystems, and little is known about their immunotoxic effects. We will expose newly hatched Xenopus laevis tadpoles to environmentally relevant levels of PFAS and employ functional immune assays, like respiratory burst and hemolysis to investigate potential immunotoxicity. Students conducting this research will gain experience in animal husbandry, experimental design, trouble-shooting, data analysis, and laboratory techniques.
- Focus Areas: biology
- Project Duration: 8 weeks (05/18/26-07/10/26)
- Prerequisite Courses: 100-level BIOL, Chem 117
- Preferred Courses: Biometrics, 200-level BIOL course
- Number of Student Positions: 1
Principal Investigator
Tawnya Cary
Details and Application
Apply for this opportunityThis project is part of the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program.
This project aims to design an integrated, AI enabled framework that supports clinicians in the area of patient care:
1. Early risk identification and staging of chronic conditions (e.g., kidney and cardiovascular diseases, hepatitis, and other longterm conditions), and/or
2. Individualized therapy management for treatments—especially those with narrow therapeutic ranges—by informing safe and effective dosing and ongoing monitoring.
By unifying predictive analytics with longitudinal treatment guidance, the project seeks to improve patient outcomes while supporting clinical decision making in real world settings.
Student will contribute to one or more phases of the project according to interest and preparation. Responsibilities may include data preparation, feature representation, modeling experiments, evaluation, documentation, and results communication. Specific assignments will be scoped collaboratively and may evolve as the project progresses.
- Focus Areas: computer science
- Project Duration: 8 weeks (05/18/26-07/10/26)
- Prerequisite Courses: DSDA 345 or DSDA 385, and CSCI 204
- Preferred Courses: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities should include: foundational knowledge of machine learning concepts, proficiency in Python; ability to maintain confidentiality and safeguard sensitive records; problem solving and critical thinking skills, with effective prioritization and planning.
- Number of Student Positions: 1
Principal Investigator
Eyad Haj Said
Details and Application
Apply for this opportunityThis project is part of the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program.
Sleep health and academic outcomes in college students. College students are one of the most chronically sleep deprived groups, with 60% falling in the clinically poor sleep category. We would be interested in addressing the direct outcomes of poor sleep in college students’ various roles on campus (as an academic, an athlete, student worker, etc.). We would also be interested in empowering college students in a variety of ways that they can control their sleep outcomes. We would be using wrist-based sleep tracking technology in addition to standard sleep surveys, mood inventories, and other in-house developed surveys to measure sleep and academic/health outcomes. We will be using the method of implementation intention, as typically just educating people about the importance of sleep doesn’t change behavior, but imagining and intending to do something can change behavior slowly over time. Student researchers will be involved in IRB documentation development, recruiting and running participants, analyzing and interpreting the data, and presenting our findings at local and regional conferences. If there is interest, we would prepare and submit a manuscript to further disseminate our findings.
- Focus Areas: psychology/neuroscience
- Project Duration: 8 weeks (05/18/26-07/10/26)
- Prerequisite Courses: PSYC 100, BIOL 110, COGS 101, PSYC 230 or PSYC 285 (Advanced topics in sleep)
- Preferred Courses: (N/A)
- Number of Student Positions: 2
Principal Investigator
Allison Nickel
Details and Application
Apply for this opportunityThis project is part of the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship Program.
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NDTs) is not just a generic title for all the forgotten diseases of the world; it is a specific designation on behalf of the World Health Organization for 21 particular diseases that qualify for neglected status. Collectively, these diseases infect about one sixth of the world’s population. What characterizes these diseases is that they do not kill huge numbers of people; collectively the NTDs kill about 200,000 people per year (although that’s not nothing). Instead, they are responsible for massive levels of disfigurement and disability, impairing childhood development and economic productivity. While being prevalent in every tropical country, these diseases are neglected at the community, national, and international levels, largely because they affect the poor, the powerless, and the stigmatized. This research project is aiming to turn a mathematical lens of investigation to understand how these diseases spread and attempt, determine the conditions under which these diseases are endemic, and create scenarios under which we can achieve eradication.
- Focus Areas: interdisciplinary (math and biology)
- Project Duration: 8 weeks (05/18/26-07/10/26)
- Prerequisite Courses: Math 110 - Calculus I; must have knowledge about derivatives and their interpretations
- Preferred Courses: N/A
- Number of Student Positions: 1
Principal Investigator
Tom Stojsavljevic