BY ROD JONES
OCU COMMUNICATIONS
For students at 91看片, the annual Undergraduate Research Day (URD) has become a cornerstone of the campus experience. Through posters, oral presentations and performances, the event showcases the very best of student inquiry across every discipline, from nursing and business to dance and musicology.
While the Honors Program has hosted research competitions for decades, the event underwent a major transformation in 2017. Directors consolidated smaller, semester-based contests into a single, overarching day. Now approaching its 10th anniversary in its current format, URD has evolved into a cross-disciplinary program that proves no topic is off limits.
One of the most unique aspects of URD is its wide-gate policy. Organizers Dr. Karen Youmans, Honors Program director, and Dr. Erik Heine, assistant director, wait until all applications are in before creating categories. This allows interdisciplinary themes to emerge organically.
For instance, this year鈥檚 contest included a presentation category titled 鈥淔ilm, Music, and Film Music.鈥� There was also a poster contest category titled 鈥淓ducation & Performance鈥� that pitted a project on education funding against a historical look into the opera 鈥淩hondda Rips it Up!鈥�
Last year鈥檚 competition included a category titled "Class, Race, and Gender Studies," bringing together three seemingly disparate topics: the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, the Jesuit influence in Indochina, and a study on Taylor Swift and Yoko Ono regarding the perception of female performers in male-dominated industries.
This mix-and-match philosophy allows a biology student to present alongside musicians or historians.
And for Cell and Molecular Biology and Spanish double-major Korbin Cardoza, the event provided a level of freedom not found in standard lab work.
"I started doing research under a group, but (the subject) wasn't what I was truly interested in," Cardoza said. "Thanks to Undergraduate Research Day, I had the opportunity to craft something I was truly passionate about, to explore different studies, and also reach out to advisors to help me along the way."
Beyond the grade
The impact of URD extends far beyond its monetary grand prize. Cardoza, a student-athlete who literally ran from his presentation to a soccer competition on the day of the contest to make it on time, said the experience sharpened his future career goals. Already accepted into medical school, the 2026 OCU graduate now has his sights set on specializing in endocrinology to serve rural and Hispanic communities.
His winning project, 鈥淭he Effects of Social and Genetic Determinants on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Populations Across the United States,鈥� was the culmination of three years of independent study. The research served as a combination of academic and career pursuits.
He helps run a clinic in south 91看片 City that often provides care for people with no insurance in a largely Spanish-speaking community. That鈥檚 where he noticed something unusual.
"I quickly saw that diabetes cases were through the roof in Hispanic populations. That鈥檚 what got me into this," he said.
Cardoza鈥檚 research delved into a mix of biochemistry and history. He explored a fascinating theory regarding why Hispanic and Indigenous populations face higher risks for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Historically, nomadic ancestors may have developed a genetic trait to store fat in the liver for long-term energy during periods of food scarcity. However, in the context of a modern Western diet, this "evolutionary advantage" leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. Cardoza鈥檚 findings were stark: even when accounting for genetics, social disparities mean Hispanic individuals are roughly 15 times more likely to suffer from the complications of fatty liver disease.
The path to the podium
The journey to the URD grand prize begins in December with an application process. Students submit a 150-word abstract that is vetted by the directors. While many projects stem from classwork, that isn鈥檛 a requirement. Many students run with a topic independently, driven by pure curiosity.
Students can compete in both the Poster Session, where they engage one-on-one with judges, and the Oral Presentations, where they have a strict 12-minute window to deliver their findings to an audience. Students can compete in both the poster and presentation categories in the same year, provided they are presenting two entirely different projects.
Faculty judges use a detailed rubric to score each session, with winners in each category taking home $100. An additional $250 grand prize is awarded to the student with the highest average combined score.
Cardoza is a veteran of the circuit. He won the overall contest as a sophomore and took the top spot with another healthcare topic as a junior. He credits this repetition with his growth.
"The more questions you get asked and the more you are critiqued, you become better at it," he said. "Professors will come up to you and ask the tough questions, and where you got your sources, and you have to be able to respond."
Whether it鈥檚 a spoken-word performance or a complex study on liver necrosis, Undergraduate Research Day proves that OCU students are taking their passions to the next level. As the event looks toward its next decade, Cardoza has a simple message for future participants:
"You don't have to be working in a lab to do meaningful research,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can start by yourself with just your computer. Take the first steps. And don't be afraid to do something out of your comfort zone."
