Two USCB Students Take Home Top Honors at Discover USC
Senior Hayden Dunning won first place at Discover USCB for her poster entitled
“Lost In The Noise: Vessel Traffic Contaminates Seasonal Fish Choruses In Urban Estuaries.”
For onthe first time, USCB had two students earn top awards at Discover USC, the University of South Carolina’s annual research expo. The 2026 event, held April 24 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, marked the program’s 10th anniversary and brought together more than 1,000 presenters, including undergraduate and graduate students, medical scholars and postdoctoral researchers.
Both of USCB’s award winners competed in the Environmental Sciences category and are members of the university's Honors Program.
Hayden Dunning, a senior in the Coastal Ecology & Conservation program, earned first place for her poster, “Lost In The Noise: Vessel Traffic Contaminates Seasonal Fish Choruses In Urban Estuaries.”
Her research examines how boat traffic affects fish communication in coastal environments, an area of growing interest as human activity increases in estuarine systems. Dunning’s co-authors are Alyssa Marian, Jessica Miller, Lily Blake, Garrett Willford, Warren McClellan, Mary Tindall, Joseph Ballenger, Brock Renkas and Dr. Eric W. Montie, who also served as faculty mentor for the poster project. in the Department of Natural Sciences, Dr. Montie is a professor of Biology and directs USCB's Marine Sensory and Neurobiology Lab.
Junior Chloe Mullinax's poster entitled “Characterization of Pond Functioning on Spring
Island"
won second place in the Environmental Sciences category at Discover USC.
Chloe Mullinax, a junior and Biology major, earned second place for her poster entitled “Characterization of Pond Functioning on Spring Island.” Her work focuses on understanding how pond ecosystems function, contributing to broader efforts to monitor and manage coastal habitats. Mullinax conducted her research with faculty mentor Dr. Tye Pettay, assistant professor of Biological Oceanography in the Department of Natural Sciences. Pettay directs USCB's Water Quality Lab.
In addition to these two top award winners, these USCB students presented their research across a range of disciplines:
Brooke C. Wrigley
Poster Title: “Incorporation of Cytochrome c as a Fusion Partner for the Enhanced
Production of Recombinant Hexokinase from Trypanosoma cruzi with Biochemical Characterization”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Edward D’Antonio, Department of Natural Sciences
Matheson J. Bray and Noah E. McCoy
Poster Title: “Towards Drug-Target Validation of Trypanosoma cruzi Glucokinase: Alanine
Scanning Mutagenesis for the Inhibitor Binding Affinity Assessment of Benzoyl Glucosamine”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Edward D’Antonio, Department of Natural Sciences
Conor Imhoff
Poster title: “Reading with Fluency”
Faculty Mentor, Dr. Renarta Tompkins, Department of Education
Daniel Scheer
Poster title: "SQL Injection Detection and Prevention in the Age of AI: A Review of
Current Literature"
Faculty mentor: Dr. Ron Erdei, Department of Computer Science & Mathematics
Savanna Fumbi
Poster title: "Obstetric Racism & the High Rates of Negative Maternal Health Outcomes
in Black Women"
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daniel Cooper, USC Department of Social Sciences & Humanities
Amelia Mason
Poster title: “IT'S NOT THE PHONES!! Al-driven Analysis Shows Only a Tiny Correlation
Between Media Use and ADHD Symptoms (r = .10)”
Co-author: Tammy Johnson
Faculty mentor: Dr. Richard Osbaldistan, Department of Social Sciences & Humanities
Cocky joined Collan Campagna and Dr. Richard Osbaldistan at Discover USC.
Collan Campagna
Poster title: “How Stress Affects Sleep Paralysis”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Richard Osbaldistan, Psychology
The USC Columbia Office of Marketing & Communications interviewed Campagna and featured her in USC Today.
Cybella Migliaccio
Poster Title, “What are the Long-Term Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy for People
with Depression?”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Juanita Babet Villena-Alvarez, Associate Vice Chancellor for International & Academic Engagement
Grace Fredrickson
Poster title: “PTSD Can Be Treated with a Magnetic Field.”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Richard Osbaldistan, Department of Social Sciences & Humanities
Jamie Barret
Poster title: “Successful and Sustained Weight Loss Often
Boosts Self-Esteem, but Simply Trying Without Results Can Sometimes Lower It”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Richard Osbaldistan, Department of Social Sciences & Humanities
Jude Roman
Poster title: “Characterizing the seasonal dynamics and diversity of the Sea Wasp
and Cannonball Jellyfish with the Calibogue Sound”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Tye Pettay, Department of Natural Sciences
Faculty mentor Dr. Emily Webb (second from right) accompanied (left to right) Ashley Perdomo,
Mariel Baker, Eli Wright, Serria Ricard and Lexie Castro to Discover USC.
Serria Ricard and Eli Wright
Lexie Castro and Sophia Stalford
Ashley Perdomo and Mariel Baker
- USCB -
CW 05/02/2026