Category: Research

Amherst College Science Center

Back in Action: Psychology SURF Presentations

On Friday, September 24, nine students from the psychology department presented their summer research in the Powerhouse to a crowd of students and professors. Topics ranged from prejudice to mental health to child development, and everyone was excited to share their findings. The first poster in the lineup was presented by Nyla Guadalupe ‘23, who…

Truth or Dare: Distrust of Trans Folks

Photo courtesy of City of Toronto Twitter account (@cityoftoronto) In order to give some background on my research this summer, I thought it made sense to discuss a paper written by my internship professor. In 2019, Rebecca Totton and Kimberly Rios published “,Predictors of anti-transgender attitudes: Identity-confusion and deception as aspects of distrust.” This paper…

Mind Over Matter: Heather Scott Thesis Spotlight

The following was adapted from an email interview between Sarah Lapean and Heather Scott. Tell us a bit about yourself. What life experiences influenced you to write a senior thesis? I am a psychology and English double major from a small town in central Illinois. I came to Amherst knowing that I was interested in…

Reaching for the Stars: William Balmer Thesis Spotlight

William Balmer is a senior astronomy and physics double major. They took time out of their busy end-of-term schedule to talk about their thesis with the astronomy department: measuring the orbit and brightness of a young star embedded in a disk of material around another young star. The following was adapted from an email interview…

How Do COVID-19 Vaccines Work?

Currently, there are 96 candidate vaccines for COVID-19, with 27 candidate vaccines in stage 3 clinical trials. So far,13 vaccines have been authorized across multiple countries, and as of May 10th, 3 vaccines have been authorized and recommended for use in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson. Differing in how they provide immunity…

Chasing an Amoeba to Cure Cancer

Visible even from the exterior of the Science Center building, the glass-encased upper floor laboratory spaces offer a glance into the inner workings of the research conducted in the Biology Department. Here, students are often seen working on experiments headed by professors, but they can also elect a more independent project their senior year: a…

Thesis Spotlight with Ingrid Wefing

Ingrid Wefing is a senior, a thesis student, a Psychology and Asian Languages and Civilizations double major, and an absolute delight to talk to. I sat down with Ingrid to talk about her upcoming thesis that examines the relationship between belongingness and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Did you know you wanted to study…