The tight-knit Sarasota-Manatee campus may very well be one of the best places for students to gain research experience. With a low student-to-faculty ratio, the campus provides students ample opportunities to interact with their professors and contribute to new and ongoing research. From education and hospitality to healthcare and the sciences, there are a number of fields in which students can get involved.
Each year, USF celebrates student research with a university-wide conference that serves as a platform for students on each campus to present their research and engage in discussion with peers and mentors. The annual event highlights USF’s unique effort to offer an abundance of research opportunity to students.
“The research conference is a chance for students to boost their public speaking and networking skills, which are essential for navigating today's competitive job market,” said Hawa Allarakhia, a doctoral candidate in the College of Education and graduate assistant in the Office of Research, who played a pivotal role in organizing the conference on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
The student research conference at USF Sarasota-Manatee kicked off on April 10 with a welcome message from Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook and an interactive presentation by Blair Bloomston, founder of Leaders Uplifted, who led the room through multiple rounds of “rock, paper, scissors, unite,” and encouraged the student researchers to connect with one another through the spirit of play.
Held in the Selby Auditorium, the conference featured 10 oral presentations and more than 30 poster presentations.
Madison Dowdy
Providing Audiologic Outreach Services in Remote Areas of Malawi
Before graduating from the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences with her doctorate in audiology, Madison Dowdy spent 14 days providing audiologic outreach services in Malawi with USF alumna Jenna Vallario, a professor and audiologist at ABC Malawi Hearing Clinic and Treatment Center.
In just four days, the team — three audiologists, two physicians and 10 students — saw 278 patients, more than half of whom were suffering from issues with their ears, nose or throat.
With a population of more than 20 million people — 70% of whom lived on less than $2.15 a day in 2019 — Malawi faces many challenges. By venturing beyond Lilongwe, where ABC Malawi is located, the team was able to make their services more accessible to rural populations.
“This research has had such a tremendous impact on me,” Dowdy said. “I am honored to have been able to contribute a little bit of my knowledge and time to a country that lacks the necessary resources while still managing to provide patients with the best possible care.”
While in Malawi, the team performed hearing tests, cleaned and treated patients with active ear infections, referred individuals to be fitted for hearing aids and offered other ENT related services performed by Dr. Julia Toman of USF Health. By the end of the trip, they had successfully identified and referred 32 individuals to be fitted with hearing aids.
“If it wasn't for these outreach efforts, many of these individuals would have never been identified with a hearing loss, let alone fit with amplification,” Dowdy said. “These outcomes will have a lasting effect on many lives in areas including language development, cognition, quality of life, education and employment. As an audiologist, every person with a hearing loss identified and effectively treated is a small victory.”
At USF, Dowdy received mentorship from Michelle Arnold, an associate professor of
communication sciences and disorders.
“This project provided an incredible opportunity for Dr. Dowdy to apply her skills
in a real-world setting, and to make a tangible difference in the lives of so many,”
Arnold said. “The experience gained through such outreach is invaluable and truly
shapes the future of hearing healthcare.”
Dowdy, a recipient of the Trailblazers Research Scholarship, plans to implement global hearing healthcare practices into her career and continue to contribute her expertise on outreach trips around the world.
Madison Dowdy (second row, third from right) spent 14 days in Malawi providing audiologic outreach services.
Leah Burger
Utilizing Virtual Reality Games to Enhance Youth Literacy
What does it mean to be literate?
This is the question at the heart of Leah Burger’s doctoral research. The former Hillsborough County public school teacher hopes to answer the question — and challenge assumptions other educators may have about the concept — before she begins work on her dissertation in the spring.
The question is a complicated one, Burger explained, because literacy is both personal and cultural.
“Literacy is more than decoding printed words into spoken language,” she said. “It includes dancing, playing, creating, gesturing — all the ways we represent meaning in our society.”
Burger is interested in how writing and digital literacy can enhance children’s creative potential. Lately, she has invested her energy into expanding literacy and access to STEM knowledge among youths through engagement with virtual reality games.
“VR games — and games in general — require students to be curious, move and collaborate,” said Burger, a recipient of the Trailblazers Research Scholarship. “Students progress through games by learning via mistakes and in-depth problem solving. And there are so many connections to be made here: industry, design, coding and writing.”
Blair Bloomston, founder of Leaders Uplifted, taught attendees to play “rock, paper, scissors, unite,” and encouraged the student researchers to connect with one another through the spirit of play. Here she demonstrates with Greg Smogard, assistant vice president of innovation and business development at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
Students in a “gamers club” Burger organized and launched in collaboration with Lindsay
Persohn and Jenifer Schneider of the USF College of Education learned to develop their
very own virtual reality games. Burger worked closely with the students to examine
their languages, literacies, thought processes and cultural motivations as they created
various digital texts. According to Burger, the experience enhanced their literacy
skills — as well as their ability to solve problems, think critically and collaborate
with their peers.
“Leah is an exceptional doctoral student,” Schneider said. “The goal of her research is to transform youth's experiences with computer science through after-school programs that incorporate core computational thinking concepts using generative AI tools and disciplinary literacy techniques.”
Burger and Schneider recently applied for a Spencer Racial Equity Grant to further support the research.
Burger and Persohn also have plans to work with a team of USF faculty and staff to refine a prototype VR environment.