UH Undergraduate Research and Major Awards

With our campus and library empty over the summer, our office is missing the bustle of students exchanging knowledge and sharing their research at Undergraduate Research Day 2025! Take us back to last April, or have next April come sooner!

In late June, Pranav Hariharan, a rising senior Honors student majoring in biotechnology, had the opportunity to present his research at the Evolution 2025 conference held in Athens, GA. This conference is a premier international opportunity for hosting academia and sharing research on evolutionary biology. While the conference chiefly consisted of graduate, Ph.D., and post-doctoral students, Pranav was one of the few undergraduates who got to attend this conference. He presented his research, "Exploring Sex-Biased Expression of Polo-like kinases(Plk) Genes in D.melanogaster," conducted under Dr. Richard Meisel and funded by the Provost's Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Pranav is currently working as a summer conference assistant in UH Student Housing and Residential Life, and will be continuing this research for his capstone project in the future.

Join our office in congratulating Pranav on this amazing achievement, and check out his URD presentation on the last slide!⭐️

Two weeks ago, Livia Garza, Program Manager in OURMA, traveled to Grand Rapids, MI, and presented at the 2025 ConnectUR conference, where attendees learn, discuss, and exchange knowledge to expand their approaches to undergraduate research. Livia spoke about one of our approaches - a community-centered, introductory research experience that we call the Houston Early Research Experience (HERE) program!

We are delighted to have Livia represent our office at the ConnectUR conference along with Dr. Ben Rayder, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Research, Major Awards, and Learning Abroad/Away. Along with sharing our efforts, they brought back new insights for us to fulfill our mission of supporting undergraduate researchers across campus!🔍

As summer is in full swing, now is a wonderful time to begin preparing your fellowship application! Join these virtual webinars to learn more about the Fulbright and NSF GRFP programs and how you can become a competitive applicant.

You can begin your application journey by clicking on the calendar link in our bio. Be sure to check out the NSF GRFP 'Introducing the Personal Statement' webinar today!📝

Check out this article spotlighting Niamh Clarke and her work in the Digital Humanities Core Facility for Textual Recovery Projects. As an undergraduate student, Niamh participated in the Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) program, working with English professor Dr. David Mazella on the 1771 project.

For our office, it is wonderful to see a researcher utilize the knowledge they gained as an undergraduate further along in their research journey. We are glad to serve as a launchpad for students like Niamh!

Read the full article by Anisah Khan here: https://uh.edu/research/news/stories/2025/dhc-student-profile-niamh-clarke.php

Congratulations to Joyce Lai, a rising junior majoring in communication sciences and disorders, who was awarded a Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant!

Joyce, one of the 75 students nationwide to receive this award, utilized the grant to study abroad in Belize: "I am blessed to have been able to attend UH's COMD study abroad to Belize and I am incredibly grateful to have received this scholarship to help fund this opportunity. In Belize, I was able to experience first-hand the importance and need for speech language services and learned hands-on how to conduct speech and language screenings and hearing screenings. My time in Belize has helped solidify my commitment to continuing down the path of a speech language pathologist and I can't wait to be able to make a difference in my own community."

Join our office in congratulating Joyce on this amazing achievement!🎉
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
The Honors College at the University of Houston

Check out this article from UH College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NSM) featuring undergraduate researcher Brandon Than! Brandon, a biology major, has received several research and community service awards in his time at UH, including a Provost's Undergraduate Research Scholarship last semester. Read the article by visiting the LinkTree in our bio!

The Honors College at the University of Houston

Get the fellowship support you need over the summer with the Fulbright and NSF GRFP webinars! Learn more about the fellowship programs and create a competitive, comprehensive application. Learn more and register for the webinars on our website linked in the bio!

From scholarships and fellowships, to programming and advising, see OURMA’s dedication to student success by the numbers.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards is here to support students of all majors and disciplines. Visit our website linked in our bio to learn how you can get started.

See the different ways OURMA can accelerate your academic and professional journey. Sign up for our listserv through the link in our bio to get updated about new opportunities.

Do you want to take your aspirations abroad?✈️🌎

The Fulbright Program, a prestigious cultural exchange program, provides participants with a grant to conduct research, study, or teach English abroad in one of over 75 countries. To learn more about the program and how to become a competitive applicant, join this virtual Fulbright Info Session on Friday, June 9 at 12 pm! Registration is required at bit.ly/4kh0kaq