Student Research
Discover the groundbreaking research conducted by Rutgers Graduate School–Newark’s dissertation fellows. From innovative scholarly inquiries to community-engaged scholarship, explore how our doctoral candidates are advancing knowledge and shaping their fields.
Colleen O'Neal
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Artists Making Place: Anarchy, Institutions, and Collective Placemaking in Newark, New Jersey, 1980-2026
Research Method: Non-traditional format including creation of new artwork along with analysis of Newark artists' work through history, memory, and placemaking
Esperanza Santos
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Trans Latinas Women: Lives, Livelihoods, and Agency in the Contemporary United States
Research Method: Close reading methods within English, oral history within History, and movement history within Media Studies
Maxi Wardcantori
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Staging Ideology: Alternative Domesticities and the Politics of Everyday Life in the Long 1970s
Research Method: Qualitative and archival
Adefemi Baderinwa
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Developmental Roles of Neuropilin-2 Receptor in the Mouse Spinal Commissural Neurons
Research Method: Mouse genetic models and molecular and cellular approaches
Jared Bianchi-Smak
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Crypt Derived Chemokines Direct Mucosal Innate Immune Responses
Research Method: Microscopy, flow cytometry, 3D tissue culture, and single cell RNA-sequencing
Alison Arissa
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Controlling Electronic Properties of Porphyrin-Based MOFs Through Guest Insertion
Research Method: Spectroscopic methods include UV-Vis, Fluorescence, Transient Absorption, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy
Kelvin Urbina
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Development of Catalytic Strategies for Nitrogen Heterocycle Through Organocatalytic Rearrangement and Copper-Mediated β-C–H Functionalization of Aldehydes
Research Method: Experimental synthetic organic chemistry involving reaction design and optimization, multi-step synthesis, catalyst development, chromatographic purification, and compound characterization using NMR spectroscopy, HRMS, HPLC, and related analytical techniques
Beijia Chen
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Boron-Functionalized Dynamic Super-Molecular Systems via Lewis Pair Formation
Research Method: Sensitive Air-Free Reactions Inside a N2 Glovebox or Schlenk Line
Fernanda Liu
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Mild Direct Remote Hydroxylation of Enals in Air
Research Method: NMR, Mass Spectroscopy
Emily Greberman
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Retelling, Redeveloping, and Rewriting the Narrative: Exploring the Use of Narratology in the Courts, Re-Entry, and Education
Research Method: Multi-Method Qualitative Analysis
Chloe Sudduth
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: The Ordinal Tenant: Tenant Screening in the Age of the Algorithm
Research Method: Qualitative and Exploratory
Suman Dhakal
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Carbon Dioxide and Methane Flux Dynamics in Different Terrestrial Ecosystems
Research Method: Eddy Covariance
Pedro Monico
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Drivers of Diversification in Caribbean Bats
Research Method: Integrative approach combining multiple datasets, including morphological, genomic, geographic, and ecological data
Nuray Oncul
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Enhancing Mineral Exploration and Discrimination Using Spectral Induced Polarization: Determination of Faradaic and Non-Faradaic Effects on Rocks with Various Textural and Mineralogic Characteristics
Research Method: Experimental and include qualitative and quantitative
Global Affairs (Discontinued)
Jeffrey Aizprua
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Chaos at the End of the Funnel: How DTOs, poverty, and state capture have channeled drugs and violence to Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Research Method: Mixed method | Novel theoretical framework: local-national-transnational
Kevin Rogan
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Two Tongues: Friends, Seneca, and Market Revolution 1799-1848
Research Method: Qualitative, primarily archival
Tamara Velasquez Leiferman
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: The Transnational Spillover Effects of Northern Gentrification in Southern Cities
Research Method: Quantitative data from public sources, semi-structured interviews, and media analysis
Sannah Asif
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Attributing Agency & Accountability: The Dynamics of Blame in AI Systems
Research Method: Mix of theoretical papers and online experiments
Hyoungseo (Emma) Hong
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Essays on Corporate Political Strategy and Stakeholder Management
Research Method: Empirical methods, archival data analysis
Shubham Singh
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Essays on Transnational Social Activism
Research Method: Archival and quantitative
Kirsten Peterson
2026 Summer Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Weakening of Functional Connectivity and Task Deactivations with Normal Aging
Research Method: Computational methods to analyze human fMRI data
Guanghui Su
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Techniques Toward Multi-Axis Atom Interferometry with a Dual-Pyramid MOT and Naofiber Integration
Research Method: Experimental methods including laser cooling and trapping of rubidium atoms, Raman transitions, atom interferometry, optical alignment, and data analysis of interference signals
Amber Hu
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Investigating the Cognitive and Physiological Correlates of the Episodic Memory Advantage for Negative Information
Research Method: Behavioral, physiological, and computational methods
Casey Nicastri
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Positive Social Feedback and Their Relationship to Interpersonal Closeness
Research Method: Behavioral and physiological vai fMRI
Canyu Gao
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: The Contingent Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Public Management: Evidence Across Bureaucrats, Public Organizations, and Citizens
Research Method: Experiments and quasi-experiments
Oatile Ramsay
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Surviving in Hostile Environments: Strategies Towards Non-Governmental Organization Advocacy Sustainability
Research Method: Systematic review, in-depth interviews, and multivariate analysis of survey responses
Hyorim Seo
2026-2027 Dissertation Fellow
Dissertation: Three Essays on Technology, Labor, and Democratic Governance
Research Method: Multilevel modeling, pre-registered 2x2 factorial experiment, and analysis of panel data