Preparing Undergraduates for Graduate School since 1999
Mission
The TRIO McNair Scholars Program at Washington State University prepares undergraduates for their future doctoral studies.
Vision
The TRIO McNair Scholars Program at WSU will be recognized as the university’s vanguard in preparing undergraduates for graduate education.
Goals
The TRIO McNair Scholars Program at WSU will provide program participants with graduate education preparation activities and services to include faculty-mentored research experiences, coursework focused on the craft of research and the culture of graduate education, and academic and career counseling.
McNair Scholar, Zakora Moore, is a bioengineering major who
conducts cutting-edge research on optimizing the growth of cancer-fighting T cells under the guidance of Bernie Van Wie. Zakora won the Crimson Award for her presentation at SURCA, Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.
McNair Highlights
McNair Graduating Scholars Class of 2025
Congratulations to McNair Scholars Akira Park, Michelle Godfrey, April Mendoza, Anika Wood, Marcus Foster, Aneesah Mills-Mayanja, Moises Carranza, Geselle Sotelo, and Tyrique Lewis. Wish you all an exciting journey ahead!
McNair Scholars 2025 SURCA Award Winners
Congratulations to our McNair Scholars and Students who presented and won awards at the Showcase for Undergraduates Research and Creative Activities (SURCA)! Our scholars took home 6 of the 44 Awards home this year. A record win for our first year students!
Emily Eddy received —a Crimson Award, Emiltze Cervantes, Lesly Valdovinos-Arevalo, and JoJo Maestas— won Grey Awards in the Research Proposal Category
Pedro Mendoza-Zamora won a Grey Award in the Organismal, Population, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology category.
For more information about the event, please visit SURCA website
Emily Eddy received —a Crimson Award, Emiltze Cervantes, Lesly Valdovinos-Arevalo, and JoJo Maestas— won Grey Awards in the Research Proposal Category
Pedro Mendoza-Zamora won a Grey Award in the Organismal, Population, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology category.
For more information about the event, please visit SURCA website
Molecular
Biology
Scholars
Program
Acceptance
Congratulations to our Scholar Geselle Sotelo Mendoza on her acceptance as a 2024 MOL BIO Scholar at Princeton University!
This fully funded visitation program allows Geselle to explore the Princeton campus, learn about graduate admissions, and interact with the Molecular Biology faculty!
This fully funded visitation program allows Geselle to explore the Princeton campus, learn about graduate admissions, and interact with the Molecular Biology faculty!
McNair Scholars and Students at the 26th Annual University of Maryland National McNair Conference
Here are the lists of students and scholars and their research titles:
Pedro Mendoza presented “Habitat Characteristics Predicting Occupancy of Black-Tailed and White-Tailed Jackrabbits in eastern Washington”
Emily Eddy presented: “Influence of Adolescent Social Isolation and Cannabis Exposure on Dopamine Innervation and Adverse Behavior”
Moises Carranza research title: ““Exploring Containerization for Unmanned Vehicle Security”
Anika Wood “the social determinants of vigilante violence: a case study of South Africa, Africa, and Zimbabwe”
Michelle Godfrey “Relationship Quality Between Mothers and Daughters and the Effects on Daughters’ Socioemotional Development”
Rocio Ortiz presented “Exploring the relationship between variation in ASIP and MC4R genes and feeding behavior in dogs”
Kiara House research was titled “Gendered Constructions of Response to Sexual Abuse”
Juan Pena “Massive Blackholes in Low Mass Galaxies”
Pedro Mendoza presented “Habitat Characteristics Predicting Occupancy of Black-Tailed and White-Tailed Jackrabbits in eastern Washington”
Emily Eddy presented: “Influence of Adolescent Social Isolation and Cannabis Exposure on Dopamine Innervation and Adverse Behavior”
Moises Carranza research title: ““Exploring Containerization for Unmanned Vehicle Security”
Anika Wood “the social determinants of vigilante violence: a case study of South Africa, Africa, and Zimbabwe”
Michelle Godfrey “Relationship Quality Between Mothers and Daughters and the Effects on Daughters’ Socioemotional Development”
Rocio Ortiz presented “Exploring the relationship between variation in ASIP and MC4R genes and feeding behavior in dogs”
Kiara House research was titled “Gendered Constructions of Response to Sexual Abuse”
Juan Pena “Massive Blackholes in Low Mass Galaxies”
McNair Alumna Internship Experience
Zakora Moore, one of our recent McNair alumna shares her experiences of her summer internship with Boston Children’s Hospital where she worked on “studying the growth plate to combat osteoporosis and skeletal fragility in children”.
Read more about Zakora’s Internship experience. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7232085652186537984/
Read more about Zakora’s Internship experience. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7232085652186537984/
2025 REU Acceptance
Congratulations to Pedro Mendoza-Zamora on his acceptance to the 2025 Texas A&M Costa Rica REU Program, fully funded!
Pedro will be in Texas A&M for 5 weeks and then travel to Costa Rica for 5 more weeks this summer where he will characterize the gradient of water, climate, and biodiversity in the watershed of a tropical montane forest in central Costa Rica! For more information about the program, visit HERE!
Pedro will be in Texas A&M for 5 weeks and then travel to Costa Rica for 5 more weeks this summer where he will characterize the gradient of water, climate, and biodiversity in the watershed of a tropical montane forest in central Costa Rica! For more information about the program, visit HERE!
McNair at the 25th Annual University of Maryland National McNair Conference
McNair Scholars, Consuelo Munguia presented “Expanding education on
mental health disorders
within underrepresented
committees”
Areli Orozco presented “Influences Mental Health has
on Academic Performance
on Students of Color”
Ben McDonald presented “Primordial Black Holes as
Dark Matter Candidates”, Marcus Foster presented “Mineral Analysis of Biotitic
Host Rock Unit from Lemhi County, Idaho”
Rhea Grace Manzano presented “Relationship between stress
and sleep amongst South
and Southeast Asians”
Geselle Sotelo presented “Investigating deterministic
drivers of mycorrhizal fungal
community assembly in the
northwestern US”
Tyrique Lewis presented “The Role of CD64/FcyRI in
antibody-mediated activation of
Monocytee against SARS-C0V-2″
April Mendoza Magana presented “Surveillance for exposure to hantaviruses among the inland northwest”, and
Alejandra Prado presented “Evaluating the knowledge,
attitudes, and practices towards
rodent and tick-borne diseases
among rural Latino and non-Latinos
farmworkers in eastern
Washington”
mental health disorders
within underrepresented
committees”
Areli Orozco presented “Influences Mental Health has
on Academic Performance
on Students of Color”
Ben McDonald presented “Primordial Black Holes as
Dark Matter Candidates”, Marcus Foster presented “Mineral Analysis of Biotitic
Host Rock Unit from Lemhi County, Idaho”
Rhea Grace Manzano presented “Relationship between stress
and sleep amongst South
and Southeast Asians”
Geselle Sotelo presented “Investigating deterministic
drivers of mycorrhizal fungal
community assembly in the
northwestern US”
Tyrique Lewis presented “The Role of CD64/FcyRI in
antibody-mediated activation of
Monocytee against SARS-C0V-2″
April Mendoza Magana presented “Surveillance for exposure to hantaviruses among the inland northwest”, and
Alejandra Prado presented “Evaluating the knowledge,
attitudes, and practices towards
rodent and tick-borne diseases
among rural Latino and non-Latinos
farmworkers in eastern
Washington”