Student Stories | Faces of TRIF

Faculty mentors inspire undergraduate researcher to focus on mosquito-borne viruses

by Admin | Apr 17, 2020 | Improving Health, Innovations, NAU, Student Stories, Universities

Despite the fact that Daryn Erickson’s research regularly involves making what she refers to as “mosquito smoothies”—preparing mosquito samples in the blender for testing–she loves her work. Daryn has been working at NAU’s Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) for...

A cultural approach to cancer prevention

by Admin | Apr 17, 2020 | Improving Health, NAU, Student Stories, Universities

Finding common ground—an unexpected side effect of cancer research project The first time he drove to the Hopi reservation, NAU senior Jordan Ojeda found himself in an unfamiliar landscape. Unlike the Phoenix suburb where he grew up, on the reservation there are no...

Undergraduate researcher uses bioinformatics to find connections between gut microbiome and Alzheimer’s

by Admin | Apr 9, 2020 | Improving Health, NAU, Student Stories, Universities

Chris Keefe is blending his passions for biology and computer science to help tackle the sixth leading cause of death in the United States—Alzheimer’s disease. To do that, he is using microbiome bioinformatics and computer software development to investigate the...

An undergraduate with a passion for infectious disease research

by Admin | Apr 9, 2020 | Improving Health, NAU, Student Stories, Universities

Kaitlyn Parra aspires for a career in research. And what’s most important for her is seeing that infectious disease research can directly impact patients in a positive way. “All of this is life-changing,” Parra said. “I really wanted to go into medicine. And now that...

NAU undergraduate researcher is tackling opioid addiction from a new angle

by Admin | Apr 7, 2020 | Innovations, NAU, Student Stories, Universities

Amid a national opioid crisis, chemistry major Noelle Waltenburg is finding ways to help people move on from their addiction. She and other students in assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry Naomi Lee’s lab are researching an opioid vaccine that could be...

Mom’s cancer diagnosis makes research personal

by Admin | Mar 31, 2020 | ASU, Improving Health, NAU, Student Stories, UArizona, Universities

“I don’t know what to call it,” said Joseph Espinoza, “but I feel like I have to do something about it. I have to try to find some answers.” In 2018 Espinoza experienced an unexpected confluence of his personal life and his work as an undergraduate researcher. That...

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Innovating for Arizonans

The TRIF initiative, or Technology and Research Initiative Fund, increased the state’s sales tax per proposition 301 to promote university research, development, and technology transfer related to the knowledge-based global economy and to expand access to baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate education, among other priorities. TRIF Priorities include: Improving Health; Water, Environment & Energy Solutions; Space Exploration & Optical Solutions; and Defense & Security Systems. For the most recent Arizona Board of Regents TRIF Annual Report visit the ABOR site.