Seniors Present at Global Scholar Research Symposium

From human rights and refugee resettlement to foreign investment and Traditional Chinese Medicine, seven seniors presented a variety of topics at the Global Scholars Research Symposium on April 10. 

Dr. Marike Janzen, associate professor of  Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies, who taught the 2023 seminar, “Citizens, Refugees, Humans” attended as did KU administrators, fellow Global Scholar cohorts, mentors, and friends and family. 


 

Braiden Bangalan, aglobal & international studies, Chinese, and history major, presented “’Round-Trip’ Capital and China’s Global Economic Decoupling.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Jack Zhang, assistant professor, political science

Scholars have long suspected that a substantial portion of “foreign” direct investment (FDI) into China is “round-trip” capital, Chinese money returning to China through offshore financial centers like Hong Kong. However, measuring the precise volume of round-trip capital has eluded scholars because aggregate national statistics of FDI only account for where a “foreign” firm is registered rather than its ultimate ownership. This project investigates the true extent of round-trip FDI into China using machine learning random forest algorithms on 10,000 “foreign” invested firms. Through investigating the round-trip capital phenomenon in China, we aim to uncover the true proportion of foreign capital entering mainland China, contributing valuable insights for scholars in international relations, political economy, and finance.

Monisha Biswa, a political science and public administration major, presented “Intimate Partner Violence in the Lhotshampa Diaspora.”

Research Mentors: Dr. Hannah Britton, professor, political science and women, gender, and sexuality studies and Dr. Michael Wuthrich, associate professor, political science and associate director, Center for Global & International Studies

The basis of my inquiry– how the effects of refugeedom increase the factors that perpetuate intimate partner violence (IPV) within the Lhotshampa community– is built on two claims established by prior literature. First, IPV is perpetuated by economic and socio-cultural factors on both the micro and macro levels. The second framework vital to my inquiry is the historical prevalence of these factors within the Lhotshampa community caused by their refugeedom. By first analyzing the universal factors that perpetuate IPV and then applying them to the experiences of the Lhotshampa diaspora, we can create a comprehensive ethnography of the prevalence of IPV within the Lhotshampa community. This research has important implications for policymakers and scholars.

Hannah Chern, a molecular, cellular, and developmental biology major, presented “Exploring Natural Compounds for Cognitive Decline Prevention.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Romana Jarosova, former assistant research professor, KU Chemistry Department. She is now a professor at Colorado State University.

Carnosine, a naturally occurring dipeptide, has been recognized for its neuroprotective properties and potential in preventing Alzheimer’s disease-related cognitive decline. Influenced by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has long utilized natural compounds to support brain health, this research investigates carnosine’s effects on dopamine regulation and its role in mitigating cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Using zebrafish models for Alzheimer’s disease, dopamine release is measured through fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) at carbon-fiber microelectrodes, while behavioral changes are assessed through a latent learning paradigm. By exploring carnosine’s impact on dopamine signaling and its ability to alleviate behavioral and neurochemical symptoms of cognitive decline, this study integrates ancient medicinal knowledge with modern neuroscience, offering new insights into natural therapeutic approaches for cognitive impairment prevention.

Joohye Oh, an English and Spanish major, presented “Expectativas y esperanza: Framing Experiences with the U.S. Education System in Three Latinas’ Oral Histories.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Marta Caminero-Santangelo, University Distinguished Professor and chair of English

My research project critically analyzes three Latinas’ oral histories about how they ended up in Kansas from their home countries in Latin America. I treat the individual oral histories as literary texts to find overarching connections between these three distinct texts in terms of themes and framing of their migration narratives. I am especially interested in how each individual speaks about their experiences with the U.S. education system as well as how they construct their migration narratives to reflect their distinct values and beliefs. Some key themes throughout these narratives include community and the Latine diaspora/identity. These oral histories belong to a larger joint project between the Center for Latin American Studies (CLACS) and the Kansas African Studies Center (KASC) titled “Coming to the Heartland.”

Catherine O’Lear, a philosophy and women, gender, and sexuality studies major, presented “The Feminist Heartmind: Reconceptualizing Care and Justice through Mengzi’s Virtues.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Brad Cokelet, associate professor in philosophy

For much of modern Western history, the tradition of moral philosophy has held that the best systems of ethics revolved around universal rules that define what individuals ought to do for each other. In the 1980s however, feminist philosophers began to question this paradigm and challenge the notion that ethics had to be purely abstract and impersonal. Thus was born the idea of Feminist Care Ethics, which described a feminist ethical field that sought to incorporate caring alongside the principles of justice in order to bring light to the aspects of women’s work, which had since been devalued. While this created a new wave of ethical thinking within feminist philosophy, there was little agreement over major questions such as whether justice was subservient or equal to care, or how to avoid recreating the same oppressive moralities that women were attempting to avoid. It is here that I bring in the work of Mengzi, a Confucian philosopher from the 2nd century BCE, whose understanding of morality provides a similar call for care as meaningful in ethics.

Fatima Qureshi, a molecular, cellular, and developmental biology major, presented “Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth in Partition Survivors.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Steven Simpson, Professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

My research focuses on the psychological aftermath of the 1947 Partition of India, exploring how survivors of this traumatic event experienced collective trauma and post-traumatic growth (PTG). By analyzing survivor accounts and research, I aim to understand how these individuals rebuilt their lives through community support and spirituality, despite the immense loss of identity and homeland. I also examine the intergenerational impact, particularly how children of survivors internalize their parents’ trauma.

Armina Raheel, a human biology and Slavic languages and literature major, presented “De-colonizing Memory: Modern Resistance to the Exploitation of Circassian Identity.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Ariel Linden, associate professor in Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies

The Circassian cultural identity has been objectified and vilified to justify their historic persecution and forced assimilation. Despite this, the contemporary Circassian diaspora has reclaimed control over their mythos through the promotion of folklore, rituals, and their native languages to resist erasure and sustain their identity without a nation. By employing the arts, they have created a sense of romantic nationalism that challenges their status as migrants and transforms the idea of a homeland from imagination to reality.

Chadhve Ranganathan, a molecular, cellular, and developmental biology major, presented “The Emotional Impact of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees who Fled Sri Lanka.”

Research Mentor: Dr. Terry Koenig, professor, social welfare

I will start with an introduction of the Tamil genocide, talk about the geographic history (partition of Sri Lanka), and a timeline of the war. I will follow up with where Sri Lankan Tamils had to flee and provide statistics of how many people are living in the different areas where they had to flee to. I will then talk about how the war affected the Sri Lankan Tamils and their family (parents, siblings, mental health, occupation). I will talk about if there have been resources that have helped them and what resources could be helpful.