Awarded in 2026
Home Department: Materials Science & Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Guosong Hong (Materials Science & Engineering), Julia Kaltschmidt (Neurosurgery), and Anna Grummon (Pediatrics – General Pediatrics)

Research Title: Linking Ultra-Processed Foods to Changes in Enteric Physiology Through a Transparent Abdomen in Live Mice

Ultra-processed foods increasingly dominate modern diets and drive metabolic disease, yet their effects on the gut remain poorly understood. Elise proposes to develop an in vivo transparency method to study intestinal and metabolic responses in live mice, revealing specific mechanisms that could ultimately guide food policy and healthier dietary choices.