The review committee is pleased to announce the recipients for the Spring 2021 Undergraduate Library Research Awards. This year the committee received a small but mighty number of applications ranging from research on campus food pantries to African art collections. This small number made for a difficult decision as all the applicants were well deserving and engaged in inspiring and valuable research.  

This semester we awarded two undergraduates in two different award categories. These students showed exemplary use of library resources, including research consultations with a librarian in their discipline. Their research projects were also both very relevant and timely, in terms of the goals and findings. 

Charlotte Lenkaitis, a senior in Global Health Studies & Spanish received the Humanities & Social Sciences research award for her research on campus food pantries, particularly student-operated food pantries and their sustainability. Using an autoethnographic analysis she interviewed students and University admin on their experiences and support of student-managed food pantries. Her research project is titled “Campus Food Pantries: Exploring the Sustainability of Student-led Food Pantries and Perceived Administrative Support”.  

Here is what Charlotte had to say upon receiving the award: 

“The success of my first independent research project which evaluated the sustainability of student-led food pantries on college campuses was highly connected to the support I received from UI libraries. I am forever grateful for the positive interactions I’ve had with all staff members, especially Brett Cloyd whose guidance was extremely helpful as I gathered sources for my international literature review on college food insecurity.” 

Bryan Mouser, a Senior in Exercise Science received the STEM research award for his research conducting a systematic review evaluating the rates of breast cancer in patients undergoing Female-to-Male gender affirming breast surgery. Within his application, Bryan stated that he hopes the findings will support continued research on breast cancer risk for transgender patients and noting the lack of research on this particular community. His research project is titled “Evaluating the Need for Routine Pathological Analysis in Female-to-Male Mastectomy Patients”. 

Here is what Bryan had to say upon receiving the award: 

“I would like to express so much thanks to the University of Iowa Libraries for selecting my research to be recognized for the Undergraduate Library Research Award. While it feels great to have a work acknowledged, I am even more proud of the recognition for a project that draws attention to and advocates for an underserved demographic. I would like to say a special thank you to Dr. Ali Abtahi, who developed the idea for the project and was willing to let me be a member of his research team, as well as Heather Healy, whose expertise and patience with me throughout the process made a systematic review possible. I look forward to seeing how the scientific community responds to our project and am excited to see the influence it might have on future research.”

Please join me in congratulating these students on their well-deserved accomplishments! To learn more about the award and to see past winners, visit the ULRA site.  

Thank you to the review committee: Tim Arnold, Katie Hassman, Elizabeth Riordan, and Riley Samuelson for their help selecting this semester’s award winners!