Undergraduate nursing research assistants make waves locally, nationwide

Traditionally, nursing research students are in Ph.D or master's programs and working on theses or dissertations. But at Boise State, they're undergraduate students, both preparing for bedside nursing roles and conducting research outside of normal class requirements. And they consistently excel at it.

Take this year's Western Institute of Nursing, or WIN, conference: a record-setting 15 students were accepted to present their work, including two students for a podium presentation.

Breaking records is becoming a pattern for nursing research assistants, or RAs. Last year saw the school's highest number of students participating at 18, and this academic year, there were 20.

"Beyond the important contributions that students make to research and evidence-based practice projects, the mentoring relationship between faculty and their RAs has a profound impact on these students," said Amy Spurlock, the Joanna "Jody" DeMeyer Endowed Chair in Nursing. "Many of the new nurse graduates who served as RAs continue participating in research at the bedside and further their education in graduate programs. The work of the faculty in fostering interest and competency in research is one of the most important components of our RA program."

Nursing student Todd Blaylock presented on mental health interventions for nursing students during the Undergraduate Research Showcase lightning talk.

Boise State made a strong showing across the board at WIN this year, with six faculty presenting their work, including two during a pre-conference session. Associate Professors Sarah Llewellyn and Jason Blomquist partnered with Anthony Tolentino from the University of California, Los Angeles to present an interactive, three-hour session on the AI essentials for nursing research and education.

And although the WIN conference dates overlapped with Boise State's Undergraduate Research Showcase, nursing students also represented during the lightning talk and poster sessions.

'Unheard of': A legacy of exceptional undergrads

Boise State cultivates a unique scholarly environment for undergraduate students. The school's legacy at WIN proves this.

Jane Grassley, the Joanna "Jody" DeMeyer Endowed Chair in Nursing between 2014-2019, said one of her favorite parts of the job was taking students to the conference. That's where she saw them get excited about research and "catch the vision" of the power of research.

"Many times we were the only undergraduate students that were there [at WIN] - most of the other students are grad students," Grassley said. "One of the things I loved about being at Boise State … was this idea that undergraduate research assistants could do research!"

Lauren Shoffner presented her work during Boise State's Undergraduate Research Showcase.

Ornelas and senior Grace Ellison have been conducting simulation research with clinical assistant professor Tracee Chapman. They gave a podium presentation at WIN on their work developing a simulation to help nurses recognize and respond to patients experiencing human trafficking.

New simulations in the School of Nursing always start with interviews that lay a realistic foundation for the learning experiences. The background research is so thorough that Ellison said simulations become "a way of advocating for that type of population," since they deeply inform students about scenarios and people they might care for post-graduation.

Seniors Grace Ellison (left) and Hannya Ornelas (right) gave a podium presentation on their research in simulation education.

For Ornelas, the project made her realize how important it is to be informed about issues that are happening locally.

Some of the students who traveled to the WIN conference enjoyed a meal together during their trip.

Ornelas is becoming a proficient presenter of her research, speaking at several conferences in the last year about her work with associate professor Kate Doyon. In October 2025, the two went to Orlando to the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association annual conference, and Hannya gave an hour-long podium presentation.

"There were over 500 people in attendance and Hannya handled it like a pro!" Doyon said. "I can't tell you how many people came up to us after to chat about the presentation and were shocked Hannya was an undergrad - I mean an undergrad, presenting at a national conference in the time slot right after the plenary for an hour. Unheard of."

Funded mentorships inspire both students and faculty

Nursing students land competitive research scholarships and internships at a remarkable rate. In academic year 2025-26, six were awarded funds from Boise State's Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Institute; all of them presented their work at WIN.

Two awardees, Chinma Njoku and Emma Stover, worked under the mentorship of assistant professor Ryoko Kaulser.

"Working with undergraduate research assistants has been one of the most rewarding parts of my role as a faculty member," Kaulser said.

Senior Chinma Njoku was awarded a Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Scholarship to conduct her research with Assistant Professor Ryoko Kausler.

The other four awardees, Sarah Darney, Alice Mwamba, Busola Oluwatoba-Adeyemi and Ornelas, work with Doyon.

"Presenting at conferences and working closely with faculty has challenged me to communicate my work clearly, think more critically, and carry myself professionally," Mwamba said. "At the same time, it's been a reminder that I belong in these spaces."

"It's also impacted how I see my future," Mwamba said. "It's made me want to do the same for others one day, to advocate, mentor, and open doors for students the way people have done for me."

Top-notch RAs help Doyon advance community-based research

In addition to nursing students, Doyon's research assistants make an interdisciplinary team, with students interested in everything from social work to nursing to epidemiology.

"I sometimes forget that they are students because the quality of their work is so good, their attitude is so positive, and they all move with a genuine commitment to learning," Doyon said.

Doyon co-directs Idaho's first practice-based research network - known as INSPIRE - that exists as part of the recently-launched clinical and translational research program. The program is made up of five cores; Doyon is the co-lead of the community engagement core with Elaine Nguyen from Idaho State University.

Senior nursing student Busola Oluwatoba-Adeyemi presented about her work with Associate Professor
Kate Doyon and the community advisory board.

To meaningfully engage and support community clinics, they created a community advisory board of patients and clinicians.

"We want to hear from the people all over Idaho what their priorities are for improving health delivery and what they are interested in knowing more about," Doyon said.

Insights from the advisory board then inform clinical and translational research program initiatives.

"Through projects like the communication prompts with the community advisory board, I hope the work we are doing can actually be used by providers in real clinical settings," Mwamba said. "If something as simple as improving the way a provider communicates can make a patient feel more understood, more respected, or more comfortable receiving care, that can directly impact their outcomes."

Bridging the lab and bedside: Mwamba wins competitive research internship

Mwamba is an avid researcher. This year she worked on four separate projects, pursuing interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biomedical inquiry, healthcare communication and health equity.

In addition to nursing, she's worked with sociology faculty on agricultural research as well as with the Department of Psychological Science studying cultural sustainability and parenting beliefs across multiple countries.

"Together, these experiences have shown me that improving healthcare, especially for underserved populations, requires looking at problems from multiple perspectives and working across disciplines like nursing, psychology, and community-based research," Mwamba said.

Alice Mwamba (left) presented two posters at WIN. One was a group project exploring how pulse oximeters can be less accurate in patients with darker skin tones. The other was her work with Kate Doyon developing communication prompts for healthcare providers, specifically around refugee perspectives on palliative care.

Mwamba also has big plans for this summer. She received an extremely competitive undergraduate research fellowship award from the National Institutes of Health's IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence program.

Mwamba will work with Dr. Mary Cloud Ammons Anderson at Idaho Veterans Research & Education Foundation within Boise's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to learn from this team while contributing to research that has meaningful implications for patient care," Mwamba said. "Being able to do research while also working as a [certified nursing assistant] has been really meaningful to me because I get to see both sides, the clinical side with patients and the research side that works to improve outcomes."

The project she'll work on investigates how bacterial biofilms can interfere with the body's immune response and contribute to chronic, non-healing wounds.

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