LSUS undergraduates gain valuable research experience in funded summer program

LSUS undergraduates gain valuable research experience in funded summer program

SHREVEPORT - "A window into what you can expect when you graduate."

That's how LSU Shreveport chemistry student Michael Miller described his research with faculty mentor Dr. Jack Baricuatro.

That research focused on developing a process to detect a specific chemical (thiocyanate) found in the saliva of heavy smokers, a platform that could be a starting point for detecting other oral health markers.

"I like the process of figuring things out - analyzing and picking things apart really speaks to me," said Miller, who aims to land a job in an industrial laboratory after graduation this coming year. "You can read a textbook in a classroom or follow a set of steps in a lab class, but real research feels and works a lot differently.

"You're using what you've learned and your critical thinking skills to solve real problems in front of you. I can bring my creativity from my art days and apply that."

Miller is one of 15 LSUS undergraduates and nine faculty mentors to participate in LSUS's first ever Program for Undergraduate Research and Creative Experiences (PURE).

The eight-week summer program provided paid stipends to undergraduates and faculty to conduct original research that provides hands-on experience in problem solving and the ability to present research ideas and results.

The disciplines ranged from biology and chemistry to history, computer science, technology and medicine.

Students will create research posters and present their findings Sept. 17.

History majors Samuel Chandler and John Frantz peered through the window of the past in their research project, the transcription and annotation of hundreds of letters from Civil War solider Robert Riley Russell.

Chandler and Frantz, who partnered with Dr. Alexander Mikaberidze and the James Smith Noel Collection, got a frontline view of an enlisted Union soldier who participated in the Red River Campaign and various other campaigns in three years across the South.

"It's been fantastic to get real experience as we plan to pursue future historical work because we're handling primary sources," Chandler said. "We get experience with annotation, checking between different historic documents and doing research on battles he's talking about.

"We primarily focused on battles he mentions, and we go in to add context to help other historians and the general audience understand the references he makes in his letters, almost all of which were to his wife."

The project will result in a book form of Russell's letters and an ArcGIS map of his path during the war.

Several projects looked into second lives for waste, like exploring how to use chitin from crawfish shells and the process by which biodegradable plastics break down.

Biological sciences student Sarah Youngblood, in tandem with professor Dr. Stuart Nielsen, aims to be the first to develop an embryological staging table for New Caledonian chameleon geckos.

"We're opening eggs and taking images of how the embryo develops," said Youngblood, who researches in LSUS's new Science Research Annex where geckos are bred. "This helps with evolutionary comparisons.

"If every embryo starts at the same place, you can find where species diverge, how they branched off and which ancestors they have in common."

Artificial intelligence took center stage in four projects.

Computer science student Kaleb Schmidley worked with Dr. Subhajit Chakrabarty in using AI to predict groundwater levels in the Red River Basin using existing data.

"This alluvial aquifer provides a lot of water for the Shreveport-Bossier area, and to know how much water is going to be in the aquifer will allow you to make decisions about pumping rates so we don't overextend our resources," Schmidley said. "Our machine learning model gives us a pretty solid grasp of what the water level is going to be given the amount of rainfall and other environmental variables."

Two other projects focused on the medical field, which included analyzing electric brain signals and identifying contributors to Type 2 diabetes.

Undergraduate students don't often have one-on-one research opportunities with doctoral-level professors, and that mentor relationship was a key goal for program founder Amanda Lewis, LSUS director of sponsored research.

"These experiences help students develop critical thinking, problem solving, analytical, communication, and teamwork skills that are highly valued in both graduate education and the workforce," Lewis said. "We want our student researchers to learn how to ask important questions, design strong research projects, conduct the research, and communicate their discoveries to others.

"These transformative experiences will empower students to see themselves as scholars and problem solvers, opening doors to many possibilities ahead in their careers."

Lewis launched a trial version of the program in the summer of 2025 with funds from the LSUS Foundation, and those results encouraged broader funding from the university for the program's expansion.

PURE will be a staple of summers to come as Lewis encourages students and faculty to apply this spring.

Dr. Vonny Salim, a biological sciences professor who co-advised five students this summer, said summer is a prime time for students to delve deeper into research.

"A summer research experience provides a more dedicated time where students can focus on critical thinking and developing their projects," Salim said. "The proposals this year were more student based as opposed to more faculty driven (in the trial run).

"Last year we were figuring out the tools to make this happen, and this year, we refined our ideas and processes."

List of PURE research projects from Summer of 2026

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PHOTO CUTLINE CHEMISTRY: LSUS chemistry student Michael Miller is working with Dr. Jack Baricuatro on a project to detect a specific chemical (thiocyanate) found in the saliva of heavy smokers. The research is part of a funded summer research program aimed to develop undergraduate research skills.

PHOTO CUTLINE CIVIL WAR: LSUS history students Samuel Chandler (left) and John Frantz transcribed letters from Union enlisted solider Robert Riley Russell as he fought campaigns all across the South, including the Red River Campaign. The research is part of a funded summer research program aimed to develop undergraduate research skills.

CREDIT: Kylie Richter/LSUS Media Relations