SIUE Graduate School Announces 2026 Research Grants for Research Doctoral Students

SIUE Graduate School Announces 2026 Research Grants for Research Doctoral Students

The recipients of the Graduate School's 2026 Research Grants for Research Doctoral Students (RGRDS) awards have been selected. The RGRDS program awards grants of up to $1000 to support research and projects initiated and conducted by students of the SIUE EdD program, PharmD program, DNP programs, and the co-operative PhD programs to enhance their academic progress. The purpose of this program is to support the research of doctoral students under the guidance of faculty advisors.

"These awards represent exactly what the Graduate School exists to do--put resources directly in the hands of doctoral students so their research can move forward under the guidance of the faculty members who know their work best," said Christopher Slaten, PhD, Associate Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. "Across history, education, engineering, nursing, and pharmaceutical sciences, this year's recipients show the breadth of scholarship happening at SIUE, and I am proud of the momentum they are building for our doctoral programs."

The following is a list of the 2026 RGRDS award recipients:

College of Arts and Sciences

Michael Pomatto in History, "The Illinois Slave Referendum Issue of 1824"

School of Education, Health and Human Behavior

Angela Huels in Educational Leadership, "Teachers' Perceptions of Student Use of Artificial Intelligence and Assessment Design Practices Related to Academic Integrity: A Qualitative Multiple-Site Case Study"

Jacob Carlson in Educational Leadership, "Qualitative Analysis of Digital Technology Impact on Teacher Pedagogy"

Jaime Henderson in Educational Leadership, "Speech-Language Pathology Teaching Faculty's Experiences of Incorporating Affirming Care in their Pedagogical Practices within the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Evidence Based Practice Model"

Jared Holman in Educational Leadership, "Beyond Fidelity: Teachers' Experiences of PBIS in a Title I High School in Central IL"

Katie Bevis O'Neal in Educational Leadership, "Learning Targets, Success Criteria, and the Power of Clarity in Classrooms"

Michael Cory in Educational Leadership, "Student Understanding of Traditional Grading Systems"

Robert Wright in Educational Leadership, "The Decision to Enter Education: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences and Motivations of Secondary STEM Educators"

Suze Gibson in Educational Leadership, "Access, Opportunity, and Equity: Exploring the Impact of Dual Credit Funding Policies at Roxana High School"


School of Engineering

Hamed Mozaffari in Mechanical Engineering, "Robust Pose Estimation under Measurement Delays and Quaternion Constraints for Robotic SLAM Applications"

Yuzhou Zhu in Mechanical Engineering, "Impact Dynamics and Bifurcation Analysis of Nonlinear Dynamical System"

Yassar Yusuf in Civil Engineering, "Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Steel-Concrete Composite Beams under Full and Partial Shear Interaction"

School of Nursing

Chad Cuconato in Nurse Anesthesiology, "Development and Implementation of an Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravascular Catheter Insertion Training Program for First and Second-Year SRNAs"

Mallery Reiff in Nurse Anesthesiology, "Assessing the Role of Emotional Intelligence Testing in Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program Admissions"

School of Pharmacy

Amrita Talukder Mohini in Pharmaceutical Sciences, "Investigating the Anti-Cancer Mechanism of Ribavirin"

Austin Robinson in Pharmaceutical Sciences, "Synthesis of Tetracaine Derivatives Through Chemical Modification: Structure-Activity Relationship Analysis and Evaluation of Wound Healing Potential"

Zacheus Carr in Pharmaceutical Sciences, "Optimization of Solvent Injection Parameters for Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems"

Congratulations to all RGRDS award recipients.

PHOTO: Cougar statue on Stratton Quad