May 4, 2021
Working with faculty sponsor Christopher Kelty, five Human Biology and Society majors– Krupa Prajapati, Ma’ayan Epstein, Hannah Huhn, Anushka Jain, and Oscar De La Rosa– have won first place in this year’s 2021 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research, for their podcast, “A Battle of Two Fronts: Effects of COVID-19 and Social Stigma on the Undocumented Latinx Community in California”.
The podcast was developed for SocGen 108, a capstone course for Human Biology and Society majors. For the final project in this 10-week course, students draw on skills that they have developed over the course of their undergraduate studies. Working in small groups, and guided by a faculty sponsor, students conduct research on real-world life science topics, framed in a societal and cultural context. They communicate what they’ve learned through creative final projects, that have included podcasts, magazines, websites, board games, and a proposed non-profit.
Wynn Tranfield, a committee member for this year’s UCLA Library Prize for Undergraduate Research said, “This year, competition for the Library Prize was stiff and each application went through a rigorous judging process. There were many more outstanding projects than prizes to award. The Society and Genetics student project was truly exceptional.”
Additionally, this year’s Library Special Collection’s Prize will also go to Society and Genetics undergraduates: Alice Lu, Alex Nechaev, Ashley Kenney, and Sophie Marencik, for their project “It’s Always Sunny in Central LA”. Their faculty sponsor was Bharat Venkat.
Students and their sponsoring faculty will be recognized at this year’s Library Prize for Undergraduate Research award ceremony held during Undergraduate Research Week on May 28 2021 at 2pm.