Geoffrey Alintoff

The Future of Clinical Psychedelics in America

Naturally occurring psychedelic drugs, namely psilocybin, have been proven in research to be a potentially viable therapy with great promise for treating a variety of mental disorders, including depression and PTSD. However, due to the high stigmatization surrounding these controlled substances, many roadblocks exist that currently prevent these drugs from reaching widespread, clinical, and controlled use. In my research, I aim to examine the current issues with how we treat mental illness, how to fight stigmas surrounding clinical psychedelics, methods for implementation of these substances, and possible treatment options that are accessible to all in the future.

 

 

Jacob Dorris

Designing Online Tools to Increase Public Participation in Freshwater Mussel Conservation

Freshwater mussels are a key part of Alabama’s aquatic ecosystems, but despite their highly threatened status, they are underrepresented in public knowledge and conservation efforts. My project studies the use of online tools, including educational websites and citizen science-driven field surveys, to increase public participation in mussel conservation. I will develop several such online tools, then investigate their design and effectiveness through field tests with laypersons and interviews with freshwater conservation specialists.

 

 

Katherine Hartley

Bama Bites Back: Alternative Solutions for the Removal of Alabama’s Invasive Plant Species

“Bama Bites Back” will be about potential alternative solutions for the invasive plant species living in Alabama. I will be looking at what Alabama currently does to try and control the spread of these plants, traditional uses of these plants in their native territories, and how to bring these aspects together to start incorporating these plants into southern culture. The end goal is to be able to spread awareness about caring for our environment through southern style cooking and other useful products.

 

Matthew Snyder

The Association Between College Major, Mindfulness, & Wisdom

This project measures baseline wisdom of participants in comparison to a host of exploratory variables, most notably college major. The data will then be analyzed to determine possible next steps in research. It is the first step in determining the effect of various ways of thinking and/or teaching on wisdom development.