To further the expansion of student research opportunities at Nevada as a stated goal in the Joint Vision 2017 document, ASUN recognized that reputable research must be published in a research journal, so that it can be reviewed, analyzed, and tested for validity. Due to the highly competitive process to be published within a research journal, undergraduate students rarely are able to produce the caliber of research required to be in such journals; thus, ASUN wanted to provide a medium for all current undergraduate students in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to be eligible to submit to an interdisciplinary undergraduate research journal.
In March of 2011, the ASUN Senate and the Special Senate Committee on Undergraduate Research and Journals passed a legislation to create the Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal (NSURJ) in hopes that academic research will enrich the education of undergraduate students and prepare them for future academic and professional endeavors, regardless of the field of research.
NSURJ staff is comprised of multiple volunteer associate editors and academic referees from various NSHE institutions who collaborate with two senior co-editors to provide a peer reviewed research based journal which will publish twice annually. The senior co-editors are undergraduate students who are to ensure the highest standards of research accountability are met in published articles.
The mission of NSURJ is dedicated to educating, supporting, and providing a competitive edge for all students in the NSHE system. This is accomplished by providing an accessible, student run, and highly selective peer reviewed research journal specifically for undergraduate students.
Faculty
Larissa Gloutak
Senior Co-Editor
Larissa is a senior Neuroscience major with a political science minor for Southern California. Her research experience involved studying sleep in the biology department. and she is beginning her Honors thesis with Drosophila melanogaster. She worked previously in ASUN as a senator and Committee on Academics chair and anticipates an exciting year with NSURJ. Larissa enjoys photography, old movies, and card games; she plans to pursue a career in medicine upon graduation.
Tanner Lyon
Senior Co-Editor
Tanner Lyon is an honors student with a philosophy major and English literature minor. His personal research pertains to sociopolitical/economic theory, psychoanalysis, French poststructuralism and postmodern literature. Among his favorite writers are David Foster Wallace, Jorge Luis Borges, and Vladamir Nabakov. Upon receiving his bachelors, Tanner will be pursuing a graduate degree in philosophy.
Kathryn Becker
Associate Editor
Kathryn is a Senior in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, pursuing a career in Pharmaceuticals.
Cayler Miley
Associate Editor
Cayler is a computer science and engineering major specializing in the automotive industry. His is pursuing a battery and energy storage technology minor in my final year at UNR. He loves to play video games as president of Nevada eSports and play guitar in his free time.
Brianna Peacock
Associate Editor
Brianna is a third year chemical engineering major. She works in the Tucker research group with peptides of wasp and bee venom to test how they affect membrane formation. In the future, she would like to continue with research and attend medical school.
Sandra Sandoval
Associate Editor
Sandra is passionate about technologies & research as a Published scientist in Emergency Medicine. She is the CEO for Lagrangian Tech, a subsidiary of Massachusetts Technologies & Services Enterprises Inc based out of Henderson, Nevada. She manages the #1 Subscription Based IT & Computer Services in industry. Her passions are related to technologies in computer science, space based power beaming (SBPS), mining & manufacturing of helium-3 and other precious resources on the moon advancing humanity forward towards a sustainable future. Sandra's past experience in research includes the position of Lead Emergency Medicine Research Assistant at University Medical Center (UMC Hospital) in Las Vegas from 2011-2016 working in the ER, Trauma, and Pediatrics ER conducting research studies for the Emergency Medicine Physician Residents. Sandra was also involved with research at Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of NASA's Hydroponics Research Grants obtained through Nevada State College in 2016, as a research student worker.
Sarah Sella
Associate Editor
Sarah is a senior Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, pursuing a career in medicine. She researches in the Diagnostic Discovery Laboratory studying antibodies of several diseases. Sarah works as a scribe for the Emergency Department of Renown Health. She enjoys reading, running, and the fraternity she is a member of - Phi Delta Epsilon.
Benjamin Wagner
Associate Editor
Benjamin is a Biochemistry major and a political science minor. He has been doing research in the field of sustainability as a part of Dr. Jeffrey Harper’s lab. In his free time, Benjamin enjoys being a part of the ultimate Frisbee and rock climbing teams at UNR.