AU students excitedly prepare for upcoming URCA Symposium
By Lauren Gulden, a senior journalism digital media major and creative writing minor
The annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium, better known as URCA, at Ashland University is quickly approaching. Each year, about 100 students from within the College of Arts and Sciences present a variety of original research projects in front of an audience.
This year, for the first time, students from the Dauch College of Business and Economics, the Dwight Schar College of Education and the Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences have also been invited to participate.
Sophomore biology majors Leap Vathanak and Luke Bowen began working on their presentation during the fall 2025 semester. Their presentation deals with the effect on the chemical, 1-Phenyl-2-thiourea (PTU) on genes within zebrafish.
“Zebrafish are a tropical fish that are used commonly in developmental research because their offspring are initially transparent,” Bowen said. “They have roughly a 70% genetic homology with humans.”
Vathanak and Bowen explained that they are looking at three different genes, researching the expression and the effects over three different concentrations, all of which can be seen on their poster board.
Another student preparing for the showcase is Hannah McCrea, a senior majoring in psychology. She is presenting her Ashbrook thesis about dreams and their impact on religion over centuries.
“I dive into the works of Sigmund Freud, Karl Yu and Alfred Adler,” McCrea said.
The three major religions she analyzed are Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, with the final section aiming at specifics in Christianity.
McCrea wrote this research project over the summer, completing it last semester. She has always been interested in dreams and enjoyed the opportunity to dive deep into the subject matter.
“I knew there would be a lot of research on them, and I would have a good topic with a lot of information … I’ve always found dreams to be fascinating,” she added.
McCrea’s piece will be an oral presentation and can be seen at the URCA Symposium, along with Vathanak and Bowen’s poster presentation and many, many more topics. The event will take place Wednesday, April 22, on the upper level of the John C. Myers Convocation Center, with presentations scheduled throughout the day (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.).
Established in 2009, the URCA Symposium is designed to give AU students an opportunity to enhance their educational experience. It prepares them to present at professional conferences, author and/or co-author publications in journals, compete and perform at state, regional and national levels and exhibit work in a variety of venues.