Fifteen students have been selected to receive $20,000 to support their mentored research and projects for the next two years as a part of the Lumen Prize. The 2026 Lumen Scholar winners will work closely with their mentors on their projects during their junior and senior years.
These are this year’s Lumen Scholars:
Tajallah Amirkhil — Public Health & Biochemistry
Mentor: Molly Green
Project: Barriers and Resilience: Exploring Mental Health among Afghan Refugee Women in North Carolina
“I chose to pursue this research because, as an Afghan woman, I recognize that access to education is a privilege. Currently, more than a million girls in Afghanistan are denied this fundamental right. This reality has motivated me to use my education as a platform to advocate for those whose voices are often unheard. I have decided to focus on mental health, as it is a critically important yet under-researched area within the Afghan population, particularly among women.”
Emma Briceño— English (Creative Writing)
Mentors: Dan Burns & Tita Ramirez
Project: The Desert Lighthouse, a Novel: an exploration of Queerness and Safety through Body Horror, Immortality, and Genre Reinvention
“As someone who is constantly being rebutted for ideas that don't fit, getting the chance to reinvent genre and create space for queer exploration is something I have only dreamed of doing. By writing my novel and defining what comfort can be, I am able to flip the cultural narrative of what is safe and what is scary by talking about love, writing, and culture. Nothing is more important to me than that.”
Kelley Calvillo — Dance Performance and Choreography
Mentor: Renay Aumiller
Project: The Body Knows: Developing a Feminist Framework for Distributed Choreographic Authorship
“As a Dance Performance and Choreography major and someone who wants to dance professionally, I have been and will be a part of many choreographic experiences. In many circumstances, dancers are viewed as cogs in a machine that is the choreographer's vision … I am interested in creating a repeatable and practical framework for choreographic processes that prioritize the dancer's internal knowledge, centering the dancer as epistemically valuable.”
Chloe Cone — Biochemistry
Mentors: Eryn Bernardy & Ahlam Armaly
Project: Solutions in the Soil: Unearthing Novel Antibacterial Compounds from Soil Microbes to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
“I chose to delve into antimicrobial resistance because it is the ‘silent pandemic’ that threatens advances in modern medicine … The passion for this project stems from my curiosity and love for science, the medical field, and exploration of the natural environment … this project will culminate in research that addresses a critical healthcare challenge and an experience that propels my education as a researcher and prepares me for a future in medicine.”
Sanai Crosby — Exercise Science & Dance Science
Mentors: Lauren Kearns & Matt Wittstein
Project: Dance and Neural Activity: Examining Neural Activity Across the Choreographic Process and Performance Environments
“I decided to pursue my project because of my background in dance and my growing interest in how movement connects to brain function. This research allows me to explore the intersection of dance, exercise science, and neuroscience, and better understand how creativity and movement are reflected in neural activity. It means a lot to me to be able to combine my passions and contribute to research that bridges both the arts and sciences.”
Fleur Helmantel — Biomedical Engineering & Chinese Studies
Mentor: Scott Wolter
Project: Development of Tissue-Mimicking Phantoms for the Treatment of Breast Cancer
“Bridging the gap between engineering and medicine, developing tissue-mimicking phantoms for breast cancer research allows me to apply computational and experimental skills to a problem with real human impact. It is especially meaningful to me because it offers an opportunity to contribute to advancing faster and more precise detection of breast cancer.”
Anna Keller — Middle Grades English Education
Mentor: Scott Morrison
Project: Perceptions and Practices of Outdoor Literacy: a Two-Part Mixed-Methods Study
“I always wondered what learning outside could look like, and as a future middle school English teacher, I’m curious about effective ways of supporting students’ literacy development. My two-part study explores how some teachers are teaching literacy outside and how that impacts students’ literacy development – a study that I’m not only incredibly passionate and curious about, but one that will inform and shape my own teaching practices.”
Nevaeh Kimmie — Psychology & Economics
Mentor: Katrina Jongman-Sereno
Project: To Code-Switch or Not to Code-Switch: Authenticity, Psychological Outcomes, and Social Judgement of Black College Students in Predominantly White Academic Spaces
“I chose this project because changing how you speak to be accepted is often expected but rarely examined. I want to explore what that expectation does to students and how it influences the judgments that affect how they’re seen and what opportunities they receive.”
Lisa Kranec — Biomedical Engineering & Applied Mathematics
Mentors: Hwayeon Ryu & Efrain Rivera-Serrano
Project: Mathematical Modeling of Excessive Collagen Production in Cardiac Fibrosis
“I chose to pursue this project because heart disease and heart problems can be some of the most frightening challenges a person can face, often developing silently before becoming life changing … This work means using mathematics and math modeling to uncover hidden tipping points in disease progression, allowing doctors to intervene earlier and give patients a better chance at healthier lives.”
Jordyne Lewis — Economic Consulting & Data Analytics
Mentor: Steve DeLoach
Project: Refugees, Emotional Wellbeing, and Financial Inclusion in Uganda
“I decided to pursue my project because I wanted to serve others through my love for economics and data. To be given the opportunity to work and research with a non-profit to help refugees lead better lives means so much to me as I contribute to something positive while at Elon.”
Kendall Lewis — Biochemistry & Mathematics
Mentor: Jen Uno
Project: Can the Microbiome Heal the Brain? Evaluating Butyrate’s Efficiency in Reducing Stroke Severity within the Context of Obesity
“Research has always been a goal of mine, but my interest became more personal after my grandmother experienced a stroke last summer. This sparked my curiosity about stroke and its connection to widespread conditions in the United States, particularly obesity, and motivated me to pursue research that can contribute to meaningful prevention and treatment efforts.”
Ja’Mir Parham — Astrophysics
Mentor: Zack Hutchens
Project: RESOLVE, ECO, and eRASS: Probing Galaxy Growth through Cold and Hot Gas
“I have always believed that uncovering the secrets of the universe and understanding my place within it to be my life’s purpose. My project allows me to pursue this goal by exploring how galaxies, the many engines of the universe, evolve and what that means for our very own home, the Milky Way.”
Danny Stern — Chemistry
Mentor: Karl Sienerth
Project: From Backlog to Breakthrough: Use of Fluorescence Quenching for the Development of an Explosive Identification Database
“I chose my research because it is something that can truly help people. It is a way for me to use what I learn in my classes to create something original, in this case, a database that can identify explosives to guide police in getting dangerous chemicals away from people trying to do harm. This is meaningful to me because it is how I can give back to my communities that have supported me throughout my life.”
Ainsley Thompson — Biochemistry
Mentor: Yuko Miyamoto
Project: Decreasing Platinum Chemotherapy Resistance by Downregulating STAT3 and Upregulating PTEN in the SKOV3 Cell Line
“I developed this project because the issue of platinum chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer has long been neglected, despite it holding the highest rate of resistance in any cancer. It is my hope that this research opens new treatment paths so women facing this disease no longer have to fight against the ‘silent killer.”’
Scout Winter — Exercise Science
Mentor: Bill Evans
Project: Effects of a Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet on Insulin Resistance and Inflammation in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes
“I decided to pursue dietary research on Type 1 Diabetics partly due to my personal connection to the disease and because the existing research is minimal and often inaccessible to those who need it. I don't want the limited size of the population to be used to justify limited progress.”