Hamline University students exhibited 129 research projects at the recent Winter Student Showcase – the largest showcase to date.
What began as a poster session for natural science students conducting summer research has grown to a campus-wide event highlighting student research and creative inquiry. It includes courses across natural sciences, psychology, criminal justice, first-year seminars, the arts, humanities, economics and others, giving students a platform to share their research, creative projects and innovative ideas with peers, faculty and staff. The showcase highlights the work that students do during their regular courses, so every student on campus, every course on campus, can choose to participate in this event. This year’s showcase was held Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Attendees could explore posters and ask presenters about their work, fostering dialogue and collaboration across disciplines. Irina Makarevitch, a biology professor and former director of the Summer Collaborative Undergraduate Research Program, reflected on the showcase’s early days.
“When I first took on the interdisciplinary summer research program, students were doing amazing work, but only students working in natural sciences had a way to present their work to the campus,” Makarevitch said. “My goal was to create a space where research and creative inquiry in all disciplines could be shared across disciplines.”
Since then, the efforts to create a multidisciplinary space to share students' work have broadened to include research projects embedded within regular courses, giving students from all majors the chance to engage in meaningful projects without needing to participate in selective summer programs. Makarevitch emphasized that the showcase is about more than displaying results.
“It’s about the process,” she said. “Students know that their projects are meaningful and interesting way beyond their classrooms. They learn to communicate their ideas to a general audience, develop collaboration skills, and build their identity as researchers or creators. Many students start presenting as first-years and return semester after semester. Watching their growth is incredible.”
Historically held on the first floor of Anderson Forum, the Winter Showcase expanded this year into the third floor, which hosted all first-year presenters.
Sophomore Reese Herrig, a legal studies major, presented a research project examining violence in health care settings, including medical homicides, active shooter incidents and cases involving medical professionals who killed patients. The project was conducted as part of the CJFS 3660 course and in partnership with the Violence Prevention Center and the Forensic Psychology of the Law course. It involves building a database to inform future intervention strategies and prevention efforts.
“[The purpose of the project is to] look into these risk factors, like trauma and mental health history, and provide this data to hospital systems so they can use it in hiring and training programs to help prevent these incidents in the future,” Herrig said.
So far, Herrig and her project partner Brie Turobiner have documented more than 170 cases and analyzed 30 variables, including demographics, criminal history and mental health factors. The research is ongoing.
“We kind of turned it over from the class – since we are wrapping up the semester – to the Violence Prevention Center,” Herrig said. “But I also work for the center, so I am still involved with the project as it continues to analyze more cases.”
Another project explored the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, focusing on early detection, treatment planning and ethical responsibilities. First-year Shayla Thao, and her project partners Alex Quintuna Perez and William Flores Blas, conducted the project as part of a first-year seminar (FYSEM) course.
The project focused on using AI to detect early patterns and abnormalities that clinicians might miss, including applications in breast cancer imaging. The team initially considered focusing on biases in AI, but as the project progressed, they realized the technology can be highly beneficial.
“I learned that medical treatment is really important, and one of the biggest ways AI can affect health care is by not only creating a treatment plan for the patient but also making it more individualized, helping the patient receive care faster and more effectively,” Thao said.
Thao and her partners also explored the ethical implications of AI in healthcare, including data security, accuracy, cost and trust between patients and AI systems.
“AI does not have empathy like humans, so even though it can speed up detection and improve accuracy, there’s always the question of how much we can rely on it,” Thao said.
Since its expansion in 2023 to include students from all colleges and departments, the Winter Showcase has more than doubled in size, with 129 projects featured in 2025 compared with 56 in the first showcase. Projects spanned courses across disciplines, giving students opportunities to engage directly with research and creative work while building presentation and collaboration skills.
“Faculty courage is essential for the showcases to work,” Makarevitch said. “They trust their students to develop and present meaningful projects and open their classrooms to the entire campus. That’s a big leap, and it’s inspiring to see it succeed.”
The Winter Showcase is complemented by the Spring Showcase, usually held during the last week of spring term, providing another opportunity for students to share their work and continue fostering a campus-wide culture of research and creative inquiry.