Tomorrow, University of Mary Washington students will showcase the research they’ve toiled away on for the past year as part of the 15th annual Research and Creativity Symposium. The event will be held virtually and will be accessible through Friday.

Ashley Utz knows that over-the-counter medications like Prilosec and Prevacid are typically used to treat ulcers, reflux and other common stomach disorders. But the senior biochemistry major has a theory that these drugs, known as proton-pump inhibitors (PPI), could also help destroy cancer cells.

Tomorrow, along with more than 100 of her University of Mary Washington peers, Utz will share this trailblazing research, which she’s toiled away on in Jepson Science Center labs for the past year, in the midst of a global pandemic. The 15th annual UMW Research and Creativity Symposium, held virtually again this year due to COVID-19, will put a spotlight on one of Mary Washington’s top priorities: undergraduate research. Featuring PDF posters and oral synopses on video, Thursday’s presentations will span disciplines from science to sociology, math to music and classics to communication and will remain accessible through Friday for questions and comments.

“When students discover how to pursue and investigate their own research questions, interpret the information they uncover and communicate their findings, it brings their learning to life and puts the knowledge and skills they’ve gained into practice,” said College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean Betsy Lewis, who described her own undergraduate research experiences as “life-changing.” Read more.