Five SC State students selected for national undergraduate research program

Two teams of honors scholars and campus mentors will connect research with civic impact through CUR’s 2026-2027 STR program

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Two South Carolina State University teams have been selected for the Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) 2026-2027 Students Transforming Through Research (STR): Where Research Meets Civic Impact program.

The selection gives five honors scholars from SC State’s Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College an opportunity to strengthen their research communication skills and learn how to bring their work into conversations with policymakers, community partners and the public.

SC State’s two teams join a national cohort of 48 teams and 193 participants, according to CUR’s announcement. In its acceptance letters, CUR recognized the strength of the teams’ undergraduate research and their understanding of how research can address complex societal challenges.

The SC State scholars and their campus mentors are:

Team mentored by Dr. Eric Williams

•  Atalia Lee, a senior biology major with a minor in chemistry and an applied oncology concentration, from Colorado.
• Jade Butler, a junior biology major from Texas.
• Nadia Ihsan Omer, a senior computer science major from India.

Team mentored by Dr. William Ellis

• Jayrah Bostic, a sophomore nuclear engineering major from Orangeburg, South Carolina.
• Tuhina Sambhus, a junior nuclear engineering major from New Zealand.
• Williams and Ellis will serve as campus representatives and mentors for their respective teams.

The honors scholars bring research experience spanning cancer and biomedical sciences, artificial intelligence and precision agriculture, materials science, and nuclear forensics. Their work connects scientific inquiry to challenges in health, agriculture and public safety.

“Our scholars earned this recognition through their hard work and dedication to research,” said April J. Thomas, executive director of the Undergraduate Research Office (URO). “In my first year leading URO, my focus has been connecting students, faculty, campus partners and external organizations to expand research opportunities. STR gives these scholars a national platform to share their work and explain why it matters.”

Through STR, participants will learn to explain why their research matters to audiences beyond their academic disciplines. Training will cover relationship building with policymakers, opinion writing, policy briefs, the federal appropriations process and media interviews. Participants will also connect with students and mentors across the broader undergraduate research community.

The program begins Nov. 13 with online training continuing through February 2027. Its preliminary schedule includes in-person training and Capitol Hill meetings on March 1-2, 2027, in the Washington, D.C., area.

Thomas led the coordination and submission of both team applications through the Undergraduate Research Office. Dr. Windy Stephenson, interim dean of the Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College, helped identify and recommend the scholars.