Each year, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Sophomore Research Fellowship opens doors for approximately 40 undergraduates to pursue independent research alongside esteemed faculty. Funded by the Brittingham Wisconsin Trust, the Kemper K. Knapp Bequest, and the Provost’s Office, the fellowship provides $3,000 in unrestricted support to student researchers, fostering academic exploration and hands-on experience in diverse fields.
This year, Liv Abegglen and Iris Xu, undergraduate researchers in the Center for Precision Medicine, have been named fellowship recipients for their work in the Webb Lab and Ong Lab, respectively.
Abegglen, working under Dr. Bryn Webb—Associate Professor in the Division of Genetics and Metabolism and Director of the UW Undiagnosed Disease Program (UW-UDP)—is working on a project titled “Defining the role of Cis-Regulatory Element 3 in Hereditary Congenital Facial Paresis, Type 1.” This project advances understanding of the role that noncoding genetic variation plays in disease mechanisms.
Meanwhile, Iris Xu is conducting research in the Ong Lab under Dr. Irene Ong, Associate Professor in the Department of Reproductive Sciences and Associate Director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center’s Cancer Informatics Shared Resource. Xu’s project, titled “Leveraging Pre-trained AI Models for Early Ovarian Cancer Detection in Medical Images,” seeks to adapt pre-trained vision models to identify abnormalities in gynecologic imaging, thus addressing diagnostic challenges in women’s health.
The Sophomore Research Fellowship continues to be a catalyst for undergraduate innovation, offering students the chance to shape the future of science and medicine through meaningful collaboration and discovery.