Chemistry of Life Processes Institute Lambert Fellow and Weinberg junior Julian Novin was one of several Northwestern undergraduate students who took home awards for their research at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium at the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center on April 19.
CAURS, planned and run almost entirely by undergraduates, brought students from across the city to present their research via oral and poster presentations.
Applicants had to submit a research abstract and were admitted on a rolling basis. With nine total awards presented, NU undergraduates swept the competition, winning in a variety of fields from biological sciences to social justice.
Weinberg senior Morgan Willison presented their research on gender-affirming care clinics and won the award for “Top Poster in Social Justice.” They said this project is almost two years old and began because of their interest in gender-affirming care’s prominent place in the media.
Willison said they have worked with the Office of Undergraduate Research for nearly their whole time at NU for different projects and grant proposals. The office provided Willison with feedback on their poster and helped Willison prepare their judge and audience pitches for CAURS.
“I didn’t get an award at the last CAURS presentation, so that was nice to know that I improved and stepped up,” Willison said. “It feels good to be recognized. I appreciate it, definitely.”
Weinberg sophomore Ritvik Viniak said his experience at other research conferences, as well as his time spent doing science fairs in high school, prepared him to present his research to the CAURS judges, many of whom were graduate students and professors.
Viniak has worked with the NU’s Jeremy Lavine Research Lab — which focuses on treating macular degeneration, a disease which causes a buildup of debris in the retina — since January 2024. He took on a larger role last May and now studies how to maintain blood vessels within the eye that are typically lost during macular degeneration.
Rather than make a script, Viniak outlined several points he wanted to include in his presentation to prepare for CAURS. His research and presentation won him the award for “Top Poster in Biological Sciences.”
“I spent a couple of hours just running through it again and again and the morning of, same thing, I wasn’t judged until a couple of hours after the presentation started,” Viniak said. “I was very surprised but very grateful when I found out that I won.”
The other award-winners from NU include SESP senior Binhao Wu for “Top Oral Presentation CAURS 2025,” Weinberg junior Aidan Balagtas for “Top Poster Presentation CAURS 2025,” Weinberg senior Avery Blaszak for “Top Poster in Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology,” McCormick junior Lynna Deng for “Top Poster in Engineering and Computer Sciences” and Weinberg junior Julian Novin for “Top Poster in Chemistry and Environmental Sciences.”
Novin took home the award for his work with the Silverman Group on treatments for ALS, a disease that affects motor neurons and often leads to death by respiratory failure. Novin said there is a substantial need for new therapeutics and new drugs that can help manage ALS.
Novin joined the Silverman Group last spring. Since then, he has been awarded the Lambert Fellowship, which helps fund two chemistry students each year. He said participating in this research and presenting in conferences has helped him make decisions regarding his future in chemistry.
“Being able to participate in such amazing research has been a great opportunity for me to find out what I’m interested in and see if I want to pursue more of a long-term research position after graduating with my chemistry degree, or if I want to go a completely different pathway,” Novin said.
