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ý Announces Winners of ‘COVID-19 Change Challenge’

COVID-19 Challenge


By brittany sylvestri | 5/5/2020

ý has announced the winners of the COVID-19 Change Challenge organized by the . Students were asked to submit their ideas of how to meet the demands of COVID-19 related issues for an opportunity to earn up to $2,000 to help implement that idea. 

“We know that it’s through an all-hands-on-deck effort with good science, innovation and hard work that we will beat back this pandemic,” said , Ph.D., vice president for research at ý. “Great research ideas for tackling COVID-19 don’t come exclusively from high-level researchers with years of experience. These student winners show that they can contribute to the solutions.”

Sean Paz, a doctoral student from the Department of Biology in the , won for his project on optimizing the COVID-19 testing process to improve the methodology.

Elena McLaughlin, a doctoral student from the , was selected for her project on supporting fine motor skills development of young children with Autism spectrum disorder. 

Students Christy LaFlamme, ; Alexia Betances, ; Michelle Cunningham, College of Education; and Toluleke Famuyiwa, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, won for their project, “Keep Moving.” The idea is an online platform that engages the community and ý with at home challenges, virtual volunteer hours, motivational segments, and mental health check-ins to stay connected during this pandemic.

Steven Shiba, first-year medical student from the , won for his idea to build an individualized COVID-19 early detection and symptoms monitoring system.

For more information about the ý’s Division of Research, click .

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