Student Caucus Research Grant Recipients - 2025-26
Congratulations to the three recipients of the 2025-2026 SARMAC Student Caucus Research Grants! These three proposals stood out for their rigorous methodological approaches and the clear theoretical and practical significance of the research.
Kaylee Micel, Duke University
Project title: XXXXX
I am a PhD student in Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. My research focuses on how people remember and make sense of their own past mistakes, and how these processes vary across cultures. Specifically, the present study will examine how memories of past mistakes change in relation to self-forgiveness and whether these patterns differ across three countries—the United States, Colombia, and China—that vary in levels of interdependence, or the extent to which the self is viewed as connected to others.
Supervisors: Dr XXXX
Melissa Ruiz Vazquez, Maastricht University
Project title: XXXXXXX
I am a PhD student in Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University, researching how psychoactive substances influence cognition in legally relevant contexts. My current study uses virtual reality to place participants in the role of either a guilty or innocent suspect, requiring them to make legal decisions and demonstrate their understanding of legal rights and procedures. The aim is to investigate how cannabis intoxication affects decision-making, legal behavior, and rights comprehension.
Supervisors: Dr XXXXXXXXXX
Rachel Smith Peirce, Washington University in St. Louis
Project title: XXXXXXXX
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Education at Washington University in St. Louis, USA. Broadly, my research focuses on how learners engage in and benefit from learning and motivational strategies in educational contexts. My proposed research study will investigate how motivation impacts college students' use of AI tools in their coursework.
Supervisors: Dr XXXXXXXX
The Adjudication Process
This year we received 18 high-quality applications. These applications were blindly adjudicated by the Student Research Grant Committee, comprised of the SARMAC Student Caucus and four volunteer reviewers. We wish to express our gratitude to our volunteers - Moon Hooi Ling Yut, Khor Khai Ling, Mairi Irvine, and Kuan-Ju Huang – who made this process possible.
The committee scored applications based on six main criteria: the research aims, the methods & analysis plan, the significance and innovation of the project, the feasibility of the project, the articulation of the proposal, and consideration of open science practices. Each proposal was blindly scored by two members of the committee, with ties being broken by a third blind reviewer that was a senior PhD student.