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Welcome to the 2026-2027 Academic Year

A group picture of the correspondents. From left to right: Jamilah Araf ’29, Mai Tran ’29, Maya Cabrera ’27, Angel Toasakul ’27, Haya Elamir ’27, Gabriel Ascoli ’27, and Stanley Stoutamire ’27.
From left to right: Jamilah Araf ’29, Mai Tran ’29, Maya Cabrera ’27, Angel Toasakul ’27, Haya Elamir ’27, Gabriel Ascoli ’27, and Stanley Stoutamire ’27.

Welcome to another year with PCUR! To start the semester off, we already have many great posts lining up starting next week. Please stay tuned for our first post of the academic year and join us on the journey of reflection and exploration through Princeton undergraduate research.

Returning as Chief Correspondent, it is my great pleasure to welcome back our returning PCUR correspondents: Gabriel Ascoli ’27, Haya Elamir ’27, Aishah Shahid ’28, and Stanley Stoutamire ’27. I am also honored to introduce our new correspondents: Jamilah Araf ’29, Maya Cabrera ’27, and Mai Tran ’29.

Returning PCUR Correspondents

Gabriel Ascoli ’27 is a Classics major whose research spans from studying ancient Greek and Roman perspectives on death to researching cancer immunology and pediatric leukemia. He is interested in how these different fields can come together to better understand and help people.

Haya Elamir ’27 is a Molecular Biology major interested in cellular function and immunology. Her research has explored both cancer and the gut microbiome, driven by her interest in understanding disease at the cellular level and contributing to human health.

Aishah Shahid ’28 is an Electrical and Computer Engineering major interested in the intersection of technology and social impact. Her research has ranged from microwave cancer detection to local food systems and how they can better support underserved communities.

Stanley Stoutamire ’27 studies Medical Anthropology and is particularly interested in rural medicine and healthcare equity. His research and broader interests explore the ways health and medicine intersect with history, society, and the lives of different communities.

New PCUR Correspondents

Maya Cabrera ’27 is an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major whose research focuses on the intersection of laboratory, field, and computational approaches to understand how organisms respond to environmental pressures. She has conducted studies across infections and microbiomes in bees and field research on tropical ecosystems.

Jamilah Araf ’29 is a Neuroscience major interested in developmental psychology and the ways young children learn. Through the Princeton Baby Lab, she studies the neural processes underlying language learning in toddlers, while also exploring the intersection of psychology and film.

Mai Tran ’29 is a Chemical and Biological Engineering major interested in materials science and energy. Her current research explores nanoporous materials for carbon capture and computational modeling, building on her earlier work on solid-state electrolytes for batteries.

PCUR Chief Correspondent

Hi again! My name is Angel Toasakul, and I am a senior in the neuroscience department. I am excited to return to PCUR this year as Chief Correspondent. Since sophomore year, when I first joined PCUR as a Natural Sciences Correspondent, I have been exploring my interests in memory and brain health research. Through my experiences in the Computational Memory Lab and brain-based educational outreach through founding Mobile Brain Lab, I have been particularly motivated to understand how research can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives through both discoveries and education.

Please visit our correspondents’ profiles to learn more about each correspondent and follow along with their work throughout the year.

— Angel Toasakul, Chief Correspondent

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Uncategorized

PCUR Archives: Preparing Summer Research Internship Applications

Image depicts student reading a book at a desk covered with texts and research tools, sitting in front of library shelves.
Before you get to the research itself, let’s talk applications! (Photo Credit, Danielle Alio)

We know, we know, it’s winter (well, for the Northern hemisphere at least)! Even though there may be snow outside your window, applications for summer research internships are coming due soon. Before you can dive into an archive, travel into the field, interview your participants, suit up for the lab, or more, you’ll want to think about how you can get a full-time, funded summer research internship. Let’s take a look back at what PCURs over the years have advised!

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Independent Work Present & Publish Findings

PCUR Archives: Senior Thesis Planning

Two students sit at a table with their pen hovering over paper, working on their senior theses.
Students hard at work at a previous year’s Senior Thesis Bootcamp! (Photo Credit, Denise Applewhite)

As this is posted, many Princeton students are hard at work on their senior theses. Some are on campus right now participating in the residential colleges’ wintersession Senior Thesis Bootcamps. PCURs over the years have written extensively on this very important Princeton milestone. Browse through the posts below if you’ll be writing your thesis soon, are writing it right now, or maybe should be writing now.

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Research Life

PCUR Archives: Tips for Winter Break

Image depicts courtyard area with grey bricks and fresh snow. A squirrel is in the corner and in the center are a set of archways.
Campus is quieter during wintersession, but there’s still plenty to do! (Photo Credit, Denise Applewhite)

Ryan closed us off in December with a wonderful post about different ways you can schedule (or not schedule) your time over winter break. To her work, we’d like to invite you to take a look back at some other posts on how you might build research, restoration, and recreation (of the educational kind) into your winter break. Check out the posts below!