James R. Carey Students Continue Their Winning Ways in Lang Prize Competition
Carey Students Have Won First Place in the SEM Category for Each of the Past Five Years
Students of UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey continued their winning ways in the annual campuswide Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research by nailing first and third place in the highly competitive category, Science, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM).
Rowan Webster, a human development major, won first place and a $2000 prize for her research paper, “The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity, and Aging: Implications for Human Health Spans. Emera Nai’a, also a human development major, scored third and $1000 for her “Delirium’s Impact on Longevity in Older Adults: Unveiling the Connection.”
Both students were enrolled in Carey’s human development course, “Longevity.”
Carey’s students have swept first place in the SEM category each of the last five years. Five other Carey students have won either second or third prizes since 2020.
“Around 11 or 12 students from my class entered this year’s competition,” Carey said. “That’s how much I stress writing in my course but also, now with my track record of winners in the course, the students all feel like they have a shot."
Excellent Research Papers
“Dr. Carey has sponsored many Lang Prize applicants; 11 of his students have won the award," said Alesia McManus, the UC Davis Library's Head of Student Services Department and the Lang Prize Chair. "He has also served as a Lang Prize judge since 2021. His record as a sponsor shows that he is very successful in helping students learn how to write excellent research papers."
“Dr. Carey has also served on the prize jury, further demonstrating his commitment to supporting students in their research and writing,” McManus added. “It’s been a pleasure to work with him.” She provides research help, instruction and outreach to undergraduate and professional students "to promote student success and lifelong learning."
Carey, a member of the UC Davis entomology faculty since 1980, is retiring in June after a 44-year career at UC Davis.
The Lang Prize, launched in 2017, recognizes undergraduate students whose research projects make extensive use of library resources, services or expertise, and advance the students’ understanding of the academic research process. It is a legacy from UC Davis professor emerita of botany Norma J. Lang (1931-2015). The Lang Prize competition also includes the category, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Rowan Webster
Her paper is online on the library website.
Webster, enrolled in Carey’s fall quarter class, noted that “Dr. Carey allowed us to choose the topic and encouraged us to do so early in the quarter so we would have sufficient time to complete our research."
"I've never completed a research paper of such depth,” she said, and at first, "was completely overwhelmed."
Webster began the process “by searching Annual Reviews, as suggested by Professor Carey.” She identified key words such as “aging,” “healthspans,” “childhood adversity” and “adverse childhood experiences.”
In her research paper, she reached this conclusion: “As an aging world moves the scientific focus to health in later life, it is crucial that the impact of experiences in early life are not discounted. Evidence has clearly suggested that adversity in childhood has far-reaching implications, both in biological and clinical contexts. The prevalence of ACEs suggests that limiting their impact could have a positive influence on the healthspan of the general population. By maintaining a life course epidemiological perspective, further research may identify the exact mechanisms by which childhood adversity functions to deteriorate human health, opening the door to identify pathways of resilience. The 'number story' of an individual may in fact determine their health in later life currently, but this need not remain so in the future.”
Emera Nai’a
Her term paper is online on the UC Davis library website.
Reflecting on her subject matter, delinum, Nai’a shared that a family member was “never been quite the same after a hospitalization, but I realized I had no idea what that word really meant from a medical perspective, nor did I understand the impact the condition had on him.. Delirium is continuously unrecognized, misdiagnosed or mismanaged in healthcare, which are key contributing factors to the poor health outcomes associated with the condition, and recognizing this inspired my desire to research it further.”
In her research paper, Nai’a concluded that “Understanding the connection between delirium and its effect on older age individuals is key in extending the longevity of this population demographic. Early recognition of delirium could be protective, and even preventative in the case of dementia, has led researchers to study the role of delirium prevention to significantly extend the longevity of older adults. Khachaturian and colleagues (2020) have even made this a focus of a worldwide public health campaign, known as International Drive to Illuminate Delirium, because in their view delirium represents a true public health emergency and one for which there is an ‘unparalleled opportunity’ to make a potentially meaningful impact on longevity. Overall, until healthcare teams improve care approaches to delirium, older adults are at risk of not being afforded the same opportunity to live a fulfilling and healthy life as other population demographics after a healthcare encounter.”
UC Davis Distinguished Professor James R. Carey
UC Davis Distinguished Professor James R. Carey, globally recognized for his research in insect demography, mortality dynamics, and insect invasion biology, is an international award-winning teacher. He was named a semi-finalist for the 2017 international Baylor University Robert Foster Cherry Teaching Award for Great Teaching Program. He also received the 2015 Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from the Entomological Society of America; and the 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award from the UC Davis Academic Senate, given to internationally recognized professors who excel at teaching.
Lang Prize winners from the Carey classrooms from 2020 to 2023:
- 2020: Jessica Macaluso, “The Biological Basis for Alzheimer's Disease.” (Vincent Pan, a student of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Rick Karban of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, won second) (See news story)
- 2021: Barry Nguyen, “Allostasis: The Fundamental Biology and Implications for Social Standing and Longevity.” (Another Carey student, La Rissa Vasquez, won third.) (See news story)
- 2022: Maram Saada, “Huntington's Disease: Etiology, Research Models and Treatment.” (Two other Carey students, Jessica Hevener and David Vo, tied for third. Second place went to entomology professor Geoffrey Attardo’s student, Jocelyn Chu. (See news story)
- 2023: Jenna Schafer, "Timeout with Torpor: History, Biology and Future Medical Applications of a Survival Strategy." (Two other Carey students, Sarah Shores and Neha Bondra, won second and third, respectively.) students (See news story)
In addition, Maram Saada, who won the 2022 first-place SEM award, went on to win the first-place award in the category, Arts, Humanity and Social Sciences, in 2023.