Lee University

Seven Lee Students Named 2026 Ledford Scholars

by Kamea Sutherland

Cleveland, TN (09/17/2026) — Seven Lee University students were selected by the Appalachian College Association (ACA) as Colonel B. Ledford Scholars. The Ledford Scholarship provides financial support for students conducting summer research at ACA member institutions, giving Lee students the opportunity to pursue research across a range of disciplines.

This year's Ledford Scholars are Margaret Christmann, Nathan Hanrahan, Hannah Neudigate, Gabe Milliron, Matthew Smith, Christina Diaz Marquez, and Caleb Cornett.

Christmann, a junior health science major, researched bacteriophages, or "phages," which are viruses that infect specific types of bacteria. Her research, "Isolation of Novel Bacteriophages Targeting Staphylococcus epidermidis from Human Skin," isolated phages that infect a bacterium commonly found on human skin, Staphylococcus epidermidis. As an alternative treatment to combat these infections, the phages that Christmann isolated could inform future models of bacteria and phage isolation for treating infection.

"This opportunity has given me the chance to gain hands-on experience while becoming more independent as a scientist," said Christmann. "It has also allowed me to make potential contributions to something bigger than myself or my own project-to research that could one day make a meaningful difference in the life of a future patient."

Christmann's faculty mentor is Dr. Lori West, chairperson for the Department of Natural Sciences and distinguished professor of biology.

Hanrahan, a senior engineering major, explored the idea of artificial intelligence informing the movements of robots in his study, "Autonomous Locomotion through Reinforcement Learning." Through positive and negative reward methods, the goal was to understand how effectively the virtual twin of a physical robot in a simulation can be utilized without ever damaging the real robot, and how closely the training transfers when implemented in the real robot.

"At the project's conclusion, it reminded me of God, who knows me more intimately than any project I will work on," said Hanrahan. "I think about how I am a project God chooses to love deeply and work on. Although I fail Him in the process, He doesn't give up on me."

Hanrahan's faculty mentor is Dr. Michael Franklin, professor of computer science.

Neudigate, a junior English literature and writing double major, spent the summer researching the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's philosophy of the "Will," in her project titled, "Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Aeolian Harp: the Will's Significance in Creative Inspiration." She reframed the common interpretation of his poem "The Aeolian Harp" as a transitional grappling with the source of poetic inspiration, not as an expression of skepticism of faith or a lean toward pantheism.

Neudigate's faculty mentor is Dr. Ashley Mulligan, associate professor of English.

"It was a true joy and honor to work with Hannah," said Mulligan. "She was incredibly diligent as a researcher, thoughtful and insightful in every conversation we had, and reliably hard-working as a writer."

In his study, "Deploying More Ears for Our Songbirds," Milliron, a junior mathematics major with minors in engineering and biological sciences, worked on developing SongMap, a user-friendly software package and customized hardware that tracks where bird sounds are coming from and what birds are being heard. Among many other ecological applications, this toolset will enable mapping bird territories very quickly, something that previously required hours of manually mapped observations.

Milliron's faculty mentor is Dr. Thaddeus McRae, professor of biology.

"Gabe brings such joy to his work. His curiosity leads him to delight in every new insight and motivates him to lean into challenges and build his skills," said McRae. "Whether used to test hypotheses about best practices in wildlife conservation or to explore bird ecology for the sheer joy and goodness of it, these tools will bring more good into the world."

Smith, a senior psychology major with a research focus, spent the summer measuring how students respond to different online course structures, especially in asynchronous courses. He hopes his study, "Self-Determination Theory in Online Learning," will allow for more experimentation with future course design.

"The Ledford program has given me a lot of freedom to make mistakes and learn from them as I navigate my first psychological study," said Smith. "Overall, my confidence in this field has grown a lot, along with my connections. I appreciate all the support my project has been shown, and I hope to continue this work."

Smith's faculty mentor is Dr. Bryan Poole, professor of psychology and director of Lee's Center for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development.

Diaz Marquez, a junior nursing major, looked at the efficiency of yarrow versus antibiotic and Neosporin on common bacterial strains in wounds in "An Investigation of the Chemical Properties of Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)."

Diaz Marquez's faculty mentor is Courtney DeLay, lecturer of chemistry and chemical hygiene officer.

"It was great to collaborate across disciplines and be able to teach Christina new laboratory techniques and instrumentation," said DeLay. "I teach chemistry and she is a nursing student, and it was really neat to see how the two disciplines could work together to explore the efficiency of yarrow in wound care.

Cornett, a junior biblical and theological studies and business administration double major, will begin his Ledford research this fall in a study titled, "Teaching Strategy as a Visual System: Evaluating Structured Mapping in Undergraduate Strategy Education." By studying business students' work throughout the semester, Cornett will search for a better way to teach business strategy through a visual strategy-mapping framework.

"I hope to come away with a much stronger understanding of how research is actually conducted, as I have never done anything close to what we are doing this semester," said Cornett. "I am excited to gain experience in presenting qualitative research in a clear way."

Cornett's faculty mentor is Dr. Guy DeLoach, professor of business administration.

OURS provides campus engagement opportunities to balance the rigorous demands of students' research workloads, while regularly gathering in community and sharing meals together. This experience highlights the academic capacity of Lee students, while featuring the intentional investment of dedicated faculty.

For more information about OURS, visit leeuniversity.edu/ours/.

For more information about the ACA or the Ledford Scholarship, visit acaweb.org/ledford-scholars.