UROP Leader Information Submission: Submission #321

Submission information
Submission Number: 321
Submission ID: 22322
Submission UUID: c226d241-3a12-4190-89dd-047a95579db3

Created: Sun, 04/19/2026 - 07:29 PM
Completed: Sun, 04/19/2026 - 07:31 PM
Changed: Sun, 04/19/2026 - 07:31 PM

Remote IP address: 68.234.254.74
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Ava
Griner
Ava Griner
she/her
Sarasota, FL, USA
agg23f@fsu.edu
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Music/Behavioral Neuroscience
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Spring, 2028
My current focus is at the intersection between music and neuroscience. The project I am working on now involves investigating the relationship between improvisation in student musicians and cognitive flexibility. Working with faculty in the College of Music, I am designing a study to quantify both the cognitive flexibility and improvisational experience in pianists. Then, I plan to complete a statistical analysis to uncover a possible relationship between the two.
Through UROP, I was able to participate in a research project through the Communications Department. In this study, we measured the gender and racial representation present in cleaning product advertisements. I have also worked with the Dewan Lab as a research assistant. This involved husbandry and general lab support tasks.
How do you hope to impact your students as a UROP Leader?
I hope to inspire students to pursue research that they might not immediately be drawn to. UROP provides students with access to a multitude of different research projects and topics, and every one of them inspire incredible growth. While many students come into UROP with an idea of what they want to study, the sheer number of projects allows for hidden interests to be uncovered.
Being a student in the College of Music, I am very active in the vocal performance scene at FSU. I have performed in FSU choirs and one of the operas . On top of school work and extracurriculars, I spend approximately 2 hours a day practicing my instrument, and am hoping to have a brief career in performance. I am also a runner and participate in the Tallahassee Half Marathon every year.
IMG_2970 (1).jpg
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2026
No
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2024-2025 and 2025-2026