Stevens Students Shine at ICUNJ Undergraduate Research Symposium
Eight Stevens undergraduates presented original STEM research at the annual statewide competition — and one took home top honors
When Evnika Myhovych ’28 stepped up to present her research at the Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey (ICUNJ) Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 23, she brought with her a project at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cardiovascular medicine. Judges took notice: Myhovych received the award for Outstanding Presentation and Research, one of just three students recognized among 57 projects and more than 65 student presenters from across all 13 ICUNJ member institutions.
Her project, AI-Enhanced Optical Coherence Tomography for Detection of Coronary Artery Pathology, explored how AI can improve diagnostic imaging for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death globally. Working with her faculty advisor, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Yu Gan, Myhovych analyzed approximately 100 volumetric OCT scans and around 450 image pairs, comparing low- and high-resolution imaging systems and validating findings against histological sections reviewed alongside a clinical pathologist. She then applied a deep learning super-resolution model — known as CPSA-GAN — to enhance lower-quality scans, finding that the approach improved structural clarity and plaque identification. The implications are significant: More accurate coronary imaging at lower cost could expand access to earlier diagnosis for millions of patients worldwide.
“Coronary artery disease affects millions of people worldwide, and one of the barriers to early diagnosis is access to high-quality imaging,” said Myhovych. “What excited me about this project was the possibility that AI could help bridge that gap — improving the clarity of lower-cost scans so that more patients could benefit from earlier, more accurate detection.”
Myhovych's presentation stood out in another way as well: She brought a physical model of the cardiac structures she was studying, an unusual touch for a poster presentation that helped judges and visitors visualize the arterial pathology at the center of her research.
Myhovych is a biology major with a minor in medical humanities, and her project was supported by a Nokia Bell Labs ICUNJ scholarship and additional funding from the NSF Career III grant.
She was one of eight Stevens students who presented original research at the symposium, held at Bell Works in Holmdel, New Jersey — a venue with deep ties to scientific discovery as the former home of Bell Laboratories. The half-day event challenges undergraduate students from New Jersey’s independent colleges and universities to conduct independent STEM research, present their findings to industry judges and defend their results in a competitive format designed to build communication, critical thinking and technical skills.
The full cohort of Stevens presenters reflected the breadth of research happening across the university:
Syon Doshi ’27 and Osinachi Uga ’27 — Design and Synthesis of Novel SARS-CoV-2 MPro Inhibitors for the Treatment of COVID-19 (Faculty Advisor: Sesha Sridevi Alluri)
Lilya Eid ’26 — Biomimetic Nanofiber-Assisted Engineering of the Corneal Stroma (Faculty Advisor: Hongjun Wang)
Savanna Fiscus ’26, Margaret Previglian ’26 and Isabel Vogel ’26 — Engineering a Microsphere-Based Organoid to Model the Colorectal Tumor Microenvironment (Faculty Advisor: Hongjun Wang)
Cara Leonard ’26 — Using Mouse Models to Understand Immune Evasion in Colon Cancer (Faculty Advisor: Ansu Perekatt) — recipient of the Novartis Science ICUNJ Scholarship
Evnika Myhovych ’28 — AI-Enhanced Optical Coherence Tomography for Detection of Coronary Artery Pathology (Faculty Advisor: Yu Gan) — recipient of the Nokia Bell Labs ICUNJ Scholarship, Award for Outstanding Presentation and Research
“Seeing our students bring their research into a competitive statewide forum and do so well is exactly what undergraduate research at Stevens is about,” said Eve Riskin, Dean of Undergraduate Education. “Evnika’s recognition is wonderful, and I was lucky to have her in class last year. I am impressed by the breadth of questions our students are tackling, from cancer immunology to corneal tissue engineering. This is the kind of hands-on discovery that defines a Stevens education.”
The ICUNJ Undergraduate Research Symposium, now in its fourteenth year, has showcased student research across all 13 member institutions since 2012. This year’s event drew a record number of projects, with research spanning fields from neuroscience and biochemistry to computer science, environmental science and engineering. Stevens Institute of Technology is a proud member institution of ICUNJ.
