CBS Majors Win Big at 2025 Lang Prize
Four students from the College of Biological Sciences have been recognized with 2025 Norma J. Lang Prizes for Undergraduate Information Research, awarded annually by the UC Davis Library.
The prestigious award celebrates undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional skill in finding, evaluating, and synthesizing information to support original research. Now in its ninth year, the prize honors the legacy of the late Professor Emerita of Botany Norma J. Lang, a beloved UC Davis faculty member whose gift to the university continues to support and inspire student scholarship.
This year’s winners tackled a wide range of timely and complex topics—from U.S. military intervention in Chile to the real-world impacts of online health misinformation, the health effects of energy drinks on adolescent athletes, and treatment strategies for managing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Each student made sophisticated use of library resources, from database searches and literature reviews to primary source documents and one-on-one consultations with librarians, to build strong, well-supported arguments in their writing.
The honorees were praised not only for the quality of their research but also for their deep engagement with the process of discovery. Their projects reflect the curiosity, rigor, and communication skills that the Lang Prize seeks to recognize—and serve as an inspiring example of what undergraduate researchers can achieve with the right tools and mentorship.
This year’s CBS Lang Prize recipients
Miranda Do-Tran
Cell Biology
1st Place
Science, Engineering & Mathematics, 2025
“As I encountered conflicting evidence, I had to shift gears and seek a wider range of perspectives. Ultimately, my biggest takeaway is that uncertainty is not a weakness in research, but drives new discoveries forward.” — Miranda Do-Tran
Midlife Hypertension and Dementia: The Shadow Link
Project Description: Do-Tran explores the link between midlife hypertension and dementia through clinician interviews and analysis of peer-reviewed journal articles, opinion pieces, and an Alzheimer’s documentary. She used the forward-backward citation method to map the field over time, examining both a study’s references (backward citation) and newer studies that cite it (forward citation) for highly cited pieces of research.
Divisha Singh
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior
2nd Place
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, 2025
Clicks, Likes, and Shares: How Online Health Misinformation is Undermining Healthcare and Implications for Medical Professionals
Project Description: Singh discusses the complex, nuanced factors contributing to misleading health narratives online—such as inherent bias and cognitive thinking patterns—as well as the impact of misinformation on public health, and potential solutions for healthcare professionals. A class visit by librarian Ruth Gustafson and a consultation with librarian Melissa Browne helped Singh refine her research process.
Peter Gorge
Human Biology
2nd Place
Science, Engineering & Mathematics, 2025
“[In reading] over 45 different sources that included reviews, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, observational studies, case reports, and editorials, I developed my understanding of different research designs and improved my ability to find relevant information within each paper.” — Peter Gorge
Evaluating the Effects of Energy Drinks on Athletic Performance and Health
Project Description: Gorge explores the effects of energy drinks on health and behavior in adolescents seeking athletic performance benefits. He used PubMed and SCOPUS databases to analyze marketing strategies used by energy drink manufacturers to appeal to minors, with guidance on search strategies by librarian Erik Fausak.
Tianeh Parsi
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior
3rd Place
Science, Engineering & Mathematics, 2025
“Growing up in a digital world, I have had to make a conscious effort to fact check information when consuming media online. The library resources helped me reignite this skill, learning to comprehensively evaluate sources to find those that are credible and applicable to my scope of research.” — Tianeh Parsi
Comparing Lifestyle-Only Interventions with Combined Medicinal and Behavioral Approaches in Managing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Project Description: Parsi evaluates the efficacy of various treatment methods for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). She interviewed friends about their experience managing PCOS symptoms to refine her research topic. Parsi then met with health sciences librarian Erik Fausak for guidance in strategic use of library databases to identify sources for her literature review.