Regina Pina Martin
The University Writing Program is proud and honored to congratulate one of our students, Regina Pina Martin, who has won a University Scholars Program award. With this award, Regina will undertake funded research in 2024, mentored by a member of our faculty, Dr. Alison Reynolds, Program Director.
Every year, the University Scholars Program awards scholarships to only 200 students from a very competitive pool of undergraduate candidates from across the University of Florida. Winning these awards is an achievement that attests to our students’ intellectual promise and ambitions. This year, the UWP is excited to see what Regina accomplishes as she plunges into the world of research with her unique and challenging project.
Let’s get to know a little bit about Regina and her work.
Regina is in her third year studying biology and anthropology with a minor in health disparities in society. She also works as a volunteer researcher in the UF-Shands Dept. of Anesthesiology’s Neurosciences in Anesthesiology Lab. She aspires to attend medical school after UF and become a physician.
Her research focuses on exploring the rhetoric of women’s pain, namely how their prior experiences, agency, and health literacy impact provider perspectives and their interactions with the health systems they utilize. Last semester, she worked with Dr. Alison Reynolds on a literary review article exploring current research on the rhetoric of women’s pain in the context of their health literacy and patient agency. Her paper was published in the first edition of the International Undergraduate Journal of Medicine, Disease, and Society this past summer.
In hopes of generating primary data, her current research focuses on thematic analysis of interviews with college-aged women at the University of Florida regarding their experiences with pain in healthcare settings. Through this research, she strives to contribute to expanding our knowledge on a historically under-researched topic and shed light on the realities women face in healthcare interactions. Ultimately, Regina aims to elucidate insights that can both highlight these experiences and provide avenues for future research and improvement within our healthcare system.
In assisting Regina with the research, Dr. Reynolds notes, “The prospect of mentoring a student through the process of such relevant research, and toward possible publication, is such a welcome opportunity for me as a faculty member, and for Regina as an undergraduate student. The University Scholars Program makes mentoring an actuality and a rare opportunity to share information and teach beyond the classroom.”
Beyond her USP project, Regina is involved with multiple communities on campus. She serves as the director of UF’s Pre-Health Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Delta and the president of UF’s Chapter of Children Beyond our Borders. Regina is also involved in the UF International Center as a Study Abroad Peer Advisor and a Supplementary Instructor for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
At the UWP, we anticipate that Regina will flourish as a University Scholar. We wish her and Dr. Reynolds the best for this exciting research endeavor.
For current and past students of the UWP who are interested in becoming a University Scholar, our faculty would love to work with you – we invite you to reach out to us with proposal ideas.
December 4th, 2024