February 24, 2026
New students recognized for researching population health of Seattle neighborhoods
The Communities & Research (CoRe) project is an opportunity for incoming first-year students at the 天美影视传媒 to examine population health on a personal level. In interdisciplinary and collaborative groups, students analyze various factors impacting population health in different Seattle neighborhoods, all through the lens of their expertise, discipline and experience.
For the fifth year in a row, UW and the Population Health Initiative have partnered to recognize the CoRe projects that go above and beyond in their exploration of population health.
鈥淚 am continually energized to discover the impacts of the CoRe project. Not only does it require collaboration among new students, it is a prime example of cross-campus collaboration, as staff and faculty from Population Health, FYP, the Library, and other areas come together to examine, revise and promote this work,鈥� shared Emily Kolby, Director of First Year Curriculum and Engagement in New Student & Transfer Programs.鈥�
Since 2018, the First-year Interest Group (FIG) program, in partnership with the Population Health Initiative, has assigned the CoRe project to first-year students to examine various factors that impact the health and well-being of neighborhoods in Seattle. Students work in groups to analyze the assets and challenges the neighborhood possesses. Each group conducts initial background research, visits their neighborhood as a team and creates a final project showcasing their findings of the neighborhood.
鈥淧opulation health is a concept many incoming students at the UW have not yet had the opportunity to explore. The CoRe project introduces them to population health through meaningful collaboration with their FIG peers and place-based learning,鈥� Emily Williams, a second time FIG Leader explains. 鈥淏y engaging directly with different Seattle neighborhoods, students examine how specific population health topics serve as assets or barriers to overall community well-being. This experience not only deepens students鈥� understanding of population health, but also strengthens their connection to the city of Seattle, easing their transition into the UW. Working with my CoRe group to explore Northgate while connecting to both my peers and my new city still stands as one of my favorite first-quarter memories!鈥�
From more than 100 FIG group submissions for top project, the FYP office selected 20 projects to comprise the group of Top CoRe Awards. Members from each winning group have since received a CoRe Award certificate, a gift card in recognition of their outstanding research efforts and their project highlighted on the . The winning projects are detailed in the following table.
| Project | Names of students |
| Alana Marcantie, Brooke Marie, Hannah Thao, Lesly Meza | |
| Mian Oliver, Keria Mczeal, Rachel Stutzer, Paola Calderon | |
| Elsa Barbara Bertelsen, Parthavi Kumar, Felix Wang, Matej Kotas, Dharshini Maru | |
| Ella Chen, Mark (Shengxuan) Xiao, Lakshya Chauhan | |
| Annika Nulton, Juyeon Kang, Quinn Getter, Yoori Youn | |
| Abigail Glazier, Magdelana Long, Tai Tachibana, Ramya Velpuri | |
| Tanvi Kakkireni, Isabel Kane, Nathan Rappaport, Ethan Whang, Harry Messenbaugh | |
| Sean Bui, Jayden Kim, Outdom Siv | |
| Dylan Wilson, Aden Pierce, Issac Patterson, Cecilia Salazar, Kaveen KC | |
| Dylan Luo, Aaron Chang, Diba Mansourizadeh, Jennifer Gao, Tyzo Vangrunsven | |
| Eli Goldberg, Hudson Powers, Rowan DiNunzio, Cody Zhu | |
| Taylor Neil, Nandita Chintamaneni, Annabelle Tungjarern, Audrey Garrett | |
| Mary Wei, Ella Liu, Jayden Le | |
| Ellis Hawkins, Ava Eleni Lundquist, Camila Iglesias, Dave Yoon | |
| Miranda Harvey, Jesse Luu, Carmen Millet | |
| Aaron Leo Berezin, Khang Tran, Lynn James, Alex Lin | |
| Daniel Kim, Sophia Kam, Melinda Le, Jasmine Marwaha, Melanie Luangpraseuth | |
| Leia Chan, Sophia Lamb, Jessica Nguyen, Claire Touney | |
| Lily Poletto, Briana Vaca Garibay, Abby Thorson, Ilona Skarzynski | |
| Arden Kaldis, Carter Anderson, Nolan Owens, Tatev Yeghiazaryan |
The Top CoRe Award site and prize funding are part of the combined efforts of New Student & Transfer Programs and the Population Health Initiative to promote interdisciplinary collaboration on population health-related research and projects.