ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Ella Mahnke, a graduating senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Dr. William L. Hallahan Award for Excellence in Grant Proposal Writing, presented annually by the Rochester Academy of Science (RAS).
Mahnke received first place in the RAS undergraduate grant competition for her proposal titled EEG Markers of Audiovisual Integration Impairments in Asymptomatic Individuals with a Concussion History, developed under the sponsorship and advisement of RIT’s Dr. Elena Fedorovskaya.
The Rochester Academy of Science, which has been promoting interest in the natural sciences since 1881, awards annual grants to undergraduate students who submit outstanding scientific research proposals. The Hallahan Award recognizes the competition’s top submission for its writing quality and scientific merit.
Mahnke’s proposal addresses a gap in how clinicians currently evaluate recovery from sports-related concussions — an injury that affects an estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million Americans each year. Standard return-to-play and return-to-learn protocols rely heavily on self-reported symptoms, but Mahnke’s research argues that this approach fails to detect subtler cognitive deficits that can linger well after a patient appears clinically recovered.
Her study focuses specifically on multisensory integration — the brain’s ability to simultaneously process information from different senses, such as combining speech and visual cues in a classroom setting. Using electroencephalography (EEG), her research aims to identify electrophysiological markers of impaired audiovisual integration in college students who have no remaining concussion symptoms. If successful, the findings could lay the groundwork for more sensitive clinical assessments and evidence-based academic accommodations for student athletes and others recovering from head injuries.
Mahnke will graduate from RIT in May with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, completing the degree in just three years.
A 2023 graduate of the Little Falls City School District, she has also served as an intern at The Creative Outpost.
More information about the Rochester Academy of Science and its undergraduate grant program can be found at rasny.org.
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