Each year, Ohio State undergraduate students nominate outstanding research mentors who have made a meaningful impact on their academic and creative inquiry journeys.
This award recognizes faculty, lecturers, post-doctoral scholars, and graduate students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to guiding and supporting undergraduate researchers across all disciplines. Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award.
Dr. Cole Vonder Haar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine. His research is focused on behavioral dysfunction, particularly as it relates to disease states. Psychiatric-like impairments are very common after traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The lab uses rodent models of TBI to better understand why these problems develop and how they might be treated. One such avenue includes investigation of neuroinflammation to determine whether this is a viable treatment target for the long-term symptoms of TBI. Another line of research looks at long-term changes in the dopamine system as a potential driver of psychiatric-like impairments. Cutting across all of this is a strong focus on behavioral assessments which maximize translational relevance.
Dr. Vonder Haar was nominated by Jenna McCloskey, Noah Bressler, and Reagan Speas, who shared, “Dr. Cole Vonder Haar is a top-rate researcher and an excellent undergraduate mentor. He recognized my potential before I fully recognized it myself and consistently encouraged me to pursue ambitious goals while maintaining perspective and resilience. Dr. Vonder Haar supported and inspired my intellectual growth by treating me not as a peripheral assistant, but as a developing scientist.”
Dr. Alex Michaud is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Science. He is a microbial biogeochemist that conducts research at the intersection of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and glaciology. Michaud uses both geochemical and microbiological methods to measure rates of microbial activity in climate-sensitive regions of the Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic with the ultimate goal of understanding how the loss of ice impacts the role of microorganisms in globally relevant element cycles
Dr. Michaud was nominated by Wyatt Walker, Rylin Lofton and Diego Dilley who shared, “Alex has greatly supported and inspired me to grow intellectually as a researcher. He has provided monetary lab support to my own project, which has been incredibly helpful. Without his support, my project would not have happened, and I would not have elected to do an undergraduate thesis. He was instrumental in sending me an application to grants and programs such as URAP.”
Dr. Lorena Rosas
Dr. Lorena Rosas is a Senior Research Associate in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Pharmaceutical Chemistry and completed her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her current research focuses on using in vitro and ex vivo culture systems to evaluate the supportive effects of candidate therapeutic molecules for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Mentoring is her favorite part of the scientific process, and she values the opportunity to positively influence the growth and development of others.
Dr. Rosas was nominated by Morgan Riley who shared, “Lorena’s mentorship went above and beyond what I could have hoped for when I first joined the lab. She took a personal interest in my career goals and actively supported me in every way she could. Lorena guided me through a plethora of experiments. She stood by my side, and she explained the mechanism behind each reagent we added. Her commitment to her students’ growth as researchers extended well beyond my experience.”
Submissions for the 2026–2027 Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award will open in autumn 2026. Continue to follow the Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry website for updates.