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Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Professor, Ryan Mehl and student, Sonia Grutzius talking in the lab.

Director of the GCE4 All Research Center Ryan Mehl works with BB undergraduate Sonia Grutzius. Sonia is now enrolled at the UW Medical School and aspires to be a pediatric oncologist.

Our department provides an excellent setting for research training at the undergraduate level, with opportunities to perform research for pay or for credit. Undergraduate research experiences promote student engagement in ways that traditional classroom instruction cannot. Faculty mentors can help students build confidence, develop problem-solving skills, refine career interests, and facilitate important connections for graduate school or employment after graduation.

Many additional faculty from many departments around campus do biochemistry-related research and often mentor BB and BMB undergraduates in their research labs. Our students are making contributions in areas such as drug discovery, ocean biogeochemistry, protein engineering for therapeutics, hemp genomics, vitamin research, math education and forest biotechnology.

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)

The College of Science SURE program offers scholarship support so students can make time for research. Take advantage of hundreds of summer research opportunities to work alongside faculty for an engaging, hands-on learning experience. The generous support of Francis Cripps allows us to extend the impact of SURE to support additional biochemistry students working with BB faculty (CURE Fellows)

Learn about about SURE 

Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and the Arts (URSA)

URSA connects early-career students (first-year, second-year students, and transfer students in their first year) with dedicated faculty mentors. This is an excellent opportunity for students to get an introduction to research and build a relationship with preeminent OSU faculty. Students accepted to the program receive a financial aid award and get to present their work at a professional conference.

Learn more about URSA 

Barry Goldwater Award

Our BB and BMB undergraduates stand out nationally for excellence in research. In the last 12 years, over 15 BB and BMB students have received the national Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the highest award available for undergraduates in STEM, for contributions and outstanding potential for careers in research. Pictured here is Gretchen Fujimura, Goldwater Scholarship Awardee 2022.

Learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship 

Research and independent study for credit

Undergraduate students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of independent study credits with BB faculty members. Students need to obtain faculty permission and then a departmental override to register for these credit opportunities: research (BB 401), thesis (BB 403) reading and conference (BB 405) and internship credits (BB 410).

Our students make a difference in the lab

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