In this role, Laura will collaborate with faculty, academic units & colleges, and campus organizations to lead and contribute to new and existing undergraduate research initiatives across Georgia Tech. She will develop data-informed programs—to utilize both inside and outside the classroom—to boost quality, implementation, and engagement—and to reduce disparities and enhance participation among underrepresented student groups. She will also oversee the undergraduate research curriculum and operations of the Research Option and the research-themed sections of GT1000 and GT2000; coordinate existing undergraduate research programming; and develop and fortify partnerships with school administration, faculty, staff, and campus programs like VIP, Create-X, REUs, VP of Research, etc. 
 
Laura comes to us from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island where she served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. In addition to mentoring undergraduate students in independent research and incorporating research into courses she taught, Laura served on the steering committee for the Rhode Island IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence, focused on increasing the biomedical research capacity at multiple institutions in the state. She worked with representatives from numerous schools to design undergraduate research experiences to train students for biomedical science careers. 
 
Laura graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2001 and earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Georgia in 2009. 
 
We'd like to thank everyone involved on the search committee for identifying a great candidate:

• Julie Sonnenberg Klein
• Hannah Shin (undergraduate student)
• Linda Green (chair and faculty)
• Todd Sulchek (faculty)
• Chen Zhou (faculty)
• Krystal Green (administrative support)

 
Please join us in congratulating Laura and welcoming her to the Office of Undergraduate Education and Georgia Tech.