Two students honored with 2020 Presidential Graduate Student Medals

Ohio University has awarded its 2020 Presidential Graduate Student Medals to master’s student Paige Greeley and doctoral student Elizabeth Jensen.

The awards recognize master’s and doctoral students who have demonstrated academic excellence in research or creative activity, as it relates to their field of study. In addition, the review committee considers the students’ contributions (educational, economic, physical, social or cultural well-being) to a given community, locally or around the globe.

“Ohio University’s commitment to experiential learning provides our students with an opportunity to make important contributions to the greater community,” Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis said. “We are fortunate to have students as dedicated to their fields as Elizabeth and Paige, and I congratulate them on receiving this prestigious award.”

The 2020 Presidential Medal for Scholarly or Creative Excellence Demonstrated by a Master’s Student was awarded to Paige Greeley, an MFA Painting + Drawing student in the College of Fine Arts and volunteer advocate at the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program.

“My work is rooted in feminism, humanism and the desire to end the crisis of sexual assault in American society. I paint to empower women. My work draws on both my personal experience and my experiences in the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program,” Greeley said. “The objective of my paintings is to spark dialogue not just about the devastation of violent acts, but the rape culture that underlies them: Our culture. In my current work, I am exploring ways to help people recognize their own roles in supporting eroticized violence in American culture, perpetuating the subordinate, sexualized status of women.”

Greeley said she is honored to be selected for the Presidential Graduate Student Medal. 

“It is a spectacular feeling to be recognized for hard work and endless hours at the studio. My talented cohorts, the excellence of the faculty, the ambition and hard work I see, and the determination the Ohio University community has shown in the face of the pandemic have all supported and pushed me to succeed,” Greeley said. “I would also like to thank the immense dedication of the women that work at the Survivor Advocacy Program and any person that works within the advocacy field. It can be thankless work with long hours that only very special people can do. They are the heroes that are preventing sexual violence and I am privileged to have had time working with them.”

Professor John Sabraw, Greeley’s mentor, explained how Greeley exemplifies the values of the School of Art + Design.

“The contemporary role of the professional artist has shifted into a hybrid of creative activity and community intervention through social action. Activated through in-depth research and supportive networking, the School of Art + Design believes an artist can function as a catalyst for positive change, and inspire engagement from broad constituencies,” Sabraw said. “Paige Greeley is a leading exemplar of this type of important endeavor. Her ability to navigate both an extraordinary studio practice, earned through relentless commitment of time and dedication, and an effective and supportive community advocacy, grown by expanding compassion and resiliency, situates her as deserving of this award. We are very proud of Paige’s accomplishments, grateful for the time and considerations she has devoted to her fellow peers and students, and see only more success in her future.”

During the new school year, Greeley will begin work on her spring 2021 thesis exhibition, which will examine “beauty-as-currency in Western Culture,” she said.

The Presidential Medal for Outstanding Research or Creative Excellence Demonstrated by a Doctoral Student was awarded to Elizabeth Jensen, a DO/Ph.D. student in the Translational Biomedical Sciences program in the Graduate College.

“My dissertation was focused on understanding the impact of growth hormone on the gut microbiome, or the community of bacteria and their associated genes that reside throughout the gastrointestinal tract,” Jensen said. “Previous research from the scientific community has highlighted the importance of the gut microbiome and its bidirectional relationship with the host in both states of health and disease. In particular, numerous metabolic and intestinal diseases (including obesity, chronic undernutrition, diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) share abnormalities in both growth hormone and the gut microbiome.”

Research findings by Jensen and colleagues support the hypothesis that growth hormone influences the intestinal environment and alters the gut microbiome.

Jensen said she was “surprised, humbled and honored” to receive the Presidential Graduate Student Medal.

“This research would not have been possible without numerous individuals who provided me the opportunity to collaborate with mentors both inside and outside the university,” Jensen said. “Specifically, I would like to thank my advisors Dr. Darlene Berryman and Dr. Erin Murphy for their guidance and the Kopchick laboratory at Edison Biotechnology Institute, where I was fortunate to be mentored and gain valuable research skills as both an undergraduate and graduate student. The opportunities afforded to me at Ohio University have allowed me to become the researcher that I am today and have guided me toward my ultimate career goal as a physician scientist.”

Jensen will start clinical rotations in Cleveland in July while continuing the gut microbiome research at Ohio University. 

Mentor Darlene Berryman, a professor and associate dean for research and innovation at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, called Jensen “highly deserving” of the outstanding research award. 

“Elizabeth has significant potential for the study of endocrinology with her solid background in cellular and molecular biology, her rich experience in the lab as an undergraduate and Ph.D. student, her established collaborations and her clinical experiences in medical school,” Berryman said. “She is well positioned to be successful in her Ph.D. and her medical career in pediatric endocrinology. Elizabeth’s stamina, dependability and eagerness to learn make her a standout. The TBS program, the Heritage College, undergraduate Cellular and Molecular Sciences program, and Ohio University have all been formative in her training and should be proud of how they have contributed to her accomplishments and success.”

Special consideration for the awards is given to those with research or creative activity focused on Appalachia. Each recipient receives a one-time award of $1,000.

“The Presidential Graduate Student Medals provide an important opportunity to recognize outstanding students for their scholarly and creative accomplishments, and more broadly call out the important contributions that graduate students make to the intellectual life of our community and society at large,” said Joseph Shields, Vice President for Research & Creative Activity and Dean of the Graduate College. “Paige Greeley and Elizabeth Jensen manifest the excellence we aim to foster in our academic community, and the potential of our scholars and artists to benefit humanity.”