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Mentor Matthew C. Zimmerman, Ph.D., and Dr. Rosenbaugh |
The new award recognizes the most outstanding or exceptional graduate for the academic year.
Pamela K. Carmines, Ph.D. — who Dr. Rosenbaugh called a role model — said she was a leader among her peers in the cellular & integrative physiology (CIP) graduate program.
“As a four-term member of the UNMC Student Senate, Erin was a strong voice for graduate students in that organization, which had traditionally been dominated by medical students,” Dr. Carmines said in nominating her for the award. “She became involved in the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and eventually served as treasurer and, subsequently, president of that group. In that capacity, she was at the forefront of efforts to expand the GSA’s relevance at UNMC.”
Dr. Rosenbaugh, who received her Ph.D. in December, said receiving the award made her feel very honored.
“I had such a great experience at UNMC,” she said.
It was an experience that included, in addition to her positions in student government, active volunteer work in the Omaha community, including science outreach efforts to Omaha primary and secondary schools — extracurriculars, she said, that mentor Matthew C. Zimmerman, Ph.D., supported at every turn.
That was one of the reasons the award was so meaningful to her, she said.
“It was gratifying for other people to formally recognize my accomplishments outside the CIP program curriculum and my research project. While mastering scientific concepts is the primary focus of UNMC Graduate Studies programs, I feel that it also is essential to develop oneself into a well-rounded professional.”
Those opportunities also shaped her future plans. She is currently exploring opportunities in academia — recruiting, developing interprofessional opportunities, counseling students. “That’s the kind of job I’m interested in right now,” she said.
Dr. Zimmerman encouraged her to explore possibilities within the sciences, as well, such as applying for internal and external funding. As a result, she received funding from the American Heart Association and NIH.
“I was his first graduate student, so I was in a unique situation, where we were both learning from each other, in a way. He was a phenomenal mentor — he brought me a lot of opportunity to develop myself as a scientist and future leader and educator outside of lab, and that’s something I think was an invaluable experience.”
Dr. Rosenbaugh said UNMC graduate studies faculty members make it easy to get excited about science.
“It’s not all your standard, textbook/classroom work,” she said. “You have exposure to seminars, journal club discussions, lab meetings — usually, students can find one or two areas that they really latch onto, that gets them excited and motivated.
“For me personally, I like the idea of being an innovator. Somebody in the clinic, who’s using the technology we currently have, that’s important. But for me, it’s more exciting to be able to say I’m looking at what we have now and what we could have in the future. To me, that was more exciting — to think 10 or 20 years ahead, and how our health care could be advanced.”
Congratulations, Dr. Rosenbaugh! Working with you directly in the lab, I can attest that you are the perfect recipient of this Praesto Award. You are a role model to those around you and your success, both inside and outside of the laboratory/scientific setting, continues to motivate the graduate students at UNMC.