Tackling Society’s Toughest Issues

Basic university research improves our lives and our world.

The development of groundbreaking drugs for the treatment of brain tumors and ovarian cancer. Seminal studies on the algae that threatens Lake Erie and freshwater bodies around the globe. National initiatives to improve educational outcomes for students, ensure quality health care, and combat the opioid epidemic. These are just a few examples of the innovative and impactful research currently being conducted by public universities in Ohio.

This work builds on the historical legacy of public university research and discovery in Ohio which has produced a cure for “hairy cell” leukemia, transformed medical research through the discovery of DNA microinjection and developed the lifesaving heart-lung machine.

Basic research also provides tremendous experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, helping to train our next generation of researchers who will make future contributions that will improve public health, the economy and our communities, nation and world.

Society as a whole is better off thanks to the past and present research being conducted by public universities in Ohio.

Tackling Society's Toughest Issues - Bowling Green State University forensic researchers
Reducing Fentanyl Exposure

Responding to the fentanyl crisis, a pair of BGSU forensic researchers made a discovery that significantly reduces the danger of exposure. Dr. Travis Worst of BGSU’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science and Department of Chemistry, and Noah Froelich, a junior from Sylvania who came to BGSU for its new Forensic Science program, discovered that a popular laundry detergent would in most cases remove all traces of fentanyl. The benefit of this discovery is literally life-saving, especially for first-responders and hospital staff who are often exposed to raw fentanyl, which is 100 times more toxic than morphine and can be deadly.

Read more about their discovery
Tackling Society's Toughest Issues - Daniel Lee, Central State University Student
Addressing Global Water Issues

Central State University junior Daniel Lee, an environmental engineering and water resources management major from Los Angeles, has travelled halfway around the world to test a proactive idea that could prevent Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), which are threatening the world’s potable water supply. It’s a local issue, too, as nutrient runoff from fertilization of crops is a primary cause of algal blooms in Lake Erie. Daniel is testing his idea at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. He is the first Central State student to study abroad as part of a partnership between at the University of Nicosia as a result of a partnership between the University’s Environmental Engineering Department and CSU’s International Center for Water Resources Management.

Read more about Daniel’s research
Tackling Society's Toughest Issues - Holly Benjamin, NEOMED graduate
Hard Knocks

NEOMED graduate Holly Benjamin (M.D., ’94) is a national leader in the growing effort to address an increasingly prevalent public health problem: head injuries incurred in high-impact sports activities. Holly says a mentoring experience at NEOMED played a major role in charting her course in sports medicine, which ultimately steered her to the University of Chicago where she started and today directs the school’s sports medicine program. Holly also is lead investigator on a 30-institution national research study on concussion, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the NCAA. The goal is to enhance the safety of student athletes and service members.

Read more about Holly’s research
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