by: James Grega

Senior Content Specialist; grega.9@osu.edu

Jaime Sabel is no stranger to Big Ten institutions, having spent more than 16 years as both a student and a researcher at the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska.

After eight years at the University of Memphis, Sabel had the opportunity to come to Columbus, Ohio to become the Director of the Center for Life Sciences Education (CLSE) in August. What drew her to Ohio State was CLSE’s approach to teaching. 

“I am really interested in thinking about how our biology students learn best. How can we support them to do so? One of the things that really drew me to the CLSE is the fact that at its foundation, is this idea of being evidence-based,” Sabel said. Evidence-based teaching is a strategy that uses research findings on effective teaching to improve learning outcomes and student experiences.

“It’s very student-centered, and so we’re continuing to build upon that and make sure that we are supporting our students in the best way possible.”

One way Sabel said she plans on supporting students is by not only learning through the evidence-based model, but by contributing to its literature. 

“It’s a really great opportunity for me as a biology education researcher to be the director of this new center, to really help move that forward,” she said. “We have a great group of people within CLSE who are also interested in biology education research. So, we are teaching what's coming from the literature, but we're also contributing to the literature, and that will provide great opportunities for our students so that they can also be learning from what we know to be the cutting edge of education.”

Sabel, who also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, said that as she continues to get acclimated to Ohio State and Columbus, one of her many goals for CLSE is to create a sense of awareness for the department. 

“I have had experiences already with students not necessarily recognizing that as biology majors, their home is in the Center for Life Sciences Education,” Sabel said. “Samantha Herrmann is our associate director and has been very involved in developing a newsletter for our students and creating a bio club. These will help to continue the messaging between the leadership of the CLSE and students to help them see that the CLSE is their home.”

Connecting with alumni is a major focus for Sabel as well. CLSE was established as a center less than 20 years ago, and Sabel wants to make sure alumni stay connected to their major, which she hopes will create scholarship and internship opportunities for current students. 

“For those who graduated before CLSE was in place we want to help them understand that this is where the biology major sits now,” Sabel said. “We want to create more of a community from our recruits, all the way through to those who graduated years ago. We really want to just enhance that biology community and have that linked to CLSE.”

As Sabel settles into her new position, she said that while she is no stranger to the Big Ten, she is excited about the seemingly endless number of opportunities Ohio State has to offer. 

“The university itself has many resources available, especially opportunities for our students,” Sabel said. “The Big Ten has a very particular feel, and I have spent a lot of my career in it, and I love it. I'm really excited to be back in the Big Ten.”

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