image: Neuroscientist Sara Freeman, associate professor in Utah State University's Department of Biology, is the 2025 recipient of the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Biology Mentor — Early-Career Award. The national honor recognizes long-term excellence in undergraduate research mentorship.
Credit: M. Muffoletto, USU
LOGAN, UTAH, USA -- Utah State University scientist Sara Freeman is a strong proponent of undergraduate research. She remembers the impact it had on her academic journey, and she regularly sees how it benefits her students and her research efforts.
“Undergraduate research has made the difference in my career — in propelling me as a student to advanced opportunities and as a mentor to current students,” says Freeman, associate professor in USU’s Department of Biology. “I am humbled and honored to be recognized at the national level.”
Freeman is the recipient of the Council on Undergraduate Research’s 2025 Biology Mentor Early-Career Award. The national honor recognizes biology faculty members for their long-term efforts in supervising undergraduate research students.
Alexa Sand, USU associate vice president for research, says the award is well-deserved recognition of Freeman’s commitment to building the next generation of researchers.
“Dr. Freeman has not only been an exceptional mentor to both graduate and undergraduate student researchers in her lab, but she has embodied the culture of undergraduate research excellence at Utah State,” Sand says. “Her efforts, which include her commitment to course-based research, her inclusive recruiting practices, her engagement in campus-wide research activities aimed at students, and her generous contributions of time and effort to reviewing student grant proposals, are steadfastly aimed at growing undergraduate research at USU.”
Freeman, a recipient of one of USU’s largest National Science Foundation CAREER Award grants, is also a regular attendee at student research symposia, providing feedback and encouragement to students, Sand says, and serves on ad-hoc task forces promoting the university’s undergraduate research endeavors.
Named USU’s Peak Prize Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year for the College of Science in 2022, Freeman began recruiting undergraduate researchers to work in her behavioral neuroscience lab immediately after joining USU’s faculty in 2019, and has mentored more than 40 undergrads at Utah State.
“I work with students one-on-one in the lab every week until they demonstrate mastery of various techniques,” she says. “I adjust my advising style to the level of preparation and interests of each student and, after they achieve technical proficiency, and demonstrate safety and reliability in the lab, we discuss independent research projects.”
Undergraduate researcher Rachel Tong, an aspiring physician who recently completed a bachelor’s degree at USU, says Freeman’s mentorship enabled her to learn how to conduct scientific research, to write successful grant proposals and how to present research to a professional audience.
“Dr. Freeman was an extremely motivating mentor who pushed me to improve beyond my abilities,” Tong says. “She consistently encouraged me to pursue more professional opportunities.”
Kenzie Wachtel, another undergrad researcher in Freeman’s lab, says the faculty mentor helped them push through learning challenges and successfully secure an Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) grant to pursue an independent research project.
“I was never planning on a career in neuroscience, … but by my third week in the lab, I was already looking into getting my Ph.D. in neuroscience,” Wachtel says. “Dr. Freeman’s commitment to fostering learning, providing guidance and creating a supportive laboratory environment has had a profound impact on myself and others.”
In addition to creating lab opportunities, Freeman has crafted coursework to encourage students to get involved in research. Her neurophysiology lab course, BIOL 5625, was among the university’s first undergraduate courses to receive the USU Office of Research’s Research, Scholarship and Creative Inquiry-Intensive (RSCI) course designation.
Freeman recently completed certification as a Trained Facilitator of the Entering Mentoring curricula series offered by the National Institutes of Health-funded Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), headquartered at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“This is train-the-trainer approach equips me to conduct workshops with USU faculty members using evidence-based techniques to foster more effective mentoring of students in research,” Freeman says. “I’m excited to contribute to USU’s longstanding legacy of undergraduate research, and seek continued advancement of our programs.”
Guided by her own experiences as a first-generation college graduate who benefited from research mentorship early in her academic career, Freeman says she is passionate about student mentorship.
“I’m dedicated to help other first-gen students and scholars from underrepresented groups to have positive, enriching learning experiences,” she says.