Innovation in action: Alumni fund award to incubate student research

“One of the most powerful ways to create a lasting impact and legacy is through the act of innovation through creativity,” says Dr. Frank Papay, AB ’75. That’s why he joined up with friend Jon Snyder, BSC ’87, to create the Papay-Snyder Medical Impact Award. The $5,000 award will recognize one medical- or health care-related student project at the Student Research and Creative Activity Expo next April, to help that student create the product, drug, business or other innovation their project covers.

“We came up with this idea to create the Medical Impact Award with the hope of spurring new ideas and invention in the life sciences industry,” Snyder says. “We plan to monitor the program and hopefully expand it with additional support, as it develops.”

Correlating to an experiential learning opportunity with OHIO’s Center for Entrepreneurship and OHIO’s Innovation Center, the award can cover the potential costs of prototyping, research, consulting, professional development or other startup expenses associated with the student’s project. 

“For many students, the Expo is the capstone to many years of learning and hard work here at Ohio University,” said Paul Benedict, AB ’96, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and faculty advisor for the Papay-Snyder award. “My hope is that this prize will inspire more students to think about how their work can continue beyond the Expo to make an impact in the world.”  

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The Expo is jointly presented by University Libraries and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Since its inception in 2002, it has featured undergraduate and graduate students’ presentations of research, scholarship and creative works in a variety of fields ranging from art, business/economics, psychology, and media arts to education, engineering, math, psychology, and more. The 2023 Expo saw 475 presentations and more than 180 winners.  

Papay, a craniofacial surgeon and chairman of Cleveland Clinic Health System’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, appreciates the range of OHIO academics that the Expo involves, noting the impact such broad coverage can have.

“At Ohio University, I was able to broaden the scope of my education to reveal the cross-fertilization of ideas from the liberal arts, the sciences and engineering,” he says. “The guiding mentorship of my professors challenged my way of thinking not just in academia, but in the philosophy of how to live a life. It is with great pride to share that challenge with the collective genius of my fellow Bobcats through the Papay-Snyder Impact Award.”  

Aligning with the Expo’s opportunity for students to present their work to alumni judges and connect potential job opportunities at the event, Snyder says his previous involvement has allowed him to become aware of the “great ideas being developed and presented” therein. The founder of Neuros Medical Inc., Snyder is now the managing director of Investor Relations at Ohio Life Sciences.

The 2024 Student Research and Creative Activity Expo takes place April 11 and will again have two options—in person and virtual via social media—for student presentations. 

Students with an interest in participating or attending, can find information on the Student Research and Creative Activity Expo page , which also hosts information on previous presentations and the event’s interactive apps.

To read more about OHIO’s Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, including the impact of students’ projects in both the state of Ohio and globally, visit OHIO News and Ohio Today .