The Office of Undergraduate Discovery Programs was created in 2008 to implement the UH Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP): The Learning through Discovery Initiative. The Office of Undergraduate Discovery Programs functions under the aegis of the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. This alignment facilitates central coordination among various implementation partners and will centralize support for students, faculty, and staff.
DIRECTOR
Dr. Veronique V. Tran is the founding Director of the Office of Undergraduate Discovery Programs. Dr. Tran received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with minors in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Houston in 1991. After more than five years of industry engineering experience in the energy and health sectors, including positions at Shell, ExxonMobil, and Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Tran pursued her graduate studies at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She recieved her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2002, and her doctoral research focused on developing strategies for immunoprotection of beta cells for treatment of Type 1 Diabetes. She completed her postdoctoral training at Yale University in tissue engineering and drug delivery. From 2004-2006, Dr. Tran was a UH faculty member in the Biomedical Engineering Program with a joint appointment in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She developed and taught courses in the undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum, and coordinated the design of the Biomedical Engineering Research Core Laboratory (BMERCL). She mentored both undergraduate and graduate students and served as the Faculty Advisor for UH Chapters of the Biomedical Engineering Society and Engineering World Health. During her one year appointment as Executive Director of the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University, Dr. Tran coordinated constituent relations including communications, student career development, faculty awards, alumni relations, corporate relations, and the External Advisory Board. She received the 2007 Impact Award from the Rice Women's Resource Center and was noted in particular for her service to Rice bioengineeirng students and faculty, and involvement in K-12 outreach and development of hands-on activities to help promote math and science education among local middle school and high school students. In Fall 2007, Dr. Tran returned to the University of Houston to coordinate the development and implementation of the Learning through Discovery Initiative.
