Provost Woodruff-Borden, Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Dean Butler, President Watts

Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of undergraduate research in the UAB biomedical sciences program, was selected as the winner of the 2024 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research.

“It’s really sweet because the students help nominate you and knowing the students wrote all those nice things about why I would be a good choice for this award is so cool and I’m really excited to see what they said,” said Giordano-Mooga. “It’s nice to know after all this time you’ve made an impact.”

Every year, the Office of the Provost honors UAB faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to engaging undergraduate students in research, creative activities, service learning, core classes, and education abroad experiences.

Some students refer to Giordano-Mooga as Dr. G or Dr. G-Moo, while others refer to her as Dr. Sam, but majority of her students refer to her as someone who has positively impacted their lives.

“Dr. G is incredibly deserving of this award due to her unwavering dedication to mentoring undergraduate research students,” said one of her former students and nominators. “The impact she’s had on her students, including myself, has been transformative. Dr. G’s mentorship goes beyond imparting knowledge; she empowers students to become independent thinkers and problem solvers.”

Giordano-Mooga works with a student in her lab (2018)

Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Giordano-Mooga received her bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 before moving to Birmingham and earning her doctoral degree in philosophy, pathology/experimental pathology in 2014.

After originally deciding on a career as a medical doctor, she realized certain elements of the job made her uncomfortable while shadowing in the hospital. During that time, she was also volunteering, working in a lab, and working as a teacher’s assistant (TA) for a microbiology and immunology lab. While working as a TA, she realized she really loved instructing students in the lab. In addition, the professor who she was a TA for encouraged her to pursue her Ph.D. so she would be able to continue her preferred method of teaching.

While Giordano-Mooga was pursing her Ph.D., her goal was to cure type 1 diabetes being that her brother is type 1 diabetic. On that journey, she discovered that although lab work is fun and important, she actually prefers to teach students how to do lab work more than doing the lab work on her own.

“I love having students in the lab with me,” said Giordano-Mooga. “I’m not concerned with discovering the next big thing, even though that is important, but for undergraduate research, it’s more about students being able to develop a hypothesis, answer their hypothesis with the methods they’re using by their own questions and answers, and figuring out how to package that in an effective way is what I love to see. I realized that was more of my skillset and more of a natural area for me, it’s my calling if you will.”

Many students in the SHP are on a pre-health professional track, but there is a subset of students who find out that they would be great researchers while taking classes with Giordano-Mooga.

“One of my crowning achievements is that I have five research students who worked with me that went on to get their Ph.D., after discovering research was what they wanted to do,” said Giordano-Mooga. “To me that means you’ve shifted someone’s life, helping them realize where their passion and interest level is when they may not have known otherwise.”

Upon her arrival to UAB, Giordano-Mooga’s research was primarily focused on pre- and post-menopausal women. It was a serious passion of hers that she spent an immense amount of time and energy on.

Today, her research is based on undergraduate student stress and how it impacts their wellness, mental health, and academic outcomes. This is a true testament to just how important her students are to her and how serious she is about their wellbeing, success, and development.

“I joke that I have two of my own children and a thousand undergraduate babies and I want them all to be great and successful at whatever they do,” said Giordano-Mooga. “Everything I do focuses on making sure our students are successful and when our students are successful, we are successful, and I think if we all thought that way it would be helpful.”

When you walk in Giordano-Mooga’s office you’re surrounded by student artwork of her favorite, the mitochondria. You’ll also see photos of her family and friends including her very first student who she is still in contact with today.

In addition, every year she hosts two lab party potlucks where she prepares the main dishes, and her students bring the sides. This usually takes place the Sunday before Finals because the students are typically a little stressed. Her husband’s chai tea has even become a crowd favorite and is requested by first year students who heard about it by it being passed down from class to class.

The students play cornhole in her backyard, play with her kids, and can relax a bit before the big exam.

“I believe your lab should be your family because you spend so much time together,” said Giordano-Mooga. “Students should always feel like they fit, so I try to make my lab as welcoming and close-knit as possible.”

BMD students (2018) with Giordano-Mooga (far right)

This fall we saw the launch of Giordano-Mooga ‘s created equity course, “HRP 526: Preparation for Professional School and Exam Preparation in Health Professions.” The Course was designed to allow students to take MCAT, DAT, OAT, and GRE prep courses as a part of their tuition, allowing them access to these courses for a full year saving students an immense amount of money. The average cost of a similar course is around $3000 for a student on top of their tuition. 

“I think about the student whose parents are not helping them, who works a full-time job while taking classes, how do I expect them to be able to do that,” said Giordano-Mooga. “That same student is the person who now doesn’t get a high enough score on the MCAT to get into medical school who would’ve been a fantastic physician but didn’t have the resources.”

In many ways, Giordano-Mooga continues to show and prove her dedication to the growth and development of her students. From working with them side by side, giving patient and thoughtful instruction, to identifying those same students’ needs and developing courses tailored to equal opportunities for all. She serves as an example for doing things the blazer way.

“Dr. Giordano is the standard of excellence within the BMD department going above and beyond for her students as she truly cares for not only our academic success but most importantly our well-being which is not a trait seen too often in STEM faculty,” said one of her former students and nominators. “I hold Dr. Giordano in high regard as the best faculty member I have had the pleasure to learn from and that they would be a worthy recipient of the award as she epitomizes what it means to be excellent at UAB.”