Susan Cole, a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, was appointed chair of the department for a term that started July 1, 2024. 

Cole’s research is broadly interested in how cells communicate during embryonic development, how post-transcriptional regulation controls this communication and how changes in cell signaling pathways influence congenital defects and diseases such as cancer.

Cole received the Ohio State Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2017. Prior to her time at Ohio State, she completed her BS in Molecular Genetics at the University of Rochester, her PhD in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University and her postdoctoral work in developmental biology at Princeton University.