The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University has announced the appointment of Lauren L. O’Neil as the college’s director of pre-health advising.

O’Neil comes to Syracuse from Cornell University, where she has served as director of the health careers advising program since 2014. At the college, she will report to the assistant dean for student success and focus on advising and supporting students interested in pursuing careers in the health-related professions.

“Lauren brings significant student advising experience to this position,” says Dean Karin Ruhlandt. “But what really stands out is her absolute love for working directly with students to help them achieve their goals. This commitment is particularly important for students aspiring to careers in the highly competitive health-related professions. She is going to be a great asset as we work to advance the dreams of the next generation of doctors, dentists, physical therapists and other health professionals at a time when demand for those services continues to grow.”

As director of pre-health advising, O’Neil will serve as the primary point of contact with all post-graduate institutions and will be responsible for the strategic development, implementation, tracking, and evaluation of activities related to students’ pursuit of professional programs in the health field. She also will be responsible for developing partnerships with other institutions to further expand opportunities in these areas.

“I am so excited to have this opportunity to work with students in the College of Arts and Sciences,” says O’Neil. “I find it incredibly rewarding to ensure students have the tools they need to explore and assess their goals, and then to help them develop a plan for achieving them. They have such tremendous energy, talent, and enthusiasm, and I look forward to doing all I can to help them achieve the goals they have set for themselves.”

During her tenure at Cornell, O’Neil advised pre-college, college, alumni and graduate students interested in health careers and provided services and programming designed to support their career goals. She published guides to help students choose the right courses, explore health-related career possibilities and navigate the application process. She also published a guide for students interested in veterinary medicine.

Prior to joining Cornell Career Services, O’Neil taught at Wells College as an assistant professor of chemistry and at Nazareth College as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. From 2009 to 2010, she worked at Syracuse University as a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Physics.

O’Neil earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. John Fisher College and a Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Notre Dame.