SUMMIT conference connects Ohio State with military community

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SUMMIT conference connects Ohio State with military community

Programs that support military and veteran students focus of event

More than 200 people attended the 2026 Symposium on Unified Military & Veteran Multidisciplinary Innovation and Translation, or SUMMIT conference, at The Ohio State University.

Held earlier this month, SUMMIT welcomed speakers from across the country who covered topics ranging from strategic deterrence to healthcare. In addition, nearly 55 researchers presented posters on topics like plastic and reconstructive surgery and opportunities for veteran farmers in Ohio.

The event was the first of its kind, said organizer David Hibler, researcher at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Hibler, an Army veteran, recently completed his fourth Ohio State degree, a doctorate in evolution, ecology and organismal biology. Having logged so many hours on Ohio State's campus, he is well-positioned to discuss the university's growth, he said.

"I have seen Ohio State grow from an institution that was relatively ignorant about its military and veteran students to one that is now prioritizing and highlighting them," he said in his opening remarks. "It is a place where military students and veterans can come grow, flourish, pursue what they're passionate about and have real-world impact, now."

When developing SUMMIT, Hibler said connections were his goal.

"We're looking at the gamut, the entire spread of work, bringing together people that never knew about what other people were doing in the same areas, making connections, developing new ideas and building new collaborations, not only to make Ohio State one of the strongest engines for military and veteran development in the country but Ohio as a whole," he said.

"We want to bring all of that work here to the state, all of that work here to Ohio."

Brooke Johnston was eager to share her work and meet other researchers during SUMMIT's poster presentations. A clinical research assistant in the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, she works under Stephanie Gorka, professor of psychiatry and behavioral health.

Johnston's research focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and populations at higher risk for developing the condition.

"Veterans are such a high-risk population for developing PTSD, especially the young adults in the military," she said. "We're trying to find different neurobehavioral markers so that we can better inform interventions and better find … what differentiates one person from developing PTSD from one who doesn't."

Johnston said she was looking forward to finding other opportunities for collaboration.

"A lot of the studies in our lab could be resources for all the organizations here for veterans."

This type of collaboration is precisely what SUMMIT's organizers were envisioning, said Norman Jones, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. In his role, Jones oversees the university's programming for military and veteran services.

While Ohio State's size means that the university is the epicenter for so much research and discovery, Jones said, it can also hinder the same things.

"We're a giant," he said. "Which is a strength but also a weakness. It's not always easy for us to connect the dots. We have people doing amazing work in different parts of the university; they don't always know about each other. We have external partners who do extraordinary things and really want to work with us. It's not always easy for them to figure out where to connect at Ohio State with the research that could help propel their missions. So, one of the reasons I'm so grateful to Dr. Hibler and everyone else who helped put together this day is that that is one of our goals: making connections."

Jones reminded attendees that when it was founded, Ohio State had three areas of focus: agriculture, technology and military science.

"We have a long history of supporting military-connected research," he said. "We do amazing things here at Ohio State."

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