Jenna Trout Receives Swanson School Staff Award for Professional Excellence

In recognition of her outstanding performance and service, Jenna Trout, Lab Manager at the Human Movement & Balance Laboratory (HMBL), was awarded a 2024 Swanson School of Engineering Professional Excellence Award in the category of Collaborator and Team Builder. 

Trout first joined the HMBL as an undergraduate research assistant in 2007 while pursuing a degree in bioengineering. After working in the Washington, D.C. area post-graduation, she returned to Pittsburgh in 2012 and has served as the lab manager since. Over the past 13 years, Trout has expanded the lab’s reach and impact while supporting students, faculty, and external collaborators, and she takes pride in maintaining a productive and professional work environment among the lab’s dynamic culture. 

“I've been in the position of being an undergraduate student in the lab before, so I understand how important it is to make everyone feel welcome,” Trout said. “I make sure to build personal connections with our students so that they don’t have to talk about school or work all of the time.”

Trout's role encompasses a range of responsibilities, from coordinating research studies while ensuring compliance with institutional review board (IRB) guidelines, to interviewing, hiring, and training students, along with other tasks such as technical assistance and troubleshooting, purchasing, and overseeing lab logistics. Her ability to foster collaboration across disciplines and institutions and manage a lab of more than 25 members has been a defining factor in the lab’s continued success.

“I’m truly honored to receive this award and to have my work recognized in this way,” Trout said. “Seeing students grow and develop their skills over the years has been incredibly rewarding, I love what I do, and I’m grateful to be part of a lab that values teamwork, mentorship, and innovation.”