There is considerable variability in the level of research work at regional public universities and at less selective private LAC’s w/ heavy teaching loads. Some of these 4-4 institutions offer course releases to faculty to do research, and actively encourage undergrad research. Other colleges do -nothing-. So if the student is considering any smaller, teaching-oriented institution, they need to find out more about what is available in terms of undergrad research. IME, at smaller colleges , Bio departments tend to be more active than folks in other stem fields (I’m a math prof, BTW). The research may not be at R1 level but it is published, peer-reviewed work.
Agreed that Pitt and Penn State should be on the radar, if OP is open to larger institutions. The state research universities have the most resources for high level research. The flip side is that it is more competitive to get undergrad research opportunities, and the intro STEM classes are large and somewhat impersonal.