UMMC honored its 2016 Excellence in Research Awards recipients Nov. 9 in the Norman C. Nelson Student Union.
Held annually, the ceremony recognizes faculty members for their achievements in gaining outside funding. The award levels - platinum, gold, silver and bronze - are based on the cumulative amount of extramural funding received by the investigator for their original research.
The 26 medallion recipients, including three platinum, 10 gold, five silver and eight bronze, tied with 2014 for the largest group of awardees. Their successes have brought in a cumulative $34 million in research funding for the Medical Center.
Dr. Richard Summers, associate vice chancellor for research, noted recent successes in basic, clinical and translational research and credited them in part to UMMC's work environment.
“[At UMMC] we have freedom of thought…and freedom to nurture and foster our own ideas,” Summers said, referring to a conversation he had with the late Dr. Arthur Guyton.
The rest of the credit, Summers said, goes to the people who make it happen: UMMC's researchers, staff and students.
For the second year, the Office of Research also granted Discovery Awards. These peer-nominated and reviewed awards recognize early-career investigators, meritorious research service and translational research. The event also recognized this year's patent recipients.
“Our aim as researchers is to discover,” Summers said, “and some of our greatest discoveries at UMMC were not funded by grants.”
Platinum Medallion -- $5,000,000 total
(Pictured above)
Dr. Alan Jones, professor and chair of emergency medicine
Jones is the first clinician to receive the award outside besides those funded by large program grants such as the Jackson Heart Study. His study on potential sepsis therapeutics is the first FDA-approved adaptive clinical trial.
Dr. Merry Lindsey, professor of physiology and biophysics
Lindsey, who joined the faculty in 2013, achieved the platinum award faster than any other UMMC faculty. As director of the Mississippi Center for Heart Research, she focuses on cardiac remodeling, heart failure and proteomics.
Dr. James Wilson, professor of physiology and biophysics
Wilson's dedication to research and expertise in epidemiological studies helped him bring in a $19.9 million NIH award earlier this year to create the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research.
Gold Medallion -- $1,000,000 total
Gold medallion awardees from left, Dr. Gwen Windham, Dr. Donna Platt, Dr. Jussara do Carmo, Dr. Wael ElShamy, Dr. Xiu Liu, Dr. Jan Michael Williams, Dr. Lir-Wan Fan, Dr. Brian Akerley and Dr. Radhika Pochampally. Not Pictured is Dr. Ji Li.Dr. Brian Akerley, associate professor of microbiology and immunology
Dr. Jussara do Carmo, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics
Dr. Wael ElShamy, associate professor of radiation oncology
Dr. Lir-Wan Fan, associate professor of pediatrics
Dr. Ji Li, associate professor of physiology and biophysics
Dr. Xiu Liu, associate professor of pathology
Dr. Donna Platt, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior
Dr. Radhika Pochampally, associate professor of biochemistry
Dr. Jan Michael Williams, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. B. Gwen Windham, professor of medicine
Silver Medallion -- $500,000 total
Silver medallion awardees from left, Dr. Kevin Freeman, Dr. Ray Grill, Dr. Romain Harmancey and Dr. Jennifer Sasser.Dr. Bettina Beech, dean of the School of Population Health
Dr. Kevin Freeman, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior
Dr. Raymond Grill, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences
Dr. Romain Harmancey, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics
Dr. Jennifer Sasser, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Bronze Medallion -- $250,000 total
Bronze medallion awardees from left, Dr. Michael Roach, Dr. Maureen Wirschell, Dr. Joseph Maher, Dr. Mallikarjuna Pabbidi, Dr. Suvankar Majumdar and Dr. Robin Rockhold. Not pictured are Dr. Michael Puskarich and Dr. Kedra Wallace.Dr. Joseph Maher, professor of medicine
Dr. Suvankar Majumdar, associate professor of pediatrics
Dr. Mallikarjuna Pabbidi, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. Michael Puskarich, assistant professor of emergency medicine
Dr. Michael Roach, associate professor of biomedical materials science
Dr. Robin Rockhold, deputy chief academic officer, professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. Kedra Wallace, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology
Dr. Maureen Wirschell, assistant professor of biochemistry
Discovery Awards
The Discovery Award winners from left, Dr. Michael Hall, Dr. Andrew Grady, Dr. Alejandro Chade, Dr. Lee Bidwell and Dr. Jennifer Sasser.Early Career Investigators
Dr. Michael Hall, assistant professor of medicine
Dr. Jennifer Sasser, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Meritorious Research Service
Dr. Andrew Grady, director of the Center for Comparative Research, professor of microbiology and immunology
Translational Research Team
Dr. Gene Bidwell, assistant professor of neurology
Dr. Alejandro Chade, professor of physiology and biophysics
Patent Recipients
Patent recipients Dr. Parminder Vig and Dr. Wael ElShamy.Dr. Wael ElShamy, associate professor of radiation oncology
Dr. Parminder Vig, professor of neurology