Top investigators recognized with Excellence in Research Awards
Published on Monday, December 11, 2023
By: Andrea Wright Dilworth, awdilworth@umc.edu
Photos By: Joe Ellis/UMMC Photography
The University of Mississippi Medical Center presented 29 awards to faculty and staff members during the 24th annual Excellence in Research Awards ceremony on Friday, honoring investigators most successful at securing extramurally funded original research during their careers at UMMC.
The Medical Center received 311 awards, totaling $96,788,545, during FY 2023. This year’s awards consist of four platinum, six gold, six silver and seven bronze recipients, determined by the level of funding accrued throughout their career at UMMC.
The honorees received framed medallions and financial awards. Discovery Awards, which are peer-nominated and selected, were also presented to researchers in four categories.
Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs, congratulated recipients and said it was exciting to see the slate of award winners from across schools and departments at the Medical Center, especially because demands on time, effort, money and resources can make it challenging to focus on research.
Woodward“When you think about who we are as an academic medical center, it’s really the research mission and research work that are responsible for the foundation of that first word: academic,” Woodward told the audience of recipients and guests. “This is what sets us apart from others, so it’s a critical part of the work that we do, our reputation and image.
“The successes that we celebrate today are what the future successes will be built upon.”
BidwellDr. Gene Bidwell, associate vice chancellor for research and professor of neurology, said the Medical Center’s research spans the entire spectrum of an academic medical center’s mission.
“In order to do this work, we have to have research funding,” he said. “But money is not the end goal. The end goal is the science it allows us to do.”
Bidwell, who received both a platinum medal for the more than $6 million in funding he’s secured and a framed copy of his 13th patent, which was granted in January, said research faculty submitted 350 proposals during the last fiscal year, received 155 new grants and activated 58 clinical trials. Researchers also published nearly 1,200 papers.
Cari Fowler, senior director for research operations, said the four platinum award recipients join only 31 others to receive the distinction since the ceremony’s inception in 2000.
These are the recipients:
Platinum Medallion - $5 million
Platinum award recipients, from second left to right, are Dr. Michael Hall, Dr. David Stec, Bidwell and Dr. Hong Zhu.Dr. Gene Bidwell, associate vice chancellor for research and professor of neurology
Dr. Michael Hall, chair and professor of medicine
Dr. David Stec, professor of physiology & biophysics
Dr. Hong Zhu, professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery
Gold Medallion - $1 million
Gold award recipients, from second left to right, are Dr. Gailen Marshall, Dr. Harry Pantazopoulos, Dr. Eric Vallender and Dr. Lei Zhang. Not pictured are Dr. Adrienne Tin and Dr. Jorge Vidal.Dr. Gailen Marshall Jr., The R. Faser Triplett Sr. MD Chair in Allergy and Immunology
Dr. Harry Pantazopoulos, assistant professor of psychiatry
Dr. Adrienne Tin, associate professor of medicine
Dr. Eric Vallender, associate professor of psychiatry
Dr. Jorge Vidal, associate professor of cell and molecular biology
Dr. Lei Zhang, professor and associate dean of nursing
Silver Medallion - $500,000
Silver award recipients, from second left to right, are Dr. Donald Clark, Dr. Carolann Risley, Dr. Barbara Gisabella, Dr. John Clemmer and Dr. Wondwosen Yimer. Not pictured is Dr. Joseph Majure.Dr. Donald Clark III, associate professor of medicine
Dr. John Clemmer, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics
Dr. Barbara Gisabella, assistant professor of psychiatry
Dr. Carolann Risley, associate professor of nursing
Dr. Joseph Majure, professor of medicine and division chief of pediatrics
Dr. Wondwosen Yimer, associate professor of data science
Bronze Medallion - $250,000
Bronze awards recipients, from second left to right, Dr. Lorena Amaral, Dr. Matthew Kutcher, Dr. Lais Berro, Dr. Heng Zeng and Dr. Xinchun Zhou. Not pictured are Dr. April Carson and Dr. Hao Mei.Dr. Lorena Amaral, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. Lais Berro, assistant professor psychiatry
Dr. April Carson, professor of medicine and director of the Jackson Heart Study
Dr. Matthew Kutcher, associate professor of surgery
Dr. Hao Mei, professor of data science
Dr. Heng Zeng, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. Xinchun Zhou, associate professor of pathology
Discovery Awards
Discovery Awards recipients, from second left to right, are Dr. Lorena Amaral, Dr. Barbara Alexander, Dr. Beverly Windham, Dr. Matthias Krenn and Dr. Leslie Musshafen.Early Career Investigator
Dr. Lorena Amaral, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology
Dr. Matthias Krenn, assistant professor of neurosurgery
Meritorious Research Services – Faculty
Dr. Barbara Alexander, Billy S. Guyton Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics
Meritorious Research Service – Staff
Dr. Leslie Musshafen, associate director of administration, Cancer Center and Research Institute
Richard L. Summers Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research
Dr. Beverly Windham, professor of medicine
Patent Recipient
Dr. Gene Bidwell, associate vice chancellor for research and professor of neurology