Nasser Arshadi, vice provost for research at UMSL, presents the UMSL Junior Investigator of the Year award to Mindy Steiniger, assistant professor of biology at UMSL. (Photo by August Jennewein)
“Well, I had no idea. I might have worn different clothes,” joked Mindy Steiniger as she accepted an award for the amount of funding she has garnered for her research on gene expression.
Steiniger, assistant professor of biology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, was surprised to receive the Junior Faculty Investigator of the Year award at an event on April 25, marking the conclusion of UMSL’s weeklong Research & Innovation Week. Her project has received over $300,000 in funding from the National Institutes of Health.
“Awesome!” Steiniger exclaimed upon learning the award came with a plaque and a $500 check.
“So, I think Mindy was surprised,” Nasser Arshadi, vice provost for research at UMSL said to laughter in the room.
The Senior Faculty Investigator of the Year award went to Rob Paul, professor of psychology at UMSL and the creator of Nawgan, the brain fitness drink. Arshadi said Paul, who joined UMSL in 2006, has had funding from the very beginning. In fact, he said that each of the past three years Paul has brought in more than a million dollars in external funding, all from NIH.
The investigator awards recognize faculty members with significant external funding. Each winner received a plaque and $500.
Other researchers honored at UMSL’s annual Research and Innovation Week reception:
- Janet Braddock-Wilking, UMSL Faculty Inventor of the Year award
- Marc Spingola, Christopher Wolin and Hank Foley, inventor inductee, National Academy of Inventors, UMSL chapter
- Susan Feigenbaum and Scott Uhlmann, honorary inventor inductees, National Academy of Inventors, UMSL chapter
Below are some additional photos highlighting the 2014 Research & Innovation Week at UMSL.
Nasser Arshadi (left), vice provost for research at UMSL and Christopher Spilling (right), chair of the Department of Chemistry at UMSL, present the UMSL Inventor of the Year award to Janet Braddock-Wilking, associate professor of chemistry at UMSL. (Photo by August Jennewein)
David Karandish, CEO of Answers Corporation (which operates the Answers.com website), gave the keynote address at the grand finale reception of Research & Innovation Week at UMSL. (Photo by August Jennewein)
Tom Schlafly, chairman of The Saint Louis Brewing Company,and partner of Thompson Coburn LLP, gave an interesting talk about his experiences starting the first licensed micro-brewery in Missouri. (Photo by August Jennewein)
Tim Noonan, vice president, Ventures (part of Boeing Defense Space & Security), discussed the company’s entrepreneurial initiatives. (Photo by August Jennewein)
