Congratulations to the following SRP grant recipients and trainees for receiving outstanding recognition and awards from the scientific community:

Several SRP-funded investigators received prestigious NIEHS Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental Health Research (RIVER) Awards:

• Ana Navas-Acien, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Columbia SRP Center, will conduct research focused on revolutionizing our understanding of the interactions of metals and proteins in the brain, laying the groundwork for precision interventions to promote healthy aging and protect brain health.
• Vaia Lida Chatzi, M.D., Ph.D., director of the University of Southern California SRP Center, received funding to create a precision environmental health framework to understand the complex mechanisms by which PFAS exposure harms metabolic health and to identify actionable solutions to address chronic diseases.
• Joel Myer, Ph.D., project leader with the Duke SRP Center, will define key mechanisms of mitochondrial toxicity that underlie disease and identify opportunities for prevention.

Texas A&M University (TAMU) SRP Center Director Ivan Rusyn, Ph.D., and investigator Weihsueh Chieu, Ph.D., received funding through the NIH’s Common Fund Complement-Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program to launch the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) Decision Center. The NAMs Decision Center will advance modern, science-based approaches that improve and accelerate chemical safety assessments. Rusyn and Chiu were also selected to serve on National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committees. Rusyn will serve on a committee to Review the Methods in the Report on Carcinogens Handbook and Chiu will serve on the Pw Safer Chemicals Project Science Advisory Board and the health Effects Institute Research Committee.

Community Engagement Core leader Galen Newman, Ph.D., and former trainee Rui Zhu, Ph.D., were awarded the Honor Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for the publication of their book Vacant Land Regeneration: Novel Strategies for Maximizing Local Impact.

David Sedlak, Ph.D., the deputy director of the University of California (UC) Berkeley SRP Center, received the American Chemical Society’s Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology. Community Engagement Core leader Rachel Morello Frosch, Ph.D., received a Radcliffe Fellowship from the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

University of New Mexico SRP Center trainee Paige Haley was awarded the Resilience Innovation Fellowship supported by the National Science Foundation for her work on the mobility and bioavailability of metals particulates from the Jackpile-Paguate uranium mine.

James Ankrum, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa SRP Center, was selected for the National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders Forum. The Emerging Leaders Forum is an invitation-only event that gathers exceptional early- and mid-career professionals who show remarkable promise, achievement, and leadership in biomedical science, health care, health policy, and related fields.

Wayne State University SRP Center researcher Tracie Baker, D.V.M., Ph.D., received the Society of Toxicology’s Stephen B. Harris Mid-Career Scientist Award. This award recognizes an active Full or Associate member of the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section for outstanding research and scientific contribution completed since graduate or postdoctoral training.

Brian Johnson, Ph.D., of the Michigan State University SRP Center was elected as President for the Michigan Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology.

SRP-funded small business AimmLabs won first place in the Health Security Innovation Challenge and Prize pitch competition at the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium annual meeting.

Making a splash at SOT: Many trainees supported by SRP research projects were recognized for their outstanding work at the Annual Society of Toxicology meeting this spring, for example:

• Duke: Javier Huayta, Ph.D.
• OSU: Leo Ramirez; Mackenzie Allison; Kyle Burns; Lo-Wei Lin, Ph.D.
• TAMU: Hannah Roe; Ibrahim Alshammari; Alexandra Svetlik; Kaylynn Dinh; Olivia Lampe; Chander Negi, Ph.D.
• UNC: Sarah Miller, Jessie Chapel, Jiahao Feng
• University of New Mexico: Risa Smith
• Wayne State University: Chi Pham

Remember, please submit your SRP awards and honors through the Data Collection Tool!