Faculty members receive Showalter funding

Showalter Scholars Jason Cannon, Regan Bailey and Kee-Hong Kim pose with President Mitch Daniels and Dr. Robert Holden, member of the Showalter Trust Selection Committee. (Photo by Sarah Anderson) Download image

Three faculty members have been designated Showalter Faculty Scholars for 2017.

The faculty members are:

* Regan Bailey, associate professor of nutrition science, an internationally recognized expert in diet and disease and a former nutritional epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health.

* Jason Cannon, associate professor of toxicology and an internationally recognized expert in the environmental causes of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

* Kee-Hong Kim, associate professor of food science and an international award-winning nutritional biologist focusing on lipid biochemistry, enzymology and nutritional molecular biology.

"The Showalter Scholars are recognized as outstanding mid-career professors on an accelerated path to academic distinction whose research interests embrace areas supported by the Showalter Trust," says Jeff Bolin, associate vice president for research. "Each of the honorees has demonstrated tremendous success in obtaining research funding, publishing their findings and collaborating with faculty members at Purdue and beyond to address critical questions within the life and health sciences."

The researchers were selected in partnership with the university faculty scholars program. The Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships nominated university faculty scholars in consultation with academic units and the Office of the Provost, and an external committee made the final selections. Each of the new Showalter Scholars will receive funding for five years: an annual award of $5,000 from the trust, matched at 100 percent by the provost.

The first three Showalter Scholars were appointed four years ago. "With the appointments of the 2017 class of scholars, the program achieved its steady-state target of 15 scholars," Bolin says. "We are very grateful to the Showalter Trust for the support provided through this program."

Though the faculty scholar program is relatively new, the Ralph W. and Grace M. Showalter Research Trust has benefited Purdue researchers for more than 40 years through one-time grants to faculty in the areas of environmental science; biochemistry and molecular biology; disease prevention, diagnosis, progression, treatment and control; new technologies for food production, preservation, distribution and safety; and medical and biophysical instrumentation. This year, 11 early-career faculty members received up to $75,000 each in Showalter Trust funding. The researchers and their projects are:

* Birgit Cabot, research assistant professor of animal sciences, "Chromatin Remodeling and Embryonic Origins of Adult Disease."

* Gaurav Chopra, assistant professor of analytical and physical chemistry, "Multi-target Potent Synthetic Leads for Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer."

* Alexander Chubykin, assistant professor of biological sciences, "Theta Oscillations in Visual Cortex of Alzheimer's Disease Mice."

* Nana Gletsu Miller, associate professor of nutrition science, "Translational Studies on the Effects of Dietary Fats on Glycemia and Insulin Action."

* Jeremy Lohman, assistant professor of biochemistry, "Catching Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Enzymes in the Act with a Non-natural Amino Acid."

* Jianguo Mei, assistant professor of chemistry, "Looking Deeper into the Tissues: Nanostructured Semiconducting Polymers Absorbing in the Second Near-Infrared Window (1.1-1.8 μm) for Photoacoustic Imaging."

* Sujith Puthiyaveetil, assistant professor of biochemistry, "The Structural Basis of a Serine/Threonine-type Kinase Activity in the Chloroplast Sensor Kinase."

* Bruno Tesini Roseguini, assistant professor of health and kinesiology, "Effects of Heat Treatment on Collateral Growth, Skeletal Muscle Capillarization and Fatigue Resistance in a Preclinical Model of Peripheral Arterial Disease."

* Jonathan Shannahan, assistant professor of health sciences, "Disease-related Variations in Response to Nanoparticle Exposure."

* Darci J. Trader, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, "Discovery of Proteasome Stimulators to Treat Diseases Associated with Protein Accumulation."

* Qi Zhou, assistant professor of industrial and physical pharmacy, "Novel Inhalation Therapies for Treatment of Fatal Gram-negative Lung Infections."

For more information on the Showalter Trust early-career grants program, visit http://www.purdue.edu/research/funding-and-grant-writing/funding/showalter.php.

Writer: Angie Roberts, senior writer/designer, research communcations, akroberts@purdue.edu