Academy of Science-St. Louis Announces Recipients of Outstanding St. Louis Scientist Awards

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 17th annual Academy of Science-St. Louis Awards dinner, honoring top scientists and engineers from the St. Louis region, will be held in St. Louis, Missouri April 13, 2011.

The Peter H. Raven Lifetime Award recipient is Marcus E. Raichle, MD, Professor of Radiology, Neurology, Neurobiology, BioMedical Engineering and Psychology at the Washington University School of Medicine.  Dr. Raichle has an exceptional body of leading-edge research work in human cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging.

The Science Leadership Award recognizes leadership in the development of science and scientists in the region. This year's honorees are:

Emerson, a company recognized as a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses.  With more than 500 new products per year, Emerson ended 2010 with net sales of $21 billion.

Timothy Eberlein, MD serves as the Director of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Medical Center, as well Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine.  He currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and is President-Elect of the American Surgical Association.

The James B. Eads Award for outstanding achievement in technology/engineering will be presented to:

Alexander Rubin PhD, Senior Technical Fellow, Boeing Research and Technology, The Boeing Company is an internationally recognized expert in composite materials, structures and analysis. His breakthrough work in thermoplastic composites led to the first wide spread implementation of structural thermoplastic components on military and commercial aerospace and key international partnerships.  

Ettigounder Ponnusamy, PhD, Principal Scientist, Sigma-Aldrich.  Dr. Ponnusamy's work and patents in Polyamino acid polymer chemistry have impacted the design and scaling up of novel drug delivery for  cure and treatment of oncology, heart disease and vaccine therapies. Dr. Ponnusamy is also a driving force in the area of Green Chemistry—reducing hazardous waste and chemicals in synthesis.

The Fellows Award recognizes a distinguished individual for outstanding achievement in science. Two scientists receiving the 2011 awards are:

Duane Grandgenett, PhD, Professor, Institute for Molecular Virology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine is recognized as "the Father of Integrase".  He was the first to discover that retroviruses encode a protein responsible for integration of the viral DNA genome into cell DNA leading to better treatment of thousands with HIV/AIDS by a new drug with few side effects and new hope for the 33 million patients worldwide.

Toni Kutchan, PhD, Member and Principal Investigator, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, is a leader in combining genetic techniques with detailed enzyme and chemical structural characterization.  This unique ability to be a leader across multiple technical fields influenced her recent election to the German National Academy of Science. Dr. Kutchan works on the international plant biochemistry stage, with an emphasis on medicinal plants.

The Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the Academy mission of promoting the understanding and appreciation of science. Trustee Award recipients for 2011 are:

Janey S. Symington, PhD, Molecular Cell Biologist (retired) Washington University. Dr. Symington forged her reputation as a mentor and science advocate as a young researcher exploring proteins as transfer agents.  Her sharing of the wonders and future of science with the next generation has been a lifelong passion.

Linda Cottler, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry and jointly appointed in the Program for Occupational Therapy at the Washington University School of Medicine and in Anthropology in the School of Arts and Sciences. Her research and outreach on HIV prevention and drug addiction has spanned many continents and she is internationally known for the development of reliable, widely used assessments for substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders in the general population.

The Science Educator Award 2011 recipient is the Young Scientist Program, Washington University in St. Louis.

Dinner tickets and tributes for the April 13 event are available through the Academy of Science-St. Louis website www.academyofsciencestl.org.

About The Academy:

The Academy of Science-St. Louis is a 155 year-old organization dedicated to promoting the advancement and understanding of science and technology in the St. Louis region. The Academy fulfills its mission of connecting science and the community through science seminars and science inquiry initiatives. A key focus is the engagement of the future science, engineering and technology workforce and science advocates of the region. www.academyofsciencestl.org.

SOURCE Academy of Science-St. Louis