University of Iowa thinkers, explorers, mentors, creators, and inventors were celebrated for their work during the UI Office of Research and Economic Development’s annual Discovery & Innovation Awards Ceremony April 17. Titled “Celebrating Excellence,” the 2018 event at Hancher brought together faculty, staff, and students involved in research and scholarship as well as its translation into medical devices, startup companies, and other commercial ventures.

John Keller, interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development and dean of the Graduate College, said that because of the work being done by the people being recognized Tuesday night, “lives are being saved, prolonged, and improved, and our ideas about the vast universe we inhabit, and the innermost workings of the human body, are growing by leaps and bounds.”

Awardees from the College of Public Health included:

Distinguished Research Administrator Award: Dixie Ecklund, Director of Operations in the College of Public Health’s Clinical Trials Statistical and Data Management Center. The award recognizes staff members at the University of Iowa who are exceptional research administrators and/or performed exceptional service in support of research. The award is co-sponsored by the Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations and the Vice President for Research & Economic Development.

Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in Biology, Life, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.  Angela Toepp, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology. The awards honor graduate students in terminal degree programs conducting research and scholarly activity that is recognized as highly original work.

Leadership in Research Award: Robert Wallace, Professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health. This is a lifetime achievement award to honor tenure- , research- or clinical-track faculty for distinguished leadership in research and scholarship accomplishments over a career.

View a full list of the award winners.