Michigan State University recently named four new MSU Foundation Professors, a designation given to outstanding faculty who demonstrate excellence in research and teaching while enhancing the prominence of the institution.
Laura McCabe, David Morgan, Amirpouyan Nejadhashemi and Terrie Taylor join 36 of their peers who have previously been named MSU Foundation Professors.
“From human health to water resources, these scholars have each made important advances related to the world’s most challenging problems,” stated Stephen Hsu, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation.
Laura McCabe, professor in the Departments of Physiology and Radiology, has long been engaged in exploring the mechanisms regulating bone cell differentiation and bone formation, and in developing new strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
McCabe’s research has generated an expansive body of work, with critical contributions to more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and numerous book chapters. Many scientific symposia have benefited from her organizational leadership, and she has been a frequent adviser on a wide range of grant review boards and committees both here and abroad.
She holds several patents, with additional patents pending, related to the treatment of osteoporosis. Her internationally recognized research program has been continuously funded for nearly 20 years through external federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as private foundations.
David Morgan, professor in the Department of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine in the College of Human Medicine, has spent his career studying the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. His research has led to several clinical trials, including a vaccine and antibody injections, to activate the body’s immune response and stop the buildup of a protein called beta amyloid in the brain.
Morgan’s work has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes for Health and private foundations. In addition, he regularly sits on review panels for the NIH and other agencies, evaluating grants to develop new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders.
He has served on numerous editorial and scientific review boards, contributed to over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and participated in symposiums and conferences as he continues to pursue the development of effective diagnostic tools for the prevention of Alzheimer’s.
Amirpouyan (A. Pouyan) Nejadhashemi is a professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. A leading expert in water resources modeling, Nejadhashemi examines water and its distribution, movement and quality in a variety of environments.
Nejadhashemi has been the principal or a co-principal investigator on grants totaling more than $30 million. His research team has been consulted by many national and international governmental agencies to help make informed decisions on such subjects as water resource management, sustainable crop production and climate change mitigation strategies.
The author of roughly 100 peer-reviewed publications, Nejadhashemi has served on the board of several leading journals and led more than 150 oral and poster presentations at national and international conferences. In 2018, Nejadhashemi was elected to the board of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society, the largest society of its kind in the world.
Terrie Taylor, University Distinguished Professor of Tropical Medicine in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, is an internationally recognized scientist and physician who has waged a 33-year battle against malaria.
Her research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, determined swelling of the brain and pressure on the respiratory center as the cause of death in pediatric patients. This discovery is now leading to the development of interventional therapies and expanded use of ventilators.
Taylor spends six months of every year in Malawi conducting malaria research, treating patients and hosting students for six-week rotations at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. She also cofounded the Blantyre Malaria Project, becoming its director in 2000, to carry out research and patient care in the area of pediatric cerebral malaria.
Taylor has been the recipient of countless honors and awards, including the American Medical Association Foundation Excellence in Medicine Award, the AOA Osteopathic Pioneer Award and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Ben Kean Award. She has authored or co-authored well over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has received over $35 million in grant awards.
New MSU Foundation Professors and other distinguished awardees will be recognized during a special investiture event on September 26, 2019.
To view the full roster of MSU Foundation Professors or learn more about the nomination process, visit the website of the Office for Research and Innovation.
