2007 Review Committee

Jiquan Chen, Environmental Sciences, A&S

Ali Fatemi, MIME, Engineering

Marcia McInerney, Med-Bio Chem, Pharmay

Matt Wikander, English, A&S

He joined the UT faculty in 2001 and received the Sigma Xi/Dion D. Raftopoulos Award for Outstanding Research in 2004 for his work on landscape ecology and ecosystem science.

         “Dr. Chen is emerging as an international leader in ecology,” wrote a nominator. “He is doing some exciting research on global climate changes that has gained positive attention for the department and the University in the local media and, more importantly, raised the profile of the University and our programs both nationally and internationally among peer scientists.”

         While at UT, Chen has published 64 articles and three books. “Dr. Chen’s publications have been consistently influential in his field. All together, his papers have been cited over 1,000 times,” a nominator wrote. Since 2001, he has received some $3 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the state of Missouri, the Department of Energy, the Joint Fire Science Program and others. Recent work includes creating a mobile cart to compete for funding from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).

He came to UT in 1994 known for the groundbreaking development of esmolol, a drug used to quickly and safely lower blood pressure and cardiac stress in the emergency room.

         “His research [at UT] has been directed to drug discovery with emphasis on cancer diagnosis, prevention and treatment. He also has initiated projects on synthetic methodology related to drug production,” wrote one nominator. “He is recognized in the pharmaceutical industry for the development of a continuing education course in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.”

         Erhardt’s work has been funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the U.S. Army and Pfizer Inc., and has resulted in nine patents and patent applications. “Dr. Erhardt has been on a positive roll with his financial support continually climbing until it is now sitting at just over $1 million annually,” a nominator noted. “His article ‘Medicinal Chemistry in the New Millennium’ is widely read, reprinted, and has increased the visibility of The University of Toledo in the chemical community.” Erhardt has received the College of Pharmacy’s Outstanding Faculty Member Award and Outstanding Researcher Award.

He came to UT in 2000. He holds five patents; his specialty is in orthopedic and dental biomechanics, especially spine biomechanics.

         “Over the years, Dr. Goel has consistently received grant funding for his research efforts from various funding agencies, including Ohio’s Third Frontier in Biosciences and Industry. During the last five years, he has received in excess of $1.3 million as principal investigator and a co-investigator,” wrote one nominator. “Since January 2000, he has published 56 peer-reviewed manuscripts, several book chapters and more than 130 abstracts.”

         In 2001, Goel teamed up with UT engineering faculty and colleagues in the Medical University of Ohio’s orthopedic surgery department to create the Spine Research Center. “Dr. Goel has an international reputation for the training of the engineering work force in the area of bioengineering and orthopedics. He has been involved in the establishment of several companies leading to growth of the industry, and is internationally renowned for his work on spinal implants.” In 2003, he received the H.R. Lissner Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his work on spinal implants.

Since 1991, she has been at UT and served as an adjunct faculty member at the Medical University of Ohio. Her research focuses on Type 1 autoimmune diabetes. As a member of MUO’s new Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Research, McInerney also is studying how a high-fat diet contributes to the development of Type 2 diabetes in mice.

         “Dr. McInerney’s major contributions at the University have been as a teacher and scholar. Her research has focused on a singularly clear idea about the way pancreatic cells are destroyed in juvenile diabetes,” wrote one nominator. “She has been able to produce seminal work on this problem because of the clear questions she has asked on how this occurs. In a relatively short period of time, she has developed a major reputation in her field of study.”

         As principal investigator, she has received $1.3 million in grants since 1993 and published her work on diabetes in 11 immunology journals. McInerney received a Career Development Award from the American Diabetes Association in 1993-1996, was named a Senior Iacocca Fellow for her work at the Joslin Diabetes Center/Harvard Medical School in 1998-99, and received a 2005 Outstanding Women Award from the University Women’s Commission.