Award Ceremony 2022

Join us to celebrate your colleagues! We will recognize the winners of this year’s research excellence awards and Research Week grant competitions.

Join us Friday, October 21, 2021 at 10:00am

(RSVP below to receive Zoom information and a calendar invite)

Award Ceremony RSVP

Awards include:

  • RA and $10K Competition Award – Awardee will receive $10,000 and/ or a doctoral level Research Assistantship (RA) for the Spring 2023 semester.
  • Grant and Contract Administration Service Recognition Award – Service is defined as an individual who has performed their grant and contract administration responsibilities outstandingly above and beyond the expected or required performance within his/her work unit or area
  • Grant and Contract Administration Contribution Recognition Award – Contribution is defined as an individual or a group whose meritorious efforts have made a unique difference on the Washington State University system, locally, regionally, nationally and/or internationally in the field of grant and contract administration.
  • Largest New Individual Grant Award – Awards an individual faculty member for a large new or re-submitted research proposal that was awarded funding in FY2022.
  • Largest New Team Grant Award – Awards a team led by a WSU faculty member (with either internal or external collaborators) for a large new or re-submitted research proposal that was awarded funding in FY2022.
  • Creative Activity, Research, and Scholarship Award – Awards a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in the fields of arts, humanities, or social sciences. 
  • Pacesetter Award – Awards a promising junior tenure/tenure track faculty member, who has set new standards of achievement in successfully leading research grant funding, publications, and citations while at WSU. 
  • Technology with Impactful Contribution to Society Award – Awards a faculty member for an invention that has had substantive societal impact. 
  • Exceptional Service to the Office of Research Award – Awards an individual faculty member who has been actively engaged in service activities within the Office of Research. 

Previous Awardees:

  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Ryan Driskell ($1.6M HHS: NIH) – “Investigating the synergy between skin regeneration and anti-aging by inducing Lef1 expression in fibroblasts”
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Rock Mancini ($1.69M  HHS: NIH) – “Exploiting Cancer Metabolism and Drug Efflux with Bystander-Assisted Immunotherapy”
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Wipawee “Joy” Winuthayanon ($1.59M  HHS: NIH) – “The Actions of Steroid Hormones on Oviduct Function”
  • 2018 Winner: Dr. Jingru Sun ($1.9M  NIH: NIGMS) – “Neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regulation of innate immunity”

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Felix Lankester ($124M) – “Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens (DEEP-VZN)”
  • 2022 Winner: Ananth Kalyanaraman ($20M) – “Agricultural AI for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support (AgAID)”
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Kariuki Njenga ($9.7 M) – “Enhancing Preparedness and Response to Communicable Diseases in Kenya”
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Lonnie Nelson ($9.67M) –  “URBAn Native Elders (URBANE): Risk and Protective Factors for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias”
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Jon Yoder ($5M) – “Technology for trade: Improving water use and allocation efficiency in agriculture and beyond”
  • 2018 Winner: Dr. Noel Schultz  ($7.5M + $7.5M in cost share  DOE: JCERDC) – “UI-ASSIST: US-India collAborative for smart diStribution System wIth STorage”

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Maria (Masha) Gartstein – director of the Infant Temperament Lab at WSU as well as the director of clinical training for the WSU Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Her research investigates infant and early childhood development including emotional self-regulation and causes of fearfulness. She has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed articles in the last five years. Her research has even been featured in the Netflix series Babies, which profiled the work and accomplishments of her lab. In addition to her research, Dr. Gartstein has been a tireless mentor and advocate for women in academia. As the longtime director of WSU ADVANCE, she won continued NSF funding for the program, which helps women flourish in their academic careers.
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Shannon Tushingham – An anthropological archaeologist whose research is broadly centered on human-environmental dynamics and the archaeology of hunter-gatherer-fishers in western North America. She has published more than 15 articles and essays just in the last three years. Over her career, she has authored or co-authored more than 40 publications related to behavioral ecology, psychoactive plant use, and STEM equity. Dr. Tushingham is committed to an ethic of collaboration with indigenous communities, and she frequently works with tribes on research issues relating to repatriation and cultural preservation, as well as Native American student support.  
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Jesse Spohnholz’s – Research focusing on social practices of toleration in Reformation-era Germany and the Netherlands, experiences of religious refugees during Europe’s Age of Religious Wars, and historical memory of the Reformation. Has three published books and is currently the co-PI on a nearly $1M international research project.
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Matthew Sutton – Published five books,16 academic journal articles and chapters, 12 select articles and editorials, and several book reviews and encyclopedia and dictionary articles. He has also received 21 grants and fellowships, 15 honors, awards, and prizes, and presented at numerous invited lectures and conferences.
  • 2018 Winner: Dr. Kim Christen ($555,000 Mellon Foundation Grant Recipient) – “Mukurtu Shared: Connecting Communities and Collections through Collaborative Curation”

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Amy Salazar
  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Achour Amiri
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Anamika Dubey (Physical Sciences & Engineering)
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Jason Wu (Life & Health Sciences)
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Caren Goldberg
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Lonnie Nelson
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Kiwamu Tanaka
  • 2018 Winner: Dr. Steven Roberts

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Kimberly McKeirnan – Among many other things, Dr. McKeirnan received grants for improving immunization rates in rural areas, providing mental health first aid training to student pharmacists, and developing a model for implementing chronic disease-state management services in rural community pharmacies. Dr. McKeirnan has also been recognized for her efforts in the field and has been the recipient of several regional and national awards for teaching and research related to public health and improving patient access to quality care services. 
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Juming Tang​ – A start-up company, 915 Labs, was created based on intellectual property developed by Dr. Tang and his team, and was recently acquired by the multinational conglomerate, TATA group from India.  Shelf stable meals produced using his process are now available in the market.  
  • 2020 Winners: Dr. Joe Harding, Dr. Jay Wright, and Dr. Leen Kawas – Development of CNS disease therapeutics through Athira Pharma start-up
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Arron Carter – “Otto” Soft White Winter Wheat
  • 2018 Winners: Dr. Kate Evans & Dr. Bruce Barritt – Apple Cultivar (WSU 38) “Cosmic Crisp”
  • 2018 Winner: Dr. Katrina Mealey – Test for Identification of Dogs Sensitive to Ivermectin

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. James MacLean – a proposal reviewer for the New Faculty Seed Grant, Natural Resource Conservation Endowment Fund, and past Research Week competitions.
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. James Brozik – a frequent contributor to the Office of Research as a proposal reviewer. He also provided coaching and mentoring to applicants for Keck Foundation grant opportunities, leading to WSU’s continued success with Keck grants.
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Joanna Kelley – assisted with events, provided input on different initiatives and efforts to foster research collaborations across units and colleges
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Todd Butler – active reviewer on various committees within the Office of Research
  • 2018 Winners: Dr. Tammy Barry & Dr. Babu John-Mariadoss – Co-Chairs of the Research and Arts Committee & the Centers, Institutes, or Laboratories (CILs) task force

Awardee will receive between $10,000 to $50,000 plus a doctoral level research assistantship to develop their preliminary idea into an extramural center-type grant proposal. The research assistantship, provided by the Graduate School, will be for two semesters in support of this effort.​

  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Manoj Karkee
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Mona Ghandi​
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Erica Crespi ​
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Julie Padowski
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Eric Lofgren

Awardee will receive $10,000 and a doctoral level Research Assistantship (RA) for the Spring 2021 semester.​

  • 2022 Winner: Dr. Tahira Probst
  • 2022 Winner: Dr. James MacLean
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Wipawee “Joy” Winuthayanon
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Bert Tanner
  • 2021 Winner: Dr. Allison Coffin
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Minto Michael
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Liane Moreau​
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Io Palmer
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Ryan McLaughlin

Undergraduate students competed for 1st and 2nd place awards. The 1st place award includes a $1,500 scholarship for the student and $5,000 for the faculty mentor overseeing the project. The 2nd place award is a $1,500 scholarship for the student.​

  • 2021 1st Place Winner: Emily Dale under Dr. Allison Coffin
  • 2021 2nd Place Winner: Olivia Molano

Undergraduate students presented on research performed during their academic years at WSU with $500 scholarships awarded to the best three presenters.​

  • 2021 Winner: Keegan Sanchez​
  • 2021 Winner: Sean Thompson
  • 2021 Winner: Daisy Yang

Three teams or individuals will be awarded with a $2,500 – $3,000 travel grant and receive administrative support from IREO to initiate contact and develop strategic, industrial partnerships with desired companies.

  • 2020 Winner: Dr. David Makin
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Jean-Sabin McEwen
  • 2020 Winner: Dr. Julia Day
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Tyler Bland
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Soumik Banerjee
  • 2019 Winner: Dr. Jose Riera