Michigan State University recently named four new MSU Foundation Professors, including two from the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Foundation Professor is 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.
The MSU Foundation Professorship was established in 2014 through the generosity of the Michigan State University Foundation. In addition to the permanent title, honorees are typically provided with five years of supplemental scholarly funding.
“It’s a great pleasure to recognize exceptional faculty members who contribute to the success of MSU,” said David Washburn, Executive Director of the Michigan State University Foundation. “Their research, teaching and scholarship drives intellectual power at this university.”
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 advisor 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, and private foundations.
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. Dr. 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.