MSU College of Natural Science recognizes 2023 award winners
Nearly 100 individuals attended the Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) annual awards program on April 21 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at the Graduate hotel in East Lansing, Mich.
2023 NatSci award recipients (left to right): Bryan O. Buckley, Outstanding Alumni Award; Michael Feig, Meritorious Faculty Award; and Jelani Zarif, Recent Alumni Award. Credit: Harley J. Seeley
Bryan O. Buckley (microbiology, ’10, M.S., public health. ’12) received the 2023 Outstanding Alumni Award; Jelani Zarif (Ph.D., cell and molecular biology, ’14) received the 2023 Recent Alumni Award; and Michael Feig, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, received the 2023 Meritorious Faculty Award.
Buckley is currently the director for health equity initiatives as the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and adjunct assistant professor of medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he teaches, coaches, supports and supervises graduate students and the School for Medicine and Biomedical Graduate Education. He is a board member of the American Public Health Association; the American Heart Association Greater Washington, D.C. Region; and Food & Friends. He is a founding executive board member of the DrPH Coalition and is on the advisory board for the MSU and Grand Valley State University MPH programs. As an inaugural member of MSU’s Tobacco-Free Taskforce, Buckley worked with the university to transition it to a tobacco- and smoke-free campus; the policy was implemented in 2016.
Zarif is the Robert E. Meyerhoff Endowed (Assistant) Professor at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has devoted his research career to studying prostate cancer. Zarif is a mentor in the Ingenuity Project, which works with the Baltimore City Public Schools to provide bright students with a free, highly accelerated and challenging math and science curriculum and hands-on research opportunities. He is also a mentor the Medical Education Resources Initiative for Teens (MERIT) program, which aims to eliminate healthcare disparities by transforming Baltimore City high school students into healthcare leaders through years of academic, professional and social support. In recognition of his contributions to the community, Zarif was awarded the Johns Hopkins University Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award in 2015. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.
Feig is a professor in the MSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His group is a world leader in the high-resolution modeling of protein structures; they are now able to reach near-experimental accuracy by combining machine-learning approaches with prior innovations. They also focus on using molecular dynamics computational simulations to understand molecular behavior in the cellular environment. Feig has held leadership roles in the American Chemical Society, the Protein Society, the Telluride Science Research Center Board, NIH study section membership, NSF panel service, and as the developer of widely used computational software and web servers. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Houston and joined the MSU faculty as an assistant professor in 2003. Prior to coming to MSU, Feig was a research associate at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California.
In addition to these alumni and faculty awards, several NatSci graduate and undergraduate students were recognized for their outstanding contributions.
2023 Tracy Hammer and Dan Bolin award winners (left to right): Joshua Kaste (Hammer award); Tanushree Thapar (Bolin award); Francesca Laube (Bolin award); and Emma Beaver (Bolin award). Not pictured: Faheed Shafau (Bolin award). Credit: Harley J. Seeley
Joshua Kaste (Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, ’24) was the 2023 recipient of the Tracy A. Hammer Graduate Student Award, which recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students with a stipend that can be used for professional development.
After earning his B.S. in plant sciences, summa cum laude, from Cornell University in 2016, Kaste was the supervisor of an agricultural genomics lab for three years before coming to MSU. He has been a first author or co-first author on several papers. Kaste’s ultimate goal is to inform the engineering of plants for sustainable biosynthesis of biofuel and high-value products.
Four students received a 2023 Dan Bolin Undergraduate Student Award, which is given annually to juniors in recognition of their outstanding leadership qualities, community service and academic abilities – Emma Beaver (human biology), Francesca Laube (neuroscience and criminal justice), Faheed Shafau (biomedical laboratory science) and Tanushree Thapar (neuroscience).
Beaver is a member of the Michigan State Honors College, the NatSci Deans Research Scholars program, a resident assistant in Shaw Hall and a Student Leader at the MSU Salt Company. She is also a professorial research assistant; her research focuses on the effects of light related to alleviating depression symptoms.
Laube is involved in Phi Delta Epsilon~MI Zeta, is co-leader of the Martin Luther Chapel Handbell Choir, a member of the MSU Neuroscience Club, and a volunteer at the Waterford Cancer Resource Center and Ward 9 Clean Up the Streets Day. She is a certified nursing assistant and plans to pursue a certified nursing assistant position when she returns from the neuroscience study abroad program in early July. Laube’s goal is to attend medical school to pursue a career in the field of surgical oncology.
Thapar is the Vice President for the MSU Neuroscience Club. She serves as a resident assistant at MSU’s Gilchrist Hall and is an active member at the Alzheimer’s Association of America. Thapar’s current goal is to start a business and work toward her doctorate in neuroscience.
Shafau is a member of the MSU Honors College and Academic Scholars Program. He is a resident assistant for the MSU Residential Education and Housing Service and a Drew Science Scholars Program peer and undergraduate teaching assistant. Utilizing medicine, Shafau wants to uplift marginalized groups and make the world a better place.
Next year's NatSci alumni awards event will take place on Friday, April 19, 2024. For more information, contact Sara Ford, alumni and donor relations coordinator, at fordsar2@msu.edu.
Banner image: Rita Dandridge (B.S., mathematics, ’89), senior director at Willis Towers Watson (pictured above), MC’d this year’s annual awards program. Nearly 100 individuals attended the MSU College of Natural Science annual awards program on April 21 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at The Graduate in downtown East Lansing, Mich., across from the MSU campus.
