2021 Showalter Scholars selected

Three midcareer faculty members have been chosen to receive funding from the Ralph W. and Grace M. Showalter Research Trust Fund. Mingji Dai, professor of chemistry, and Haley Oliver and Yuan Yao, both professors of food science, have been named as Showalter Scholars beginning this academic year.   

Dai’s research efforts in the College of Science strive to innovate in both the strategy and methodology of chemical synthesis to solve some of the problems of biological and medical importance and improve human health. The work includes a focus on both natural and unnatural molecules with particular potential for the treatment of cancer, CNS (central nervous system) disorders and infectious diseases.

Oliver joined the College of Agriculture faculty in 2010.  Her research focus is the persistence, prevalence and transmission of foodborne pathogens in retail food systems and the development of intervention strategies to improve food safety in retail food operations.

Yao, a faculty member since 2005, integrates fundamental research with technology development. His research interests include the creation, characterization and applications of novel carbohydrates, the study of interactions among food ingredients and the development of value-added materials for the food and non-food industries.

Dai, Oliver and Yao join 11 active Showalter Scholars appointed in prior years at Purdue. The continuing Showalter Scholars are:

• Claudio Aguilar, associate professor, assistant department head, biological sciences.
• Regan Bailey, professor, nutrition science.
• Edward Bartlett, professor, biological sciences.
• Jason Cannon, associate professor, toxicology.
• Kee-Hong Kim, associate professor, food science.
• Rong Huang, associate professor, medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.
• Nicholas Noinaj, associate professor, biological sciences.
• Marguerite O’Haire, associate professor, human-animal interaction.
• Peristera Paschou, professor, biological sciences; associate dean for online and graduate education, College of Science.
• Yulia Pushkar, professor, physics and astronomy.
• Elizabeth Tran, professor, biochemistry.

Faculty members were nominated in partnership with the provost’s University Faculty Scholars program and approved by an external selection committee of distinguished scientists representing the Showalter Research Trust. Funding from the trust --$5,000 annually -- complements equivalent funding from the Office of the Provost.

The Ralph W. and Grace M. Showalter Trust program was established in 1975 to support research in the priority areas of environmental science; biochemistry and molecular biology; disease prevention, diagnosis, progression, treatment and control; new technologies for food production, preservation, distribution and safety; and medical and biophysical instrumentation.

For more information about the Showalter Trust, visit this webpage.