SIU Med School Announces Three Research Awards

Three awards have been announced by the Department of Pharmacology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.

The Barbara L. Armour Memorial Award was presented to Kathleen Groesch, a researcher in the medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology department, for excellence, dedication and contributions to scientific research. The Armour award was established to commemorate Barbara Lawhorn Armour, a pharmacology researcher, who died in 1995. Groesch is the daughter of Dr. John Hucker of Shiloh and Maria Hucker of O'Fallon, and is married to Michael Groesch of Springfield. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in zoology (1998, 2001).

The Satu M. Somani Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Wade Burkard, a 2005 SIU graduating senior from Momence. The award is presented to a senior medical student for outstanding performance in pharmacology and therapeutics. The Somani award was established in memory of Satu M. Somani, Ph.D., who was an SIU professor of pharmacology and toxicology from 1974 until his death in 2002. Wade is the son of Larry and Janene Burkard of Momence. He is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry (2000).

The Hemal Vakharia Memorial Award was presented to Jennifer Arnold, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, for her summer work in the animal medicine laboratory. The award is made to high school or college students who have provided significant assistance to faculty research efforts. The award was established in memory of Hemal Vakharia, a summer help student who died in an automobile accident in 1992. Arnold is the daughter of David and Donna Arnold of Springfield.

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