July 13, 2007

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 Lisa Cox, a researcher in the pharmacology department, for excellence, dedication and contributions to scientific research. ;The award was established to commemorate Barbara Lawhorn Armour, a pharmacology researcher, who died in 1995.;

Cox earned her bachelor’s degree at Napier University in Edinburgh, England (1995). She is the daughter of Peter and Margaret Sample of Amble, England and is married to Bill Cox from Charleston.

The Hemal Vakharia Memorial Award was presented to Loren Zuiderveld for his summer work in the laboratories of Donald Caspary, Ph.D., professor and distinguished scholar of pharmacology and Jeremy Turner, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery. The award is presented to a high school or college student who has provided significant assistance to faculty research. It was established in memory of Hemal Vakharia, a summer help student who died in an automobile accident in 1992.

Zuiderveld is the son of Rudy and Sharon Zuiderveld of Jacksonville. He is a medical student at University of Illinois and earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern California (2003).

The Satu M. Somani Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Beth M. Smoker and Dr. Sara S. Woodward Dyrstad, both 2007 graduating seniors at SIU. The award is presented to senior medical students 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.

Smoker is the daughter of Patrick and Donna Smoker of Freeburg. She earned her bachelor’s degree from McKendree College in Lebanon (2003). Woodward Dyrstad is the daughter of Dave and Terri Woodward of Morton and is married to Dr. Bradley Dyrstad from Elgin. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Augustana College in Rock Island (2003).

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