February 23, 2006
Dr. James T. Buchanan, Wehr Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences, received the 2006 Lawrence G. Haggerty Faculty Award for Excellence in Research at the annual Distinguished Scholars Reception held Wednesday. The reception, co-sponsored by the Graduate School, the Committee On Research and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, honors faculty, staff and alumni who demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievements in the past year.
Also at the event, Dr. Jane E. Dorweiler, assistant professor of biological sciences; Dr. Kristin Haglund, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Debra L. Oswald, assistant professor of psychology; and Dr. Daniel S. Sem, assistant professor of chemistry, received Way-Klingler Young Scholars Awards. The awards, for which each will receive a one-semester sabbatical, are part of the Way Klingler Faculty Development Program made possible by the generosity of Helen Way Klingler, whose $18 million donation to Marquette was announced in May 2004.
Buchanan’s pioneering research in neurophysiology has been funded by more than $1.8 million in grants and led to more than 40 publications including a landmark Science article while a postdoctoral student. His career has concentrated on researching the operation of neuronal networks in organisms — the kind of networks that control speech and other processes through the nervous system— and specifically, the motor control of locomotion. Through his research, he is working to understand the cellular structures that cause the spinal cord to function, findings that could ultimately lead to therapies for curing spinal cord diseases and injuries.
A native of Abilene, Texas, Buchanan received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Colorado College in Colorado Springs and earned his Ph.D. in neural science at Washington University in St. Louis. After serving three years as a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Buchanan joined the Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Groundbreaking research as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Sten Grillner, a renowned neurophysiologist who is now director of the institute, led to a co-authored model of the lamprey spinal cord published in Science in 1987. While the model is not a complete understanding, according to Buchanan, it remains the best understanding of a locomotor network in an adult vertebrate.
After serving as an instructor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Buchanan brought his research to Marquette in 1989 and has received National Institutes of Health grants each year since to continue his work.
The Lawrence G. Haggerty Faculty Award for Excellence in Research has been awarded to a faculty member every year since 1998. The award has been made possible by a generous gift from the Haggerty family and includes a stipend for the award winner. The recipient is selected by the Committee On Research and confirmed by Provost Madeline Wake.
Among the Way-Klingler Young Scholars, Dorweiler received her bachelor of arts in biology summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and earned her Ph.D. in plant biological sciences from the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Arizona and the University of Oregon before joining Marquette in 2002. Her current research is focused on characterizing the connection between mutant and altered developmental phenotypes in the gene regulation of significant crops such as maize. Her lab is specifically examining the gene expression of several candidate genes likely to influence flowering time.
Haglund received her bachelor of science in nursing from Marquette and her master’s from the University of Wisconsin — Oshkosh. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee. In addition to professional experience as a nurse in the Milwaukee area, she was a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for nine years before joining Marquette in 2002. As a Way-Klingler Young Scholar, she will be completing two abstinence intervention studies and one descriptive study of how contexts influence the sexual behaviors of adolescents. She will also conduct a descriptive, exploratory study regarding adolescent males’ perceptions of their own sexuality.
Oswald received her bachelor of arts from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn., and earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. from St. Louis University. She was a postdoctoral fellow in quantitative psychology at the University of Illinois before joining Marquette in 2003. During the award period, Oswald will examine gender self-stereotypes (the degree to which people internalize gender stereotypes) through the antecedents to self-stereotyping. She will also examine the implications for women’s academic choices, career choices, and self-image.
Sem received his bachelor of science in chemistry summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee and earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In additional to postdoctoral work, he served in professional roles including as co-founder of Triad Therapeutics Inc. in San Diego before joining Marquette in 2002. His research activities include studies of protein-ligand interactions using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and fluorescence methods and are directed at providing an understanding of the toxic side effects of drugs and pollutants. His research work will be enhanced by the recent acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer for Marquette’s new Chemical Proteomics Facility.
The Way Klingler Young Scholars Awards are presented to junior faculty in the three years after their third-year review. The awards of up to $32,000 are intended to fund $2,000 in operating costs and up to 50 percent of salary to afford recipients a one-semester sabbatical.
