Robert V. Stahelin, adjunct assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB), has been selected as one of four inaugural Showalter Scholars at IUSM.
The Showalter Scholars program was initiated this year to recognize the contributions of associate and newly appointed research faculty whose scientific expertise and productivity have resulted in significant contributions to the School of Medicine and the greater research community.
Stahelin is the only honoree from an IUSM regional campus. Selected, from the Indianapolis campus, are Kenneth White, Ph.D., associate professor of medical and molecular genetics; Aaron Carroll, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and associate director for research of the Children’s Health Services Research Program, and Alexander Robling, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and cellular biology.
Stahelin, whose doctorate is from the University of Illinois at Chicago, was promoted to associate professor in July 2012. His groundbreaking research in lipid-protein interactions has implications for understanding a wide range of diseases including heart disease, cancer, Ebola and malaria. Since coming to IUSM-SB he has earned grants totaling some $3 million. Earlier this year, he also received an IU Trustees Award for teaching excellence, and was named one of the Chamber of Commerce’s Forty under 40.
All four Showalter Scholars demonstrate success with R01-equivalent funding, or comparable success with predominately investigator-initiated clinical research, and engage in collaboration with researchers inside or outside the university.
Each will receive $25,000 from the Trust in the first year, $25,000 from the sponsoring department in the second, and $25,000 from the School of Medicine in the third. The program expands the breadth of the Ralph W. and Grace M. Showalter Research Trust Fund, which has supported young investigators through the one-year Showalter Trust Grants, and two senior faculty with the Showalter Professorships.