The College of LAS has awarded more than 25 professors, including three from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, with named scholar positions for their contributions to education and research at the University of Illinois.
The awardees from MCB are as follows:
LAS Distinguished Professorial Scholars
The Distinguished Professorial Scholar, established in early 2020, recognizes outstanding faculty members being considered for promotion from association to full professor. Recipients may use the title for one academic year and receive $10,000 to support their research and teaching.
Daniel Llano, Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Daniel Llano is an associate professor in molecular & integrative physiology and Benjamin R. and Elinor W. Bullock and Edwin E. and Jeanne Bullock Goldberg Professorial Scholar. His laboratory studies the mechanisms by which complex sounds, such as speech, are processed by the auditory system. Llano is a physician-surgeon at Carle Illinois College of Medicine, and is also affiliated with the Beckman Institute and the Neuroscience Graduate Program.
Helen Corley Petit Scholars
The Helen Corley Petit Scholar recognizes the scholarship and teaching of early career faculty members. Recipients may use the title for one academic year and receive $10,000 to support their research and teaching.
Asma Hatoum-Aslan, Department of Microbiology
Asma Hatoum-Aslan is an assistant professor of microbiology. Her laboratory seeks to gain a mechanistic understanding of the perpetual microscopic war that has been raging for billions of years between bacteria and the viruses that infect them.
Xin Li, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
Xin Li is an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology. Her lab's goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanism controlling the sequential temporal transitions in medulla neuroblasts to generate different neural types, using both genetics and genomics approaches. Li is also affiliated with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.
Featured image (L-R): Drs. Daniel Llano, Asma Hatoum-Aslan, Xin Li