Eight University of Michigan researchers have received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on scientists and engineers beginning their independent research careers.
They are among nearly 400 researchers whose work is funded by a range of federal agencies who were announced as PECASE winners by the White House.
Amy Bohnert, Scott Hummel and Lewei Allison Lin of the Medical School; Danai Koutra, Ashwin Shahani, Kevin Field and Karin Jensen of the College of Engineering; and Liuyan Zhao of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts join a range of U-M faculty who have won PECASEs since the program began in 1996.
PECASE awards acknowledge the contributions scientists and engineers have made to the advancement of science, technology, education and mathematics education, and to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education and community outreach.
More about this year’s U-M honorees:
Amy Bohnert is a professor in the Medical School’s departments of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry and the School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, and a research investigator at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. She is co-director of the U-M Opioid Research Institute and of the Overdose Prevention Engagement Network. Her research focuses include epidemiology and brief interventions regarding chronic pain, opioid misuse, overdose, substance use and related disorders. She has led a number of projects related to overdose and prescription drug safety, with many aimed at improving care in substance use disorder treatment settings. She is a member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research.
View the White House announcement