USM’s Elasri Honored by Mississippi Academy of Sciences
Tue, 03/03/2020 - 04:41pm | By: David Tisdale
Dr. Mo Elasri, second from left, a professor of microbiology at USM, is presented the Outstanding Contributions to Health Disparity and Diversity Research Award at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences’ (MAS) 84th annual meeting, held Feb. 20-21 in Biloxi. Presenting the award to Dr. Elasri is, from left, Dr. Alex Acholonu, chair of the MAS Health Disparities Committee; Dr. Ham Benghuzzi, MAS executive director; and Dr. Ken Butler, chair of the Awards Committee of MAS.
The Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) recently honored Dr. Mo Elasri, a professor of microbiology in The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) College of Arts and Sciences, with its Outstanding Contributions to Health Disparity and Diversity Research Award during its 84th annual meeting in Biloxi Feb. 20-21.
Dr. Elasri, who joined the university’s faculty in 2002, is a T.W. Bennett Professor of Microbiology and director of the Mississippi INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, which is housed at USM. Mississippi INBRE is a network of colleges and universities designed to build a biomedical research infrastructure in Mississippi to improve the health of citizens throughout the state.
Dr. Elasri and several other USM faculty members and students presented oral and poster presentations at the event, which drew hundreds of attendees representing all the state’s institutions of higher learning.
“I accepted this award on behalf of a great team of Mississippi INBRE researchers, who are dedicated to addressing health disparities in the state,” Dr. Elasri said. “We have two major initiatives that work closely with the African American and Native American communities to improve health outcomes for our citizens. These efforts are led by Dr. June Gipson and Dr. Jennifer Lemacks, who have done an outstanding job of building relationships with the community and developing cutting edge approaches that have already proven very effective.”
For information about the USM College of Arts and Sciences, visit https://www.usm.edu/arts-sciences/index.php. For information about Mississippi INBRE, visit https://msinbre.org/. For information about the MAS, visit http://msacad.org/.