Nov. 4 was a banner day at NIEHS as dozens of employees and collaborators gathered in Rodbell Auditorium for the annual Awards Ceremony honoring outstanding contributions.

“Today is a very special event,” said NIEHS and National Toxicology Program Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D. “It’s the opportunity for us to celebrate remarkable accomplishments and individuals who have contributed in very important ways to our collective success over the past year.”

The coveted NIEHS Merit Awards — the highest award an institute director can bestow — were presented to 21 individuals and nine groups. Eight people received peer awards, and 31 others were recognized for their years of service.

NIEHS Individual Merit Awardees

Twenty-one individuals were honored for their outstanding work, as described below.

Benedict Anchang, for broadening the scope of scientific data to include underrepresented populations that meaningfully affects diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and civility (DEIAC).

Windy Boyd, for exceptional skill and integrity in mentoring the Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) editorial team and thereby creating a culture of strong research ethics, DEIAC principles, and professional development.

Jesse Cushman, for excellence in assisting and motivating trainees and staff who use the Neurobehavioral Core facility, allowing each to achieve their best potential.

Bryan Duran, for exceptional leadership in supporting the information technology needs of NIEHS staff.

Stavros Garantziotis, for excellence in scientific validation and clinical translation of a novel matrix-based therapeutic for human lung disease.

Melissa Gentry, for excellence in promoting and fostering a positive work-life environment in the Office of Acquisitions.

Quaker Harmon, for outstanding support of the Study of Lifestyle and Fibroids (SELF) and overseeing data documentation and transition to new study leadership.

Mary Jacobson, for exemplary efforts to improve administrative operations for NIEHS Senior Leadership Committee activities.

Alan Jarmusch, for leadership in successfully establishing the Trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Metabolomics Core Facility and ensuring its high efficiency and quality.

Tony Livingston, for initiative in mastering technology used to process Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) requests and helping colleagues through hands-on training and creating written resources, significantly improving overall FOIA processing.

Ruth Lunn, for leadership in championing transparency and equity in awards and recognition for staff in the Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT).

Suril Mehta, for effective leadership in advancing environmental health and the NIEHS mission as Senior Advisor for Chemical Safety to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Kyle Messier, for innovation in recruitment and mentoring, and leadership of the Climate and Health Outcomes Research Data Systems (CHORDS) project.

Alison Motsinger-Reif, for enhancing the All of Us Research Program’s focus on precision environmental health and for scientific contributions toward understanding the etiology of common diseases.

Anant Parekh, for excellent mentorship within the Signal Transduction Laboratory.

Andrew Rooney, for exemplary leadership, unwavering mentorship, and steadfast dedication that inspires a culture of collaboration, growth, resilience, and success in others.

Cyrena Silvera, for outstanding organizational citizenship and dedication to the Office of the Director.

Diane Spencer, for leadership and service in establishing and coordinating an exemplary Fellows Training Program within DTT.

Paula Stein, for exceptional performance orchestrating research projects and outstanding mentorship activities.

Latonya Washington, for excellence in designing and implementing online-accessible document systems for travel, personnel, and other administrative transactions.

Matthew Wheeler, for significant contributions to toxicology and risk assessment, particularly through involvement with the World Health Organization and the European Food Safety Authority.

NIEHS Group Merit Awardees

Nine groups received Merit Awards this year. The group members are listed below.

Climate and Health Outcomes Research Data Systems (CHORDS) Group, for advancing understanding of the complex interactions between climate change and health by establishing a data infrastructure purpose-built with diverse user communities and needs in mind. Adam Burkholder, Trisha Castranio, Mike Conway, David Fargo, Mariana Kassien, Kyle Messier, Aubrey Miller, Alison Motsinger-Reif, David Reif, Charles Schmitt. Contractors: Lara Clark, Rupali Gupta, Marcus Jackson, Ann Liu, Mitchell Manware, Skylar Marvel, Sue Nolte, Deep Patel, Maria Shatz.

eIDP Application Development and Implementation Team, for excellence in developing and implementing the NIEHS Electronic Individual Development Plan (eIDP) to enhance fellows’ career progression and bolster compliance with NIH policy. Mercedes Arana, Scott Bryan, David Fargo, Katherine Hamilton, Sanya Jackson, Edith Lee, Mike Mason, Elizabeth Ruben, Diane Spencer, Hong Xu. Contractors: Daniel Arsenault, Tremaine Baker, Alyssa Evans, Dalia Mohamed, Tyler Wright.

Epidemiology Branch Summer Internship Coordinating Committee, for development and leadership of a focused epidemiology summer trainee mentorship and training program. Kaitlyn Lawrence, Katie O’Brien, Jennifer Woo.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Team, for exemplary professionalism and dedication administering the NIEHS FOIA Program during an extended period, processing large volumes of complex records. Shevon Johnson, Tony Livingston, Eve Zamora.

NIEHS Climate Change and Health Glossary Group, for excellence in the development of the Climate Change and Health Glossary to support NIH climate-related programs, research, and global understanding of key terms. Tiffany Bowen, Abee Boyles, Trisha Castranio, Stephanie Holmgren, Ashlinn Quinn, Kimberly Thigpen Tart. Contractors: Megan Boland, Betsy Galluzzo, Ann Liu, Stasia Widerynski.

NIEHS Mentoring Program Working Group, for excellence in developing and implementing an NIEHS mentoring pilot program. Matt Burr, Carol Coatney, Renee Fisher, LaVern James, Ed Kang, Edith Lee, Katy McGinnis, Rob Neiberger, Amanda Pearson, Nicole Popovich, Scott Redman, Regina Stabile, Angie Tew, Arrash Yazdani, Vivian Young.

NIH East Palestine Train Disaster Response Group, for exemplary efforts to respond to community and research needs associated with the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. From NIEHS: Camilo Asuncion, Sharon Beard, April Bennett, Toccara Chamberlain, Jenn Chatman, Gwen Collman, Yuxia Cui, Lorna Daniel, Allison Eason, Christine Flowers, Melissa Gentry, Alicia Graham, Jenny Greer, Deborah Jones, Alfonso Latoni, Ruth Lunn, Robin Mackar, Yvette Malloy, Lindsey Martin, Suril Mehta, Aubrey Miller, Latavia Miller, Kindra Morrison, James Remington, Caleb Rogers, Andrew Rooney, Kelly Shipkowski, Anisha Singh, Stephanie Smith-Roe, Kyla Taylor, Claudia Thompson, James Williams, Leroy Worth.

Publication Approval Clearance and Tracking System (PACTS) Application Team, for excellence in developing and implementing the Publication Approval Clearance and Tracking System to provide compliance with the NIH publication internal review process. Scott Bryan, David Fargo, Christine Flowers, Sanya Jackson, Hans Leuke, Mike Mason, Elizabeth Ruben. Contractors: David Arsenault, Tremaine Baker, Alyssa Evans, Erin Knight, Dalia Mohamed, Nora Weston, Tyler Wright.

Quality Assurance Laboratory Staff, for providing excellent customer service to the NIEHS Animal Care and Use Program and Division of Intramural Research (DIR)/DTT research laboratories. Floyd Adsit, Michael Johnston, Jacqueline Locklear, Jonathan Weeks, Tanya Whiteside.

NIEHS Peer Awardees

Eight Peer Awards were presented this year. NIEHS is the only institute, center, or office of NIH that gives these awards. The recipients were nominated by their peers.

Julie Foley, for outstanding performance in support of all facets of DTT team-based science across multiple program teams.

Anna Jansen, for quickly adapting and taking over varied responsibilities to provide exceptional coverage of tasks.

Elizabeth Padilla-Banks, for exemplary performance supporting the establishment of a new tenure-track investigator’s laboratory through scientific training, collaboration, mentorship, and service.

Karina Rodriguez, for excellence in developing a breakthrough technique that significantly enhances research endeavors at NIEHS.

Matt Stout, for outstanding peer leadership and support of DTT teammates.

Fran Wagstaff, for outstanding customer service in assisting Environmental Health Perspectives with professional service orders.

Matthew Wheeler, for excellence in assistance with contract acquisitions and training for contract management.

Jun Yang, for diligently maintaining induced pluripotent stem cell lines critical to collaborative research within DIR.

Years of Service Awards

The NIEHS employees listed below were recognized for their years of dedicated service.

10 Years of Service: Yi Fang, Amanda Garton, Jonathan Hollander, LaToya McNeal-Stokes, Robert Neiberger, Robin Stanley, William Stryker.

20 Years of Service: Helen Cunny, Angela King-Herbert, Joe Lyerly, Kindra Morrison, Nicholas Plummer, David Resnik, Andrew Rooney, Mark Rubino, Maria Sifre, Tom Sliwa, Carolyne St. Louis, Matt Wheeler, Michael Wyde.

30 Years of Service: Michele Cisco, William Copeland, Vickie Walker, Kathryn Woods.

40 Years of Service: Bradley Collins, Glenda Corniffe, Sherry Coulter, Rita Jones, Brian Moyer, Diane Spencer, Joan Sterling.

See the sidebar to learn more about NIH Director’s Awards also presented at the awards ceremony.