Congratulations to Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, professor of plant metabolic engineering, who has been appointed by the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) as one of six new ARA Fellows. An A-State faculty member since 2005, he was nominated by Chancellor Kelly Damphousse. The Fellows program, launched in 2014, recognizes research leaders who are currently working in Arkansas at one of the state’s research campuses. Each Fellow receives a $75,000 grant to support their work. Details are online.

Dr. John Hershberger, associate professor of chemistry, is among those selected nationally to participate in the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) conducted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, based in Washington, D.C. Program participants will become more familiar with an array of pertinent topics in higher education, and will assess and develop their leadership qualities. Program details are online.

Congratulations to Leslie Moore Parker, assistant professor of graphic design, who recently won two American Advertising Awards (Addys) for graphic design work. She received a gold Addy for her Northeast Arkansas Mutual Aid Society logo and a bronze Addy for her typographic poster. The American Advertising Awards, the industry's largest competition, recognize the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising.

Dr. Philip Tew, associate professor of finance and director of economic education and financial literacy, received a $97,537 grant from AccessLex Institute's Center for Education and Financial Capability to fund a project for the Scarlet to Black (S2B) program, which improves students’ financial literacy. The project will focus on the impact of peer-led and initiated behavioral nudges on the financial wellness goals of first-year college students. Details are online.

A paper by Dr. Mohammad Abrar Alam, associate professor of chemistry, and his research group has been published in the New Journal of Chemistry. In their paper, they describe the synthesis of 50 new chimeric thiazole compounds with steroidal drugs and nootkatone, an FDA-approved natural insecticide. Several of these compounds have been found to be selective growth inhibitors of melanoma and renal cancer cell lines.