OSU College of Arts and Sciences Honors Creator of Hepatitis Vaccine
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Dr. Robert Purcell, one of the lead researchers behind hepatitis vaccines was named
2009 Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State
University on April 24. Purcell is shown with national scholarship recipient Kyle
Ensley, a double major in political science and international business from Valliant,
Okla.
Dr. Robert Purcell, one of the lead researchers behind hepatitis vaccines was named
2009 Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State
University on April 24. From left are, Purcell, Peter M.A. Sherwood, dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences, and Gillian Sherwood.
Dr. Robert Purcell, the co-chief of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., was presented with the honor at the College’s honors and awards banquet.
In his address, Purcell encouraged students to be receptive to new opportunities. “Working on hepatitis A opened up many possibilities,” he said. “That period was a wonderful convergence of history and science because at the time nothing – I mean nothing – was known about viral hepatitis.”
The Haileyville, Okla., native oversees more than 100 scientists who study and seek cures for viruses including West Nile and hepatitis. In 2007, he was elected the National Institutes of Health Distinguished Investigator, a distinction conferred on only the top 2 to 3 percent of senior investigators at the NIH.
The College highlighted more than 60 scholarships and awards, recognizing about 200 students including national scholarship recipients and Top 10 Seniors.
National scholarship recipients included Kyle Ensley, a double major in political science and international business from Valliant, who is the recipient of a Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship and a National Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship. He was named a Top 10 Senior.
Andrew Moore, a Spanish major and math minor from Oklahoma City, is the recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in Mexico.
Ilya Sluch, a biochemistry and chemistry major from Stillwater, received the Goldwater Scholarship, a national award for sophomore and junior students pursuing careers in math, natural sciences or engineering.
U.S. Army Cadet Jared Whittington, of Crofton and Bethesda, Md., and Cushing, Okla., was named one of 51 students nationwide to participate in the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship Student Congress. The sociology major is a finalist for the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics for his essay titled, “Killing and the Military Ethic.” He was named a Top 10 Senior.
Other Top 10 Seniors included: Jimikaye Beck, Spanish and nutritional sciences, Broken Arrow; Jolie Britt, biochemistry, Edmond; Kimberly Geddie, English and political science, Richardson, Texas; Jacqueline Guidry, psychology, Tulsa; Megan Kirkpatrick, cell and molecular biology, Jenks; Audrey Morris, physiology and Spanish, Tulsa; Germaine Paul, public relations and sports media, Euless, Texas; and Meagan Wheeler, public relations, Lawton.
To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences visit cas.okstate.edu.