Richelle Beckman, a graduate of the KU School of Allied Health, has received the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions Scholarship of Excellence. Annually, only eight applicants across the country receive the prestigious award.

Susan E. Carlson, PhD, the A.J. Rice Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and a professor of pediatrics at KUMC, received the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

Edna Hamera, RN, PhD, ARNP, CS, associate professor at the KU School of Nursing, was presented with the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Distinguished Service Award at the organization’s annual conference.

Cheryl Jernigan, chair of the Advancement Board for KU Medical Center, The University of Kansas Hospital, and Kansas University Physicians, Inc., has been selected to join the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director’s Consumer Liaison Group (DCLG) for a four-year term, where she’ll advise and make recommendations to the NCI on a wide range of important programs and research priorities.

Jerry A. Menikoff, MD, JD, has been named director of the Health and Human Service Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP). He is currently the director of the Office of Human Subjects Research at the NIH. Dr. Menikoff, who has been on leave from the School of Medicine since April 2007, serves as an associate professor of law at KU-Lawrence and an associate professor of law, ethics and medicine for the School of Medicine.

Elizabeth Rosen, RN, BSN, a nurse from Topeka, Kan., and candidate for a PhD in Nursing from KU School of Nursing, is one of eight registered nurses who have been awarded scholarships from the March of Dimes for graduate studies in the field of maternal-child nursing.

Patricia Thomas, MD, chair of pathology and laboratory medicine and associate dean for cultural enhancement and diversity, has received a $1.25 million NIH Science Education Partnership Award. The grant will help support programs connecting science-education participants, including museums, science centers, media professionals and students at all levels.

Phoebe Williams, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor at the School of Nursing, has been awarded one of four national pediatric cancer grants from the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. The grant is $100,000 for the two-year project.