Richard Lenski, Ph.D., awarded 2024 Meritorious Faculty Award
Richard Lenski, Ph.D., a Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, was awarded the 2024 Meritorious Faculty Award. The College of Natural Science gives this award annually to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in the areas of teaching and research. The award recognizes those who “exemplify MSU’s commitment to the land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach through their dedication to professional, community and/or MSU service.”
Photo by Charlotte Bodak for Discover Magazine
Prof. Lenski was nominated by his colleague, Christoph Adami, Ph.D. In his nomination letter, Adami notes that Lenski “is known world-wide for the long-term evolution experiment that he started in 1988, and which is still going on today…. But most impressive of all is the vision Lenski had as a young assistant professor… and the tenacity he has displayed to keep the experiment going for over 35 years.”
Adami also describes Lenski’s impact as a teacher and mentor noting that “He has mentored and trained 54 graduate students and postdocs, of which more than 63% have gone on to become professors themselves, a truly staggering rate that documents how Dr. Lenski’s training and mentoring is impacting the science of the entire Nation.”
A former graduate student of Dr. Lenski’s, Dr. Kyle Card, wrote, “I owe my continued success as a disabled researcher to Dr. Lenski. He saw my potential long before I saw it in myself and recognized that I am far more than the sum of my parts.”
Lenski responded graciously to news of his selection, saying, "This award reflects the outstanding students and colleagues with whom I have been so fortunate to work here at MSU."
Since 2016, the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology (formerly Microbiology & Molecular Genetics) has had several recipients of this award: Ned Walker, Ph.D. (2016), Gemma Reguera, Ph.D. (2020), and Shannon Manning, Ph.D. (2021).
