IUPUI Distinguished Professor Symposium

Two Indiana University Purdue University scholars and researchers recently promoted to distinguished professor, the highest academic rank the university bestows upon faculty, give brief lectures on their work during an event to honor their achievements.

The distinguished professorship recognizes faculty who have transformed their fields of study and have earned international recognition. Faculty, alumni, professional colleagues and students nominate the field of candidates based on outstanding research, scholarship, and artistic or literary distinction. Nominations are reviewed by the University Distinguished Ranks Committee, which recommends appointments.

Tatiana Foroud, the Joe C. Christian Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the IU School of Medicine, is a nationally renowned statistical geneticist. Her work is focused on the identification of genes contributing to common, complex diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, intracranial aneurysms, osteoporosis, alcoholism and various psychiatric illnesses, as well as several types of cancer.

Anantha Shekhar, the August M. Watanabe Professor of Medical Research at the IU School of Medicine, is a leading researcher in the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders and the field of translational medicine. Among his many firsts in the field were reporting specific molecular mechanisms in the brain underlying panic attacks and autism symptoms that develop in children with a genetic condition known as Neurofibromatosis 1, and identifying new therapies to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.