Arkansas Research Alliance adds 8 members; 2 have ties to area

The Arkansas Research Alliance welcomed two new ARA Scholars and six ARA Fellows to the fold recently. New members include two with southeast Arkansas ties.

The ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows is composed of research scientists from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Arkansas State University; the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and the Food and Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research at Jefferson.

The new ARA Academy Members are:

■ Laura K. Schnackenberg, ARA Fellow — Branch chief, Innovative Safety and Technologies Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research. Research: develop translational in vitro and in vivo models and imaging modalities to better understand mechanisms of drug toxicity and disease.

■ Karl Walker, ARA Fellow — Associate professor, Mathematics and Computer Science, UAPB. Research: bioinformatics, data science, artificial intelligence and STEM education.

■ Philip Massey, ARA Scholar — Associate professor of public health, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation; director, Center for Media, Technology and Health, College of Education and Health Professions, at UA. He is a public health researcher in health communica

tion, media and technology in the U.S. and globally on topics ranging from social media, cancer prevention, substance use, health literacy and entertainment education.

■ Edward Yeh, ARA Scholar — Professor and chair, Department of Internal Medicine; Nolan Family Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine, UAMS. Yeh is a pioneer in the field of cardio-oncology, discovered the fundamental mechanism mediating anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. He also discovered two ubiquitin-like protein modifiers central to gene transcription, signal transduction and pathogenesis of heart disease, cancer and seizure-related sudden death.

■ Hugh Churchill, ARA Fellow — Assistant professor, Department of Physics; Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; assistant director, Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, UA. Research: quantum materials and devices.

■ Mariya Khodakovskaya, ARA Fellow — Professor of plant biology and director of Applied Science Graduate Program, UALR. Research: improvement of agricultural and industrial plants using advanced methods of biotechnology and nanotechnology with a focus on the enhancement of plant productivity and stress tolerance by application of carbon-based and biodegradable nanomaterials.

■ Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, ARA Fellow — Professor of plant metabolic engineering, Department of Biological Sciences; executive director of the American Council for Medicinally Active Plants; chief scientific officer of Nature West Inc.; chair of the Northeast Arkansas Hispanic Professional Network; ASU. Research: bioproduction, biosynthesis and biological activity of plant-delivered natural products with applications in plant and human health.

■ Alan Tackett, ARA Fellow — Deputy director, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute; professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Scharlau Family Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, UAMS. Research: Understanding why some patients show limited response to immunotherapies and then leveraging this information to design new cancer therapies to help all patients realize the lifesaving benefits of immunotherapy.

The ARA Academy is an organization of ARA Scholars and ARA Fellows developed by the Arkansas Research Alliance. An ARA Scholar is a strategic research leader recruited to Arkansas at one of the five ARA-partner universities. An ARA Fellow is a research leader recognized for his or her work currently at a partner university/institution. Each ARA Scholar receives a $500,000 grant; each ARA Fellow receives a $75,000 grant, with the exception of National Center for Toxicological Research members, who are prohibited from accepting outside funding.

“The ARA Academy brings incredible value to Arkansas,” said Bryan Barnhouse, ARA chief executive officer, formerly with the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County. “The research community in our state is a catalyst for economic, social and academic growth. We leverage the most from this human resource by working together.”

“The ARA Academy is ready for growth,” Jerry Adams, ARA president, said. “The members we’ve added today are truly representative of the enormous scientific talent we have in the state of Arkansas.”