Categorynews

Marti Lindsey, PhD, of the University of Arizona, to Be Honored as the Michael A. Cusanovich Arizona Bioscience Educator of the Year

September 25, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

CHANDLER, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AZBW–The Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) today announced that Marti Lindsey, PhD, community engagement director for the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and director of the KEYS High School Student Internship program at the UA BIO5 Institute, will be honored as the Michael A. Cusanovich Arizona Bioscience Educator of the Year at the AZBio Awards on Oct. 2, 2019.

“Learning opportunities are all around us,” stated Joan Koerber-Walker, president and CEO of AZBio. “Many of these opportunities are thanks to dedicated educators who work to make them engaging, enlightening and memorable. They help us understand the world we live in today and provide tools we can use to shape our tomorrows. Dr. Marti Lindsey is a great example of an educator who is making a difference here in Arizona and across the Southwest region.”

Each year, the Michael A. Cusanovich Arizona Bioscience Educator of the Year Award honors an educator who, as a member of the faculty or administration of an educational institution, demonstrated the greatest leadership, creativity and/or actions to inspire students and encourage them in the biosciences.

In 2019, the award will honor Marti Lindsey, PhD, for a body of work spanning over 18 years at the UA.

Engaging Youth in Science

Lindsey has been co-director of the KEYS Research Internship Program since its inception in 2007. KEYS, short for Keep Engaging Youth in Science, is a unique summer opportunity for motivated Arizona high school students who have a strong interest in bioscience, engineering, environmental health or biostatistics. KEYS provides students the opportunity to work side-by-side with top faculty in laboratories at the UA. Since establishing KEYS in 2007, Lindsey has directly mentored more than 400 high school students. The program now serves about 50 high school students each year. To recruit students to KEYS, Lindsey travels the state, forming relationships with teachers, schools and gifted high school students.

“Many high school students are never able to practice and contribute to actual hands-on research. They learn about science only through textbooks,” shared Lindsey. “Through KEYS, we have the unique privilege of providing real-world applications that have the potential to spark intellectual and creative curiosity. Interns have an opportunity to pursue their passion for research while exploring their academic, professional and personal goals.”

Health and the Environment

What you don’t know can hurt you, especially when it comes to toxins in places where you work and live.

As the community engagement director at the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC), and associate director of the Center for Toxicology at the UA College of Pharmacy, Lindsey works to promote environmental health science literacy and to serve as a non-biased source of scientific information to the public on environmental health educational issues.

Through research, outreach and education, SWEHSC plays an important role in stimulating discussions and collaborative interactions among researchers and the broader community.

Lindsey, who is Diné (a member of the Navajo Nation), is uniquely qualified and invested in Native American health and outreach. Over many years, she has worked tirelessly to build trusted relationships with the people who make up these communities.

While her work and influence make a difference for all people across our region, it provides a special benefit for those in underserved communities who may not otherwise have access to the information resources that so many of us take for granted.

For her commitment to developing the next generation of inquiring minds and her work with people of all ages in communities across the Southwest region, Marti Lindsey, PhD, of the University of Arizona is the 2019 Michael A. Cusanovich Arizona Bioscience Educator of the Year.

About the AZBio Awards

A key component of Arizona Bioscience Week, The AZBio Awards & Life Science Fiesta brings together Arizona’s life science and leadership community with visitors from around the country to celebrate life-science innovation and innovators. The AZBio Awards takes place on the evening of Oct. 2, 2019, at the Phoenix Convention Center. Highlights of the evening will include honoring the Honorable Jane Dee Hull, 20^th governor of the State of Arizona, with the AZBio Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement and a celebration of the achievements of leading researchers, educators and innovator companies. The Life Science Fiesta following the award ceremony features a Student Discovery Zone that showcases the work of fifty students from Arizona high schools, community colleges and universities, along with exhibits featuring Arizona companies and patient advocacy organizations.

Arizona Bioscience Week, including the AZBio Awards & Life Science Fiesta, are presented by AZBio and the Arizona Commerce Authority.

For more information about the 2019 AZBio Awards, visit azbioawards.com.

For more information about Arizona Bioscience Week, visit AZBio.org/AZBW2019.

About AZBio

For 16 years, the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) has supported life science innovation and life science innovators in Arizona. A key component in Arizona’s life science ecosystem, AZBio is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona’s bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners and leading business organizations. AZBio is the statewide affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and works in partnership with AdvaMed, MDMA, and PhRMA to advance innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovation benefits people in Arizona and around the world.

For more information, visit AZBio.org and azbio.tv.

Images available upon request.