September 2024 Awards and Accolades

Leah Gerber, founding director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO), director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation (GIOS) and professor in the School of Life Sciences has been awarded a funded fellowship at the University of Oxford for her upcoming sabbatical from January through June of 2025. 

Her research at ASU has discovered new approaches to conservation planning and management, including in conservation priority setting, ecosystem-based management, adaptive monitoring and management, marine recreation, endangered species recovery plans and estimating extinction risk.

Gerber will be a fellow with the Oxford Martin Programme for Biodiversity and Society, where she will advance CBO’s work on democratization of evidence for conservation decision-making, and corporate engagement in biodiversity conservation. By utilizing expertise from across the University in ecology, finance and economics, social sciences, human wellbeing, cultural values, AI and machine learning, satellite-based monitoring and other disciplines, the program aims to address these challenges and develop opportunities for biodiversity recovery.

“Receiving the Oxford Martin School Biodiversity and Society Fellowship at the University of Oxford represents not only a tremendous honor for me, but a powerful endorsement of the importance of conservation research,” Gerber says. “With this support, I will work with colleagues at Oxford to push disciplinary boundaries in developing innovative approaches to address the extinction crisis and driving meaningful conservation outcomes.”

Jessie Ebie, associate teaching professor in the School of Life Sciences was awarded the Alumni Professional Achievement Award from Wittenberg University. The award is presented to Wittenberg University alumni who have achieved outstanding distinction in their professional field. Ebie earned her B.A. in biology and psychology from Wittenberg in 2004.

Ebie also directs the ASU Online Master of Science in Biology program and serves as vice president of the ASU Career Faculty Association. With a diverse background in research and education, Ebie has taught up to 800 students per semester, while consistently providing personalized support and fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment. Recognized with multiple awards for teaching and mentoring excellence, she is also an accomplished researcher, focusing on the behavior and sensory ecology of polydomous ants, with applications in agricultural pest control. Ebie's dedication to mentorship and innovative teaching practices makes her an outstanding educator and researcher.

"Attending Wittenberg was a formative experience that gave me the confidence and support to pursue a career in academia I might not have considered otherwise. The interactions with professors and fellow students were invaluable, and it's a testament to the profound impact higher education can have, especially for first-generation students like myself," Ebie says. "Much of my approach to teaching and mentoring is deeply influenced by those formative experiences. Receiving this award from the institution that shaped my future is an incredible honor."

In celebration of National Research Administrator Day, ASU Knowledge Enterprise celebrates the schools and departments to honor the contributions their research administrators make in supporting the mission of the university.

ASU's research administration professionals submitted more than 3,860 proposals in FY 2024, which resulted in more than $975M in research expenditures.

SOLS was recognized as a pre-award team for its NIH proposal with largest budget prepared by Dayna Molyneaux and Navya Jagirdhar from the School of Life Sciences with a budget of over $35M, and as a post-award team and as a top three academic unit by externally funded expenditures with $35.4M.

Special shoutout to Connor Smith, Grey Dotran and the SOLS Business Office for their work on these initiatives, and professor Noah Snyder-Mackler who had the top earning proposal of the year!