Lanelle Connolly was recently honored with the 2013 College of Science Outstanding Faculty Research Assistant Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding job performance and contributions by those in the College who have chosen a career as a Faculty Research Assistant or Associate. The criteria used by the selection committee include exceptional job performance innovativeness in work, scholarly publications, and evidence of continued professional growth.
Lanelle was honored for her exemplary work in research and for her role as an outstanding ambassador for the University. In particular, Lanelle has pioneered work with a new organism in the lab, the fungus Fusarium graminearum, which serves as a model for human stem cell or cancer biology. Because of her work, the Freitag lab can now use this genetic system to aid mechanistic work in human cells.