Biology professor receives award for research and creativity

Dr. Scott S. Crupper, associate professor in the department of Biological Sciences, was selected to receive the 2007 President’s Award for Research and Creativity. This award was established in 1996 to honor an ESU individual who has been active in research, scholarly activity, or creative endeavors. The individual receiving this award must be peer-nominated and is selected by a subcommittee of the ESU Faculty Research and Creativity Committee.

Crupper received his Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Kansas in 1995. He came to ESU in 1997 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2002. In the spring of 2005 he spent a sabbatical semester at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked with Dr. Scott Hawley, a world renowned molecular geneticist.

His research encompasses a broad range of issues in health-related fields. As the colleague who nominated Dr. Crupper stated, “…his research in microbial and molecular biology has significantly contributed to the discovery of new antimicrobial agents and to the better understanding of antibiotic susceptibility and resistance properties of many medically important pathogens.”  He has contributed genomic information to research scientists throughout the world through 42 submissions to GenBank, the largest database in the world maintained by the U.S. National Center for Biology Information. Along with Dr. John Iandolo, he holds two United States patents for broad spectrum therapeutic peptides.

His research grants total over a million dollars and include grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, subawards from the University of Kansas and KU Medical Center, and internal seed grants from the ESU Faculty Research and Creativity Committee.  He has authored and co-authored many publications in peer-reviewed journals and is a peer reviewer for international journals such as the Journal of Applied Microbiology, and Letters in Applied Microbiology.  Past awards include the Faculty Scholar Award in 2003, the Annual Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2000, and the Phi Zeta Research Award in 1997.

In addition to his on-going personal research, he mentors graduate students and junior faculty in the department – many of his graduate students continue on to pursue doctoral degrees at major universities after leaving ESU.  He has been instrumental in developing and maintaining the research and graduate program in the Microbial and Cellular concentration in the department of Biological Sciences. As a colleague wrote, Dr. Crupper’s research excellence and continuous endeavors in research and scholarly activity make him a very worthy recipient of the President’s Award for Research and Creativity.

Crupper was honored at the Research and Creativity Forum award ceremony held in the Colonial Ballroom on Thursday, April 12. He received $1,000, an engraved plaque, and his name will be added to the annual plaque on display in the President’s suite in Plumb Hall.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>