Jackson State University presidential distinguished professor Dr. Paul Tchounwou has been selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Board as the 2013 AAAS Mentor Award recipient. The award will be presented at the AAAS annual meeting in Chicago, Feb. 13-17, 2014.
The award honors individuals who demonstrate extraordinary leadership to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering fields and careers. These groups include: women of all racial or ethnic groups; African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic men; and people with disabilities.
An internationally recognized scholar, Tchounwou is editor-in-chief of two international journals including the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (MPDI, Basel, Switzerland) and Environmental Toxicology (John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA). He is author of 173 peer-reviewed publications, and 429 presentations at national and international conferences.
Tchounwou currently serves as director of National Institutes of Health-funded RCMI-Center for Environmental Health, and as principal investigator and director of Department of Defense-funded Center of Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education at JSU.
The RCMI Center for Environmental Health was recently awarded a $10.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The five-year grant will be used to enhance the center’s biomedical infrastructure to support research that addresses environmental and public health issues impacting vulnerable and underserved communities.