Three MU researchers were part of a team that received a 2021 Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity.
A group of University of Missouri researchers is part of a team awarded a 2021 Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity.
Hsin-Yeh Hsieh, a research scientist in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR); Marc Johnson, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the School of Medicine; and Chung-Ho Lin, a research associate professor in CAFNR, were honored in the Pinnacle Award Category for their work with the Missouri Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project.
The project monitored wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 to reduce COVID-19 impacts. The work allowed the team to track the distribution of variants throughout the state and to determine in advance where infection rates might increase, which gave health agencies and municipalities time to implement proactive measures.
The collaborative project included MU researchers working with people in the Departments of Corrections, Health and Senior Services, Mental Health, Natural Resources and Public Safety.
The Governor's Award for Quality and Productivity was established in 1988 to recognize service excellence, efficiency, innovation, process improvement and employee ingenuity within the Missouri state government.
The team was honored on June 15 with four other teams who won awards in their categories during a ceremony held in the Missouri Capitol’s first floor rotunda.
“I want to applaud all of our dedicated teams today who worked hard to improve the lives of all Missourians as well as those who pass through our state,” Gov. Mike Parson said. “These awarded projects will help keep our people safe, move Missouri forward and demonstrate why so many of our state team members are called into public service. It is thanks to their effort and commitment that these projects were able to become a reality.”
Read more about this year’s 2021 Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity.
Read more about the MU researchers working to detect novel SARS-CoV-2 variants in New York City wastewater.