Emerging Leader Award
The Emerging Leader Award recognizes recent alums who demonstrate leadership qualities in their personal and/or professional endeavors.
Kevin Dorn (Ph.D. Plant Biological Sciences, '15)
Kevin Dorn is a research geneticist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) where he leads a lab focused on improving disease resistance in sugar beets. After completing his undergraduate degree at CBS, Dorn taught high school science in St. Louis as a Teach for America Corps member. Two years later, he returned to the U of M to complete his doctorate degree and received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support his research on pennycress genomics. His postdoctoral research at Kansas State University on perennial grain genome biology was funded by a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral fellowship. When not in the lab, Dorn enjoys exploring Colorado with his wife and two daughters.
Xinci Tan (B.S. Ecology Evolution and Behavior, ’16)
After completing her undergraduate degree, Xinci Tan conducted recycling audits, led recycling and composting workshops, and educated residents of St. Louis Park, MN, through an AmeriCorps program called the MN GreenCorps. After completing her year of service, Tan moved to California for an opportunity with Zero Waste Sonoma. As the Organics Program Manager, she leads the countywide implementation of the state's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy (SB 1383), oversees contracts with composting facilities, and manages state and federal grants for food recovery and carbon sequestration.
Alumni Achievement Award
The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni who graduated more than 15 years ago and have made an impact in their field and the community.
Jim Fitzpatrick (B.S. Biology, ’73)
Gregory Pazour (Ph.D. Biochemistry, ’91)
Gregory Pazour is a professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Throughout his career, Pazour made significant contributions to the field of polycystic kidney disease, one of the most life-threatening genetic disorders. As his nominator shared, “Gregory Pazour is a basic scientist whose scientific acumen, productivity and research collegiality truly embody attributes that should make the University of Minnesota proud.” His extraordinary discovery laid the foundation for much of the work over the last decade. He received the Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for advancing the field.
Alumni Service Award
The Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have made a significant impact in their community through public or professional service.
John Twomey, M.D. (B.A. Biology and Botany, '68 and M.S. Microbiology and Biochemistry, '71)
John Twomey was the medical director of the Burn Center at Hennepin County Medical Center for nearly four decades. He was responsible for saving countless lives, leading research projects and was the author and co-author of two groundbreaking papers in medical literature. Twomey demonstrated commitment to giving back through numerous volunteer positions, including the FEMA/NDMS burn specialty team that responded to natural disasters in the U.S. and abroad. He also mentored local high school, nursing, and CBS students, as well as co-directed a Costa Rica medical student exchange program. His nominator reflected on the impact he has made in his communities, writing, “John has been a shining example of how a single volunteer can impact an organization.” His passion for volunteering hasn’t stopped since retirement. He now puts his botany knowledge to work at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, where he landscapes and transplants plants and cacti.