2016 ADVANCE Career Recognition Awards to be presented to Van Beneden, White
Rebecca Van Beneden, professor of biochemistry and marine sciences, and Adrienne White, professor of human nutrition, will be honored with University of Maine 2016 ADVANCE Career Recognition Awards at a celebration April 22.
The ADVANCE Career Recognition Awards Celebration is from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. in Wells Conference Center. Highlighting the event will be presentations by the award winners: “Research, Rotations, Relationships: A Career of Collaboration and Mentorship” by White; “Human and Environmental Health: Fishing for Answers” by Van Beneden.
Van Beneden, director of the School of Marine Sciences, received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral training in molecular oncology at the National Cancer Institute. She was a research assistant professor at Duke University before joining the UMaine community in 1993. Her research focus has been on understanding the mechanisms of response to environmental stressors, including efforts to characterize activation of cancer genes in fish exposed to pollutants. She has studied softshell clams exhibiting gonadal cancers in areas of eastern Maine with a high prevalence of ovarian and other reproductive cancers in women, and mummichog and zebrafish to investigate at the molecular level the response to environmentally relevant levels of arsenic, a common contaminant in Maine groundwater.
White received a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and became a registered dietitian. She started her career at UMaine in 1988 and currently directs the dietetic internship program. Her research is developing, implementing and evaluating theory-based nutrition education interventions. She is part of a multistate research team that, since 2001, has been awarded five USDA grants to study young adult behavior, obesity prevention in children and environmental supports for healthful lifestyles. She is principal investigator of iCook: A 4-H Program to Promote Culinary Skills and Family Meals for Obesity Prevention, funded by USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The ADVANCE Rising Tide Center introduced the Career Recognition Awards in 2014 to celebrate the significant accomplishments of women faculty at UMaine through their teaching, research, constituent service and campus leadership. Highlighting their achievements raises the profile of women scientists and is intended to inspire colleagues at every rank.
The event is free and open to the public. To register, contact the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center, risingtide@maine.edu.