Received the 2014 Service Award.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A professor of veterinary medicine at Kansas State University has been feted by the Association of Scientists of Indian Origin in America (ASIOA).
Dr. Meena Kumari received the 2014 Service Award from ASIOA earlier this week. Kumari is an Associate Professor in the anatomy and physiology department of Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and is also a Secretary for ASIOA.
“It is very humbling to be chosen for this award,” said Kumari, in a statement released by Kansas State University. “Being at K-State has taught me what it means to serve with dedication and, above all, enthusiasm.”
Originally from India, Kumari earned her M.Phil. degree in Neuroendocrinology from the University of Delhi, followed by her Ph.D in Andrology from the same institution. Her current research interests like in “understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying alterations in gene expression in the brain following chronic alcohol exposure.”
“Alcohol use disorders affect an estimated 17 million Americans. Alcohol related problems have a huge economic burden costing the US about $224 billion each year. Alcohol is known to affect different receptor systems in the brain,” says Kumari’s faculty page. “My laboratory uses multi-disciplinary approaches from molecular and cell biology and biochemistry. We perform neuronal cell culture and utilize a mouse model of alcohol dependence.”
ASIOA was founded in 1981 to “promote fellowship among scientists of Asian Indian Origin living in America, to act as a scientific and educational society, to establish open channels of communication among all scientists and to act as a fraternal organization and a charitable association.”
Kumari is the Association’s main point of contact, according to its website. ASIOA currently has over 700 members, including around 140 “life members.”