Shinhan Shiu Appointed as Red Cedar Distinguished Professor
Shinhan Shiu has been appointed as a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor in the departments of Plant Biology and Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering.
Shiu joins the second cohort of appointees following the award’s creation in 2022.
Shiu, a computational biologist who studies the connections between organisms’ DNA, behaviors, and phenotypes, leverages both experimental and computational approaches in his research.
Much of the Shiu Lab’s work seeks to answer the questions of how genes jointly influence the genotypes present in a population, and how machine learning can aid in the creation of computational models to reveal how complex biological systems function. Shiu expressed that MSU leadership has “really made me feel appreciated on this campus,” and that he is “very honored” to have been selected as a Red Cedar professor. “Shinhan has had consistent and significant scientific impact across multiple intersecting fields. He exemplifies interdisciplinarity,” said Andrea Case, chair of the department of Plant Biology. “He has also been an enthusiastic and effective leader at MSU. Shinhan is a keystone in both PLB and CMSE, with years of successful research, education, service, and community building. He is richly deserving of this recognition for his contributions to MSU plant science."
Shiu, who has led multiple projects to bridge biological and computational sciences in both research and education, believes that his designation as a Red Cedar professor his ongoing commitment to connect plant and computational science research and education at MSU.
Shiu enjoys exploring how, “education and training can future-proof students with evolving skills in an environment of rapid change.”
He has been working with colleagues for more than 10 years to bring these ideas to life through projects such as MSU’s Integrated Training Model in Plant and Computational Sciences, or IMPACTS, program. IMPACTS was an NSF-funded training program that brought together graduate students across the plant and computational sciences to be the future leaders that bring solutions to grand challenges in plant biology and agriculture.
Now, Shiu says, “I am empowered to think more about how to make impacts over the next 10 years, to meet the expectation set by this award,” and how to continue to, “contribute to education and service on campus and beyond.” Additionally, Shiu is looking forward to future of his research and projects, and is particularly interested in exploring how, “artificial intelligence-based approaches can be used to help scientists navigate and digest information.”
The title of Red Cedar Distinguished Professor is accompanied by an award of $15,000 each year for three years, totaling $45,000.
“I’d like to use the money to get the lab a massage chair” Shiu said, laughing. He explained that his success is due to the work done by his lab members, and that he’d like to use these funds to cultivate a rewarding, welcoming, and collaborative environment for them. While the addition of such a luxury is unlikely, Shiu would like to pass the benefits of the Red Cedar professorship along to the lab's members. He floated the idea of taking the lab’s members on a retreat; “I’d like to create an opportunity to talk about challenges that face the lab as a community and as a group of researchers,” Shiu said.
He also noted that this award is a recognition of the work done in the Shiu lab, which is run jointly by Shinhan and his spouse, Melissa Lehti-Shiu, an assistant professor of plant biology. To Shinhan, this award is an important recognition of the pair’s collaborative efforts, as well as of the work done by the undergraduate, graduate students and postdocs who play a key role in the lab’s past and ongoing work.
Red Cedar professorships are granted jointly by the Office of Research and Innovation and the Office of the Provost and are bestowed to individuals who “combine externally recognized, exemplary scholarly accomplishment and/or potential, with clear professional relevance to specific areas of MSU scholarly need, disciplinary development, or research or creative emphasis. Consideration will also include the candidate's teaching innovation and excellence.”
Read more about the work being done by Red Cedar Professors in the College of Natural Science here.
