Dr. Boppart Receives Beckman Award

Dr. Marni Boppart is the 2020 recipient of the Beckman Institute Vision and Spirit Award. Dr. Boppart is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and also has appointments in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and the Carle R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Recipients of the award, which recognizes institute scholars who have fostered collaboration in their research and exemplify founder Arnold Beckman's vision, are awarded $150,000 to further their research.

In 2017, she and her husband Stephen Boppart, professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering, launched the Extracellular Vesicle Imaging and Therapy working group. “Since then, she has been a tireless champion for bringing together experts from all over campus to formulate and carry out innovative, collaborative research in this area,” said Jeff Moore, director of the Beckman Institute, in announcing the award.

Extracellular vesicles are small structures surrounded by membranes that are released by cells. They play significant roles in neuroscience, stem cell biology, the formation of cancer, and the body’s responses to stress. The working group, which includes approximately 100 scholars from the College of Applied Health Sciences, The Grainger College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, focuses on understanding the various roles, developing new methods for tracking extracellular vesicles using imaging techniques, and establishing vesicles as new biomarkers for health monitoring.