Personifying Excellence in Research, Teaching, and LeadershipStephen D. Miller, PhD, receives the Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award in Translational Science and Education  | Dr. Miller (r) with Paul Kent of the Morningstar Foundation |
A diverse audience of faculty members, post-doc researchers, staff, and graduate and medical students gathered on April 2 to celebrate Stephen D. Miller, PhD, as the second recipient of the Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award in Translational Science and Education. Dr. Miller, Judy Gugenheim Research Professor of Microbiology-Immunology, was honored by the Office of the Dean in a ceremony that was held as part of the fifth annual Lewis Landsberg Research Day at the Feinberg School of Medicine. The Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award is sponsored and supported by the Office of the Dean and is made possible through the generous philanthropic support of the Morningstar Foundation. Jeffrey Glassroth, MD, vice dean and chief academic officer, opened the ceremony by sharing the history behind the award and its significance. Established to commemorate the medical teaching legacies of Hijimans van den Bergh, MD, Isadore Snapper, MD, Hans Popper, MD, Fenton Schafner, MD, and Geoffrey Kent, MD, PhD, the award annually honors a faculty member who best exemplifies these nineteenth and twentieth century physicians—demonstrating exceptional research with dynamic applications to translational science, exemplary teaching and mentoring, and inspiring leadership in the areas of research and teaching."By honoring these three elements, which are at the core of the medical school, the award continues the very high standards set and passed on by Drs. van den Bergh, Snapper, Popper, Schafner, and Kent," Dr. Glassroth explained. To introduce Dr. Miller, Rex Chisholm, PhD, next took the stage. Dr. Chisholm, dean for research and Adam and Richard T. Lind Professor of Medical Genetics, described Dr. Miller as a champion of translational research, a prolific mentor, and a true leader. "In every sense, I think Steve exemplifies the components honored by the Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award in Translational Science and Education," he said, presenting Dr. Miller with an engraved Tripartite Medallion.  | Dr. Miller |
Upon accepting the award, Dr. Miller shared details about his past and current research—a "day in the life" of an academic researcher. First providing an explanation of autoimmune diseases as "a complex interaction of many different immune cells leading to destruction of self tissue," Dr. Miller described how his team is translating nearly 30 years of basic science research into clinical trials exploring the use of peptide-coated antigen presenting cells for induction of tolerance as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis, or MS, an autoimmune disease. Wrapping up his comments with scientific and career take home messages for the students and young researchers in the audience, Dr. Miller also made clear his passion and skill as an educator. By acknowledging all lab trainees and key Feinberg faculty collaborators from his 28-year history at Northwestern University, Dr. Miller shared the honor with his team as a true mentor and inspiring leader. Each of the physicians for whom this award was established to commemorate was the special mentor of a privileged successor, thereby passing between them a unique gift and educational legacy of nearly 100 years and several generations. Like his mentors before him, Dr. Geoffrey Kent was an internationally recognized leader in the field of liver disease. He made singular contributions at Northwestern as professor and chief of pathology. Dr. Miller received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Pennsylvania State University. Before joining Northwestern University in 1981, he pursued a National Institutes of Health fellowship in cellular immunology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and subsequently served on the faculty at the university. His research is supported by multiple NIH grants and funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Myelin Repair Foundation, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. | 
