UT Austin Chemist Chosen to Receive Early Career Award

Livia Eberlin of The University of Texas at Austin is one of five leading female scientists chosen to receive a 2017 Marion Milligan Mason Award for Women in the Chemical Sciences from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Photo courtesy of BCBGMAXAZRIA.

First awarded in 2015 and funded by the Marion Milligan Mason Fund, the awards are designed to kick start the research efforts of early-career professional women in the chemical sciences.

The program provides grants of $50,000 every other year to women researchers, while also providing leadership development and mentoring opportunities. Award winners are chosen based on a variety of criteria, including their intellectual merit, academic record, scientific excellence and demonstration of originality.

Eberlin, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, joined the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin in 2015. Her research focuses on developing innovative mass spectrometry technologies to address critical problems in health-related research. In particular, the Eberlin lab applies refined mass spectrometry imaging and statistical tools to discover novel metabolic signatures of cancer. A key research goal is translating this technology to the clinic for rapid and accurate cancer diagnosis.

The Marion Milligan Mason Fund was created through a bequest from the estate of Marion Tuttle Milligan Mason, a chemist and AAAS member since 1965. Mason wanted to support the advancement of women in the chemical sciences and honor her family's commitment to higher education for women, as demonstrated by her parents and grandfather, who encouraged and sent several daughters to college.