Jim Polli Appointed MPower Professor

Maryland's Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (M-CERSI) Co-Director Jim Polli was named an MPower Professor by the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower). The MPower Professorship recognizes, incentivizes, and fosters collaborations between faculty who are working together on the most pressing issues of our time.

To be considered for the MPower Professorship, faculty must demonstrate collaboration on strategic research that would be unattainable or difficult to achieve by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) or University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) acting independently of one another and must embrace the mission of MPower: to collaboratively strengthen and serve the state of Maryland and its citizens.

MPower Professors receive $150,000, allocated over three years, to apply to their salary or to support supplemental research activities. These funds recognize, enable, and support strong collaborations between faculty in the joint research enterprise between UMCP and UMB.

Polli is one of three UMB faculty members to receive the honor, along with three UMCP faculty members.

“It is an honor to be included in such an impressive group of academic scholars who are able to achieve more by working with others, whose unique capabilities add great synergy,” said Polli.

Polli was recognized for his M-CERSI efforts, a now 13-year collaborative agreement between UMB, UMCP, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“The nomination was M-CERSI Co-Director Bill Bentley’s idea,” said Polli. “M-CERSI is a great example of the multiplicative effect of campuses working together.”

Polli said he will use the funds for equipment, including a novel instrument that will help students examine amorphous forms of drugs.

Polli plans to encourage UMCP undergraduate students to participate in the M-CERSI “America's Got Regulatory Science Talent" competition. In addition, he and Bentley are working with previous competition teams to propose a new health care-related mobile app. Polli and Bentley have already met with the University's App Development Club to work on a prototype.

"Reaching across disciplines to tackle complex problems takes tireless commitment, dedication, and innovation. I’m so thankful to these six professors for demonstrating that we are stronger when we work together, and that addressing the grand challenges of our time requires thinking outside the box,” said UMCP President Darryll J. Pines.

Published December 5, 2023