Georgia Southern University honors local Athens woman

April 7, 2008

Charlene R. Jackson of Athens has been named Distinguished Biology Alumnus of the Year for Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology.

Jackson is lead scientist and microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service Bacterial Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit.

Jackson was honored at the University’s annual Alumni Awards Banquet Saturday, April 5, in Statesboro.

Jackson earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Georgia Southern in 1990 and 1992, respectively. She earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Georgia in 1998.

Prior to her current position, Jackson served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Avian Medicine at the University of Georgia’s Poultry Diagnostic Research Center, and as a research assistant in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Georgia.

She has received the USDA-ARS Outstanding Performance Award for the South Atlantic Area, the USDA-ADS-Funded postdoctoral search associate, USDA-ARA Early Career Scientist of the Year Award for the South Atlantic Area in 2004 and was the recipient of the President’s Award for First Year Graduate Students at the University of Georgia in 1992.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers more than 120 degree programs serving nearly 17,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education.

Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.