Research Institute Annual Impact Report

Cagri Gul, a master's student in geographic information science, gets situated with the LiDAR backpack scanner before scanning the latex T. rex at the St. Louis Science Center, which a team of SLU researchers had helped repair. Also pictured are Alifu Haireti, a geospatial computing engineer with TGI, and Mustafizur Rahaman, a master's student in geographic information science.

These stories feature research that focuses on the St. Louis region and surrounding communities that is conducted with partners at regional and national levels. 

• Fred: A Goose on a Mission
• A Conversation with Nadine Alameh: A Geospatial Journey Marked by Courage
• Surging to Success
• Sparking a Love for STEM
• Who Do You Call When Your 15-Foot Dinosaur Needs a Doctor?
• Hungry for Change
• Water Under the Bridge
• Painless Pursuits: Uniting Regional Experts in Pain Research

A researcher wears the current prototype of the haptic device designed in partnership with researchers at Gallaudet University and the DeafBlind community.

These stories spotlight new inventions developed by SLU researchers and novel applications of research done at the University.

• On the Road with ADHD
• Sparking a Love for STEM
• A Touch of Ingenuity
• Who Do You Call When Your 15-Foot Dinosaur Needs a Doctor?
• Coding Careers and Accelerating Research
• A Map for Better Public Health
• Water Under the Bridge
• A Rising Research Star in Mechanistic Studies of Metastatic Cancer
• Simplifying the Landscape of Economic Research
• Blending Research with Care in Liver Disease

A teen participates in an ADHD driving simulation training and assessments.

These stories highlight research that is community-oriented and informed by the University's Jesuit mission. Our researchers do not simply use communities as "case studies" but try to understand the challenges and opportunities facing them holistically, generating solutions for and with them.

• On the Road with ADHD
• Surging to Success
• A Lingering Sense of Justice
• A Touch of Ingenuity
• Public Health Research  — The Jesuit Way
• Hungry for Change
• Breaking Barriers in Female Entrepreneurship

Alameh speaking at Geo-Resolution 2023 as the executive director of TGI.

These stories feature research topics that are of particular relevance to today's world, such as climate and technology.

• A Conversation with Nadine Alameh: A Geospatial Journey Marked by Courage
• A Lingering Sense of Justice
• Public Health Research — The Jesuit Way
• Breaking Barriers in Female Entrepreneurship
• Hungry for Change
• Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence at the Center for Health Law Studies

Michael Dompke (left), senior mechanical engineering student and DARLA program manager, works with junior engineering student Adrian Acevedo to prepare a satellite for launch.

These stories involve research that is conducted by SLU students.

• Surging to Success
• Countdown to Launch
• A Touch of Ingenuity
• Creating the Next Generation of Researchers
• Coding Careers and Accelerating Research
• Water Under the Bridge

Ángeles Encinar, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Spanish literature at Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus, chats with students in a library at SLU-Madrid.

These stories highlight research that focuses on the human condition, covering research in the humanities and social sciences.

• Surging to Success
• Por Amor la Literatura (For the Love of Literature)
• A Lingering Sense of Justice
• Breaking Barriers in Female Entrepreneurship
• Roman History Emerges from Umbrian Soil
•  Finan Wraps Up Phase I of Rock of Lough Key Excavations
• Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence at the Center for Health Law Studies

The Saint Louis University Research Institute has published its 2022 Annual Impact Report, celebrating research successes from September 2021 to September 2022.

2022 Report. 

This latest edition showcases new developments in geospatial science, the humanities, neuroscience, additive manufacturing and more. 

The 2022 edition also includes: 

• Letters from University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and Research Institute Director Ken Olliff
• Statistics on research growth across the University
• A look at the impressive series of awards SLU humanists have received from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in just the past year
• Areas of Focus: an update on the interdisciplinary work happening at SLU to address some of the world’s greatest challenges, including climate change and public health
• An update from the Taylor Geospatial Institute and each of the institutes launched by SLU faculty with support from the Research Institute, including two new projects: the Center for Research on Global Catholicism (CRGC) and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience (ITN)
• Biographies of the inaugural cohort of Research Institute Fellows
• A list of books published by SLU authors in the past year
• Announcements from researchers across the University 

The cover of the 2022 Impact Report depicts a map of the St. Louis region generated by researchers with the Taylor Geospatial Institute. 

The Saint Louis University Research Institute has published its 2021 Annual Impact Report, celebrating research successes from September 2020 to September 2021.

2021 Report

The 2021 edition illustrates the breadth of SLU’s research enterprise, highlighting significant milestones and successes from a diverse array of fields, including vaccine development, geospatial science, drug discovery, the humanities, social and health inequities, plant science and more.

This issue includes a detailed account of how SLU researchers mobilized against the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers provided critical support to regional health departments, tested multiple vaccines, and administered those same vaccines across St. Louis. 

The 2021 issue also includes:

• Letters from University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and Research Institute Director Ken Olliff
• Statistics on research growth from across the University
• Interviews with each of SLU’s Distinguished Fellows
• Comprehensive updates from each of the institutes launched by faculty with support from the Research Institute
• Profiles of each Research Institute Fellow
• Announcements from researchers across the University

The cover of the 2021 Impact Report pays tribute to the University’s Center for Vaccine Development and the hundreds of St. Louisans who volunteered to participate in one of the center’s COVID-19 trials in the past year. The graph on the cover and the corresponding inside page represents the more than 400 volunteers who enrolled in the Moderna trial at SLU. SLU was one of the most highly enrolled sites in the Moderna trial, which included sites across the country.

The inaugural issue of the Annual Impact Report was published in 2020. It covers the first two years of the SLU Research Institute. 

2020 Report.

The issue introduces a number of new initiatives launched with support from the Research Institute and highlights the various mechanisms for support that the Research Institute manages, including the Big Ideas competition, the Research Growth Fund and the Research Institute Fellows program. The issue also sheds light on how SLU researchers persevered through the historic challenges of 2020, guiding their existing research programs through unprecedented challenges while making meaningful contributions in the fight against COVID-19.