ASM Awards 2024 Fenwick Fellowship

June 28, 2024

Washington, D.C.-The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has awarded the 2024 Brad Fenwick Fellowship for the Advancement of Civic Science to Christopher Dade.

Dade is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has served as Co-President and Policy Engagement Chair of Catalysts for Science Policy (CaSP), an on-campus organization that educates graduate students on science policy, increases career path awareness within science policy and communicates key policy issues to policymakers and regulators. While serving in CaSP leadership, he worked to facilitate better understanding of how to engage with the Wisconsin state government and helped organize the graduate student research showcase during UW-Madison Day on Capitol Hill. He also assisted with efforts to name an official state microbe for the state of Wisconsin-Lactococcus lactis, a microbe that is crucial to the cheese industry.

2024 Fenwick Fellow Christopher Dade (left) and Alexander McAdam, M.D., Ph.D., D(ABMM), at ASM Microbe 2024 in Atlanta, Ga.
Dade has consistently participated in civic engagement throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri, where he served as campus president of a student-run lobbying organization, led voter registration efforts and helped launch and organize the March for Science in 2017. He received his master's in science and health communication from Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland as a 2019 George Mitchell Scholar.

The 2024 Brad Fenwick Fellowship recognizes an early career scientist with a successful record of connecting civic engagement and science. In addition to receiving a financial award, fellows will work with ASM Advocacy staff to develop a deeper understanding of civic engagement and public policy.

ASM presented the fellowship to Dade at ASM Microbe 2024, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, in Atlanta, Ga.

About the Fenwick Fellowship

Bradley W. (Brad) Fenwick, DVM, Ph.D., was a passionate advocate for science and cultivating the public's appreciation of its power to improve society. As an award-winning scientist, veterinarian and leader in science policy, Fenwick championed cross-disciplinary work, including microbial genomics, the role of microbes in agriculture, veterinary science and biodefense, to name a few. After his death in July 2021, his family and ASM decided to honor his memory by creating the Brad Fenwick Fellowship for the Advancement of Civic Science. The fellowship recognizes and supports early career scientists with an interest and aptitude for using policy and advocacy to bridge the world of science with that of broader society.

This award is made possible by funding from Debbie Nuss, the Rita Allen Foundation and other supporters of Fenwick's legacy of engagement.

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