

Scott D. Hamilton-Brehm and Lahiru Jayakody, second and third from left, received statewide awards for innovation at the 2022 STEAM Expo at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The two researchers, both faculty in the School of Biological Sciences, were named Innovators of the Year by the Illinois Innovation Network. They are pictured here with other members of an SIU research team, including, from left, Ken Anderson, Gayan L. Aruma Baduge, Poopalasingam Sivakumar and Matt McCarroll. (Photo by Russell Bailey)
August 17, 2022
Two SIU profs are among Illinois’ leading innovators
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Two faculty members from Southern Illinois University Carbondale today (Aug. 17) received statewide awards for innovation at the 2022 STEAM Expo at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.
SIU has nominated Scott D. Hamilton-Brehm and Lahiru Jayakody for the 2022 Illinois Innovation Network awards. The two Innovators of the Year are faculty of the School of Biological Sciences. Hamilton-Brehm won the award for her work on the environment and water, while Jayakody was honored for her work on food and agriculture.
The Illinois Innovation Network is a group of public universities and community colleges working together to improve the state’s economy through an inclusive approach to innovation, research and education. It has 15 innovation hubs across Illinois affiliated with 13 public universities.
IIN partners with businesses, government agencies and community groups to grow the Illinois workforce, bring new technologies to market faster and use research to make better decisions through a equity method for the state. Now in its second year, the awards are based on each entry’s innovation, potential social impact, contribution to the field, feasibility and support of the IIN principles.
From pandemic to deep space
Hamilton-Brehm, an associate professor, joined SIU in January 2016. Her research focuses on characterizing microbial communities from extreme environments, such as those with limited nutrients, extreme heat, or anaerobic, and exploring using these new microbes to solve the world’s problems.
Hamilton-Brehm has been closely involved in several high-profile efforts at SIU in recent years. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, his lab quickly worked to create the much-needed medium to preserve test swabs, ultimately producing about 110,000 vials that support the state’s prevention efforts. the spread of the virus.
He also recently collaborated with the students who formed the team ‘Carbon Down Under’ and the local SIU spinoff company Thermaquatica Inc. to research methods of removing and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. The work earned an XPRIZE for the student team, which received $250,000, and placed the SIU research team among the Top 60 international teams for another prize.
Working with Jayakody, Hamilton-Brehm is also part of a team funded by NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge aimed at developing a process to provide tasty, nutritious food to future astronauts in deep space. space travel, using microbial processes and recycled carbon.
Hamilton-Brehm said the award also recognizes her work with Jayakody and Ken Anderson, director of SIU’s Advanced Energy Research Center, founder of Thermaquatica and himself a 2021 Innovation Network Award winner.
“Being recognized by IIN is a great honor,” he said. “All of these projects have made a significant impact on student careers and SIU’s reputation in the international scientific community. We are creating methods that will change how we create a better tomorrow for our planet and people.
Solving problems and creating value using biology
Jayakody, an assistant professor, joined SIU in the fall of 2019 and has a joint appointment with the university’s Fermentation Science Institute. His research mainly focuses on the development of stable microbial cell factories for industrial applications using systems biology, synthetic microbiology and metabolic engineering methods that use waste biological mass or industrial products.
Along with his leadership of a work group of SIU researchers for the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, Jayakody developed a molecular-based method to make everyday, single-use plastics biodegradable and more accessible. which can be recycled. Building on another process pioneered by Anderson, the method also relies on spent tea leaves and coffee grounds to produce high-value chemicals that in turn make biodegradable, efficiently recyclable products. plastic. Jayakody received a $290,000 grant from Green Core Ltd., Japan, and Ito En USA for the research project, which will also involve SIU undergraduate and graduate students.
Jayakody said he was honored and humbled by the award and grateful to Anderson, his research collaborators and his students.
“This award and recognition will give me more energy and motivation to work on my current research involving plastic upcycling. I would say this award is a team effort,” he said. “It highlights how SIU leading the way on this issue, and it will enhance the university’s reputation for developing innovative biological solutions for worldwide problems that cause significant environmental damage.”