Shreya Ramachandran received the Francis X. Kinahan Memorial Award, which recognizes lecturers who have proven exceptional instructors in academic and professional writing. Ramachandran, according to her students was, "super encouraging" with "great comments on what changes might advance our arguments while noting the things that were working effectively in each of our pieces." Ramachandran (Human Genetics) is researching the evolution of human-associated microbes in Maanasa Raghavan's lab.
The Francis X. Kinahan Award is in honor of Francis Xavier Kinahan, a beloved and legendary English professor at the University of Chicago who passed away suddenly in 1993. Awarded the Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1976), Kinahan was faculty director of the University Theater and a Joyce scholar who also helped develop the Little Red Schoolhouse course with Joseph Williams.