The Emory School of Medicine's first-ever Staff Award celebrated one of Emory Eye Center's best-loved but seldom seen staffers, Micah Chrenek, recipient of the Hidden GEM Award.
The Award was established to honor a staffer whose efforts "go the extra mile." That aptly describes Chrenek, a 19-year employee whose energy and skills seem to magically expand to meet new demands in the Research Division.
"Micah is the grease that keeps our intellectual wheels moving forward and is the glue that holds our research group together," remarked faculty researcher Eldon Geisert, PhD, who nominated Chrenek for the award. "He goes the extra mile for virtually all of our research faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology."
Chrenek currently holds the title of research lab manager, a job that might find him almost anywhere in the Ophthalmology Department's sprawling lab complex. More importantly to him, it always places him in the crosshairs of the ophthalmic research that involves more than 60 faculty and research staffers.
"it's a very collaborative and well-funded research group, one that's committed to the big picture," he said. "The fact that the [Emory Eye Center Research Division] has helped to build a larger community of researchers through the Atlanta Vision Research Community says a lot about the research that goes on here."
"My primary job is to make sure everyone in our research labs can be as productive as possible, so I am always looking for ways to take away the time-consuming repetitive tasks that would slow down the work of our researchers," he said.
His self-assessment is deep with understatement. Among the "repetitive tasks" that Micah routinely undertakes on are genotyping, confocal imaging, IACUC protocols, lab safety, and onboarding new research staff. He has also run experiments and worked with histologists to section samples on an as-needed basis.
Again, Geisert's comments add critical detail to Chrenek's humble assessment:
"Micah's service to the faculty and other research staff in our department is excellent. He is knowledgeable about the goals of the faculty and their grants and takes the initiative to make sure these goals are being met. He is proactive and anticipates problems that may occur in our different laboratories. He seeks feedback from all faculty, staff, fellows, and students to try to improve the functioning of the Research Division of the Department of Ophthalmology."
-Kathleen E. Moore