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Ground-breaking Research, Significant Student Mentorship and More Than $7M in Grant Funding Positions Tucker Among Prestigious Group   

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School has presented its 2025-26 Hoppe Research Professor Award to Kevin R. Tucker, PhD, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry. 

“I’m honored to receive this year’s Hoppe Professor Award,” said Tucker. “Many of the previous recipients are the best at SIUE in their scholarly pursuits, and it’s humbling to join that group. This award is a meaningful investment in not just me, but also in the students that I mentor and support as we develop methods for analysis in environmental samples.” 

Tucker, who started at SIUE as an assistant professor in 2016, noted his significant contributions through the years. 

“My work, most notably in the area of mass spectrometry method development, has covered fields ranging from bioconcentration of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems to investigating the effects of testosterone in male athletes,” he said. “In addition, employing mass spectrometry imaging techniques has set my research apart from others and led to a distinguished record of publishing review articles and chapters on this topic applied to environmental samples. The research is noted for its scientific rigor and relevance, as evidenced by publications in prestigious journals.” 

Tucker was nominated for the esteemed award by Eric J. Voss, PhD, professor, and chair of the Department of Chemistry. “Kevin’s performance is excellent in all areas (scholarship, teaching, and service),” wrote Voss. 

Tucker’s scholarship includes projects in several disciplines. 

“He involves many students in his research, and he has collaborations with many scientists at SIUE, NCERC (National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center), the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine and elsewhere,” noted Voss. “Kevin’s CV lists over 100 presentations by students he has mentored. These have occurred at diverse regional and national venues, which include St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society’s annual undergraduate research symposium, the Louis Stokes Alliance Minority Participation conference in Chicago, and the American Chemical Society’s National Meetings, among other events.” 

Then there are the numerous publications to consider when talking about Tucker’s scholarly prowess. 

“At SIUE, my scholarly journey is distinguished by an array of peer-reviewed publications, demonstrating a pursuit of mass spectrometry applications that primarily are at the nexus of environmental processes and analytical techniques,” offered Tucker. “Beginning with work on the bioconcentration of betablockers in Pimephales promelas has set a new standard in environmental toxicology by providing the first example of complementary mass spectrometry analysis of environmental pollutants within aquatic vertebrates. This pioneering research on mass spectrometry imaging has revolutionized the way environmental samples are analyzed, offering additional dimensionality to datasets.” 

Summarizing, Tucker reported that his scholarship is characterized by its breadth (independent and collaborative), depth (10 peer-reviewed publications), and financial impact, which amounts to approximately $7.4M in total funding. 

“The support from the Hoppe Award will be instrumental in advancing our research into novel applications of mass spectrometry for environmental analysis,” he said. “Specifically, it will allow me to dedicate funds to supporting a combination of student-initiated projects and projects focused on preliminary data collection that will support submission of externally sponsored research proposals over the next few years.” 

For more information, visit the Tucker Research Lab at tuckerlab.org. 

Photo: Kevin R. Tucker, PhD, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, is SIUE’s 2025-26 Hoppe Research Professor.