Craig J. Cady & Craig W. Cady

The Mary McAsey Biology Scholarship was established in 2015 by Mary’s son, Craig W. Cady and her husband, Craig J. Cady. They created the scholarship in memory of her commitment to biology students.

Mary worked at Southern Illinois University Medical School as an Associate Professor and Director of Research for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as Laboratory Director for the SIU Fertility and IVF Center. She advised over 35 medical residents, medical students, graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom received local and national recognition for their research projects.

Her research interests included the potential role of stem cells for the treatment of ovarian cancer and the interaction of ovarian hormones and glial proteins in the aging brain. She authored more than 20 grants and published over 80 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and abstracts. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Arizona where she also was a postdoctoral research associate (1995, 1996). She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biology at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (1978, 1975).

During Mary’s busy academic and professional career she never lost sight of her background at UW Oshkosh where she conducted research on the effect of lead in bird populations at Rush Lake in Wisconsin. Her passion for research and experiences at UW Oshkosh gave her an understanding of the challenges biology students must overcome in pursuing research. For this reason, her family, friends, and colleagues established this scholarship in her name to help UW Oshkosh biology students attain their degree and advance their careers in the field of biology.