Woman at Center of Pitt Research Honored by Town

By: Anita Srikameswaran and Tim Betler

Jan Scheuermann, known worldwide for nibbling on a piece of dark chocolate she brought to her mouth with a mind-controlled robot arm, was named Person of the Year by Mayor James Nowalk at Whitehall Borough Community Day on Saturday, which was declared Jan Scheuermann Day. 
In his proclamation, Mayor Nowalk called upon his constituents “to recognize her as one of the most courageous, inspiring, and remarkable individuals ever to grace the Whitehall Borough community, a person who tirelessly and selflessly dedicated herself to the research process with the hope that her efforts would benefit others with disabilities, a woman whose life story is a powerful lesson about facing and overcoming personal adversity for all people.”
In this video, Scheuermann talks about why she decided to become a research participant and how funding good science can change lives for the better.”