FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): An Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne professor was recently honored with a top Public Affairs award.

Assistant Professor Nurgul Aitalieva won the 2015 Midwest Public Affairs Best Paper Award for research done on how the public views public figures and their policies.

“We tried to observe what explains the perception of government success. We know that the trust of government has fallen, and we also know that the perception and reality are different.”

She co-wrote the paper with University of Tennessee PHD student Andrew Morelock. Aitalieva says she's honored by the award:

“I was really surprised, because I was told there were 28 papers under consideration, and also because this is only my second year at the University. I graduated last year.”