The following is a list of achievements by businesses and individuals in the Ann Arbor area:

• Dr. Ernesto Bernal-Mizrachi, a University of Michigan Brehm investigator and associate professor of internal medicine in the University of Michigan Health System’s Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes Division, has received two professional honors this year. First, Bernal was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation an organization of physician-scientists. Candidates for ASCI membership are nominated by another ASCI member in a process that also requires secondary and supporting member recommendations. Bernal was also installed as the first Larry D. Soderquist Professor. The named professorship was made possible by a contribution from U-M Health System supporters Dolores and Bill Brehm in memory of Dolores' brother, Larry D. Soderquist.

• Beal Inc., a provider of construction trade services, was named to the Inc. 500 list, a compendium of the most entrepreneurial and fastest growing companies in America. This is the company’s first year appearing on the list and placed in the top 500 of the list at #191. The company's three-year growth rate of 1,508.1 percent prompted the listing. Beal Inc., founded in 2006 and owned by president Stewart W. Beal and vice president Patrick W. Beal, is headquartered in Ann Arbor with offices in Detroit and Toledo. Beal Inc. is a member of the Beal Group, which specializes in historic renovation projects in urban environments. In related news, The Beal Group has received $3,069,179 in contracts to renovate 58 homes in the city of Detroit.The project has created a total of 25 jobs and consist of four independent contracts. Two of these contracts are under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, one with Wayne County and the other with the city of Detroit. The other contracts are two independent contracts with the Detroit Housing Commission.

• Inc. magazine also included Ann Arbor-based Integrated Design Inc. and Adrian-based Kapnick Insurance Group on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, a ranking of the nation's 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. Integrated Design Inc. creates employee data system integration sotftware called Time Bank. Kapnick Group is an independent insurance agency headquartered in Adrian, with offices in Ann Arbor and Southfield.

• KG Partners, an advertising, public relations and interactive agency, announced Sept. 1 that it hired Michael Graham as director of strategic planning. In that position, he will develop and present integrated strategic solutions that result in effective marketing, advertising, interactive and media programs. Graham will be based in Ann Arbor.

• Cooley Law School recently announced that professor and Assistant Dean Martha Moore has moved from the Auburn Hills campus to the Ann Arbor campus as of Sept. 1. Moore joined Cooley in 2004. Before joining the law school faculty, Moore was a partner and shareholder in the firm of Moore & Pozehl in Southfield, where she concentrated her practice in the areas of legal ethics. Her career has also included time as ethics prosecutor for and vice chair of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

• The city of Ypsilanti recently received The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for the city's comprehensive annual financial report. An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement also went to Marilou Uy, director of fiscal services for the city, who prepared the annual report. Uy was presented with the award at Tuesday's city council meeting.

• Kathy Spring was named the director of development and alumni relations at Cleary University. Kathy came to Cleary from Jackson Community College in Jackson where she was the director of the annual fund and alumni relations. Cleary is a business university with campuses in Ann Arbor and Howell.

• John Cullen, owner of Ann Arbor area design build firm Celtic Gardens, was chosen to represent the United States at this year’s Singapore Garden Festival, where the world’s top designers are invited to exhibit and prove their worth on the international garden scene. Cullen's exhibit won a people's choice award during the festival.

• The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community Collaborative announced Sept. 2 that it has won a $16,224,370 grant to accelerate and demonstrate the ability of health IT to transform local health care systems, and to improve the lives of Americans and the performance of the health care providers who serve them from the U.S. Government’s Department of Health & Human Services. SEMBCC won the largest of the 17 Beacon Community grants nationwide. The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community Collaborative is a diverse 60+-member multi-stakeholder consortium led by the Southeast Michigan Health Information Exchange (SEMHIE) and its fiduciary, SEMHA. The membership of SEMHIE and SEMBCC includes six major health systems, payers, employers, providers, quality organizations, safety-net providers and healthcare professional associations. Three Ann Arbor residents, Mick Talley, Helen Hill and Stephen Lange Ranzini, played important roles in fostering the development of SEMHIE, which led to this major award for southeast Michigan.

• Comerica Bank recently announced its contribution of more than $1.4 million to Michigan nonprofits during the first half of 2010, including Ann Arbor-based organizations The Neutral Zone, the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

• Ann Arbor-based Thomson Reuters, announced Sept. 1 that it acquired Healthcare Data Management Inc. Effective immediately, the company will become part of the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Healthcare Data Management was a pioneer in the establishment of modeling employee health benefit plans and using data-driven metrics to monitor plan performance.

• DesignHub Inc. of Saline recently upgraded the Web site for Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor to provide an online application to the school. Parents can also now sign children up for Daycroft’s after-school enrichment and summer school programs.

• The Society for College and University Planning recently announced the recipients of its 2010 SCUP Excellence in Planning, SCUP Excellence in Landscape Architecture and SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture program. Among the winners was the University of Michigan, which won an Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture Addition for the U-M Museum of Art.

• E-mail items for People, Achievements and Paparazzi to business@annarbor.com . Sign up for the weekly Business Review email newsletter here.