From advancing our understanding of hurricanes to improving public transit systems, to pursuing new treatments for addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular and infectious diseases, 27 USF faculty members are being recognized on Tuesday, September 17 with Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. The recipients’ research accomplishments span a variety of fields across anthropology, chemistry, computer science, education, engineering, geoscience, medicine, psychology, public health and sociology.
“USF faculty continually demonstrate their skills in conducting high-impact research and innovation to advance frontiers of knowledge, solve global problems, mentor and empower students, and improve lives. We are honored, each year at this time, to shine a spotlight on a few who made stand-out and transformative achievements during the past calendar year,” said Vice President for USF Research & Innovation Sylvia Wilson Thomas. “USF is proud to recognize these individuals and thank them for their extraordinary service to the university, our students and our society.”
The largest internal recognition of its kind at USF, the annual nominations are submitted by deans, department chairs, center and institute directors, and associate deans for research. The nominations are reviewed by members of the USF Research Council. Each faculty member receives $2,000 and recognition for their accomplishments at an awards ceremony on September 17.
This year's awardees are:
Laura J. Blair, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of neuroscience, particularly for elucidating the role of discrete molecular chaperones in the brain in the context of neurodegeneration.
Associate Professor Laura J. Blair studies how to protect brain health by regulating the molecular chaperone network. In 2023, she received a $3.4 million NIH R01 renewal. She was the inaugural recipient of the Cathy and Paul Douglas Scholar in Alzheimer's Discovery Award from the Harrington Discovery Institute. She also received the USF Strategic Investment Pool Award and is the primary mentor for a new NIH F31 awardee. Blair was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure at USF and GS-14 at the Department of Veteran Affairs. She also completed her NIH Study Section membership service and published five peer reviewed publications. Blair's expertise is further recognized by her selection as a plenary speaker at the 2023 Southeastern Neurodegeneration Conference, as well as her positions as a Handling Editor for the Journal of Neurochemistry and a senior editor for Cell Stress and Chaperones.
Jianfeng Cai, PhD, Preeminent and Distinguished University Professor
Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa Campus
For distinguished achievements in bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology, particularly advancements in the development of innovative bioactive peptidomimetics combating cancer, diabetes, infectious and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Professor Jianfeng Cai’s research focuses on chemical biology and bioorganic chemistry by developing bioactive peptidomimetics combating cancer, diabetes, infectious and Alzheimer’s diseases. In 2023, in addition to two ongoing NIH R01 grants, Cai received two new NIH R01 awards as the PI (totaling $4,563,061) from the National Institute of Aging to develop novel AA peptides to treat Alzheimer’s disease and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop novel AA peptides combating cancer. In 2003, Cai published or had accepted for publication 25 high-profile peer-reviewed papers such as Chemical Society Reviews, PNAS, Journal of the American Chemical Society, ACS Central Science Journal and Journal of Medical Chemistry and filed five patent applications. Additionally, he was elected as Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2023.
Jennifer Collins, PhD, Professor
Geosciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of geography, particularly for advancing understanding of hurricanes and illuminating linkages between hazards and society.
Professor Jennifer Collins had six publications in 2023; she is the corresponding author on a manuscript in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers and a co-author on four other manuscripts and a book chapter. She was announced as an AAG distinguished scholarship awardee for 2024 and was awarded an outstanding graduate faculty mentor honorable mention award with her PhD student winning the outstanding thesis and dissertation. She had five new or active grants in 2023 in excess of $1 million, including as PI on an NSF REU grant and an NOAA grant.
Feng Hao, PhD, Associate Professor and Graduate Director
Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Sarasota-Manatee
Campus
For distinguished contributions to collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship and public understanding of responses to environmental and public health crises – particularly climate change, disasters, energy, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Associate Professor Feng Hao’s 2023 collaborative, interdisciplinary publications on human-environment interaction address pressing social issues including the ways in which individual and national-level factors combine to shape attitudes and behaviors related to environmental and public health crises. In 2023, Hao published a book chapter and nine peer-reviewed articles in highly prestigious journals on critical topics that inform both schollarly and public policy discourses. Hao was selected as the recipient of several internal grants in 2023 including: the Pioneer Research Grant ($20,000) and two Interdisciplinary Research Grants ($20,000 each) as well as publication and travel grants. He also submitted two proposals for external funding in 2023 and presented work at regional, national, and international conferences. The public importance of Hao’s work was recognized by the media and he was interviewed four times in 2023 by ABC Action News (two interviews), FOX 13, and Government Executive.
Antoinette Jackson, PhD, Professor and Chair
Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of anthropology, particularly for advancing research and programs illuminating erased, abandoned, and under-resourced historic Black cemeteries and associated preservation challenges, specifically through development and expansion of the Black Cemetery Network program and archive.
Professor Antoinette Jackson, founder of the Black Cemetery Network, is leading a national research and public outreach program to restore unmarked, under-resourced, abandoned or paved-over historically African American cemeteries and burial grounds. In June 2023, House Bill 49, “Abandoned and Historic Cemeteries,” was signed into Florida law after persistent efforts by Representative Fentrice Driskell and the 10-member Task Force on Abandoned African-American Cemeteries, of which Jackson is an inaugural member appointed by the Governor. The importance of the work of Jackson and her team is recognized in the new law which directs the State Historic Preservation Officer to “Coordinate with the University of South Florida's Black Cemetery Network to facilitate the inclusion of abandoned African-American cemeteries in the Black Cemetery Network.” Jackson was featured on 60 Minutes in a segment entitled: ‘Grave Injustice’ with anchor Scott Pelley, which re-aired July 30, 2023.
Srinivas Katkoori, PhD, Professor
Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of smart and cyber secure internet-of-things, particularly for novel techniques for securing and designing custom edge hardware.
Professor Srinivas Katkoori focuses on smart and secure design of internet-of-things (IoT) systems. In 2023, he was awarded a highly competitive and prestigious five-year NSF grant of $3,702,920, the largest cybersecurity grant awarded to USF to date. This grant trains 28 undergraduate and graduate domestic scholars in the latest cybersecurity technologies who will serve the government upon graduation. Katkoori made significant contributions to secure design of hardware with unique physical unclonable function, novel algorithm for automated platooning for connected vehicles. In 2023, Katkoori published one peer-reviewed journal paper and eight peer-reviewed conference papers. One of his papers was nominated and received best paper award at 2023 IEEE Symposium on Smart Electronic Systems (iSES). Only four out of 140 submissions received this recognition. A US patent on secure hardware design was issued on November 7, 2023.
Chapurukha Kusimba, PhD, Professor
Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Joint appointment to Tampa and St. Petersburg
Campuses
For groundbreaking genetic analysis tracing African and Asian roots entwined in the Swahilis of East Africa.
Professor Chapurukha Kusimba has dedicated his career to solving the origins of medieval East Africa urbanism puzzle. Through collaborative interdisciplinary research involving archaeology, economic history, ethnohistory, and archaeogenetics, the riddle of Swahili origins was finally resolved in 2023. Published in the journal Nature on March 23, 2023, as “The Entwined African and Asian Genetic Roots of the Medieval Peoples of the Swahili Coast,” the study which analyzed genetic evidence from 80 individuals from five medieval Swahili towns in East Africa, revealed extensive admixture of African and Asian DNA, amongst the resident communities. The study further revealed that earliest migrants to East Africa primarily originated from Persia and India. Additionally, Professor Kusimba’s research efforts in 2022-2023 further published one more research article, two book chapters, and a sole-authored monograph, “Swahili Worlds in Globalism,” published by Cambridge University Press. Professor Kusimba was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.
James Leahy, PhD, Professor and Chair
Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa Campus
For distinguished achievements in organic synthesis and drug discovery, particularly in oncology, cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases.
In 2023, Professor James Leahy was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Four of his drugs are in use for the treatment of human diseases, with Cabozantinib now being the first-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma with global sales of $2.2 billion in 2023. He had two new issued patents, two additional patent applications and four new published manuscripts.
Ruisheng Liu, MD, PhD, Professor
Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of biomedicine, particularly for advancing understanding of renal mechanisms of hypertension, pioneering a kidney selective nanoparticle delivery system, and initiating an innovative approach for protection of donor organs by controlling Na/K ATPase activity.
Professor Ruisheng Liu is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of renal physiology and pathophysiology. He has a new NIH R01 grant in the area with a total of $659,934 awarded in 2023. Liu pioneered a project of kidney targeted nanoparticles, which can be used in the treatment of different glomerular diseases with efficient therapeutic effect while minimize systemic side effects. He was awarded a new NIH R01 grant in this area with a total of $2.8 million. Liu invented an innovative technique to control Na/K ATPase during ischemia. It is expected to be a groundbreaking technique in organ transplantation that could be used in patients in the next few years. He was just awarded a NIH R01 grant with a total of $3.2 million. Liu has extensive experience in mentoring trainees. In 2023, two of his trainees received NIH R01 grants as ESIs.
Matthias Majetschak, MD, PhD, Professor, Vice Chair of Basic Science Research
Surgery, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cross-talk between the cardiovascular stress response and innate immunity, particularly for identifying G protein-coupled receptor interactions as a novel mechanism by which stress hormones regulate leukocyte trafficking in vitro and in vivo, and to establish a NIH/NIGMS funded post-doctoral research training program for the training of the next generation of surgeon scientists.
Matthias Majetschak is a professor in the Department of Surgery and serves as the Vice Chair of Basic Science Research. His research program focuses on the roles of GPCR hetero-oligomers, particularly on the roles of heteromeric complexes between chemokine receptors and alpha1-adrenergic receptors in the regulation of vascular and innate immune functions during the physiological stress or “fight-or-flight” response. His scholarly work in 2023 uncovered mechanisms by which stress and immunity interact and provided novel pharmacological insights into the roles and regulation of heteromeric GPCR complexes. He was awarded a five-year NIH/NIGMS MIRA (R35) award for his research program in 2023. Moreover, in 2023 Dr. Majetschak established a five-year NIH/NIGMS T32 program for the training of the next generation of surgeon scientists, which places the USF Department of Surgery within the group of only 30 Departments of Surgery nationwide that provide NIH-funded T32 research training.
Christina McCrae, PhD, Professor, Assistant Dean of Research
College of Nursing, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the fields of sleep and behavioral sleep medicine, particularly for advancing understanding of the mechanistic role of sleep, arousal, and the brain in chronic conditions across the lifespan.
Professor Christina McCrae is an internationally recognized expert in sleep and behavioral sleep medicine, and directs the McCrae Sleep Research Lab in the College of Nursing. Her research program investigates the role of sleep and related biopsychosocial and neurocognitive mechanisms in the context of chronic insomnia and comorbid medical conditions across the lifespan (autism, chronic pain, dementia, prescribed opioid users, caregivers of autistic children, caregivers of persons with dementia). In 2023, she was the PI on four funded randomized controlled trial (RCTs): a National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01 awarded February, a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) R01 awarded August, a Department of Defense (DOD) clinical trial awarded in November, and an ongoing National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) R01, PI of another RCT recommended for funding (DOD), recipient of the BSM Champion Advocate Award (Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine), editor-in-chief of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, author of 14 publications and 30 conference abstracts (majority with mentee co-authors of all levels).
Thomas McDonald, MD, Professor
Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions in the genetics of cardiac disease and development of stem cell reprogramming to ascertain the pathogenesis and best treatment for fatal, rare, heart diseases.
In 2023, Professor Thomas McDonald obtained a four-year $5.6 million grant from the Department of Defense entitled “Mechanisms, Markers, and Risk Factors in Friedreich's Ataxia Heart Disease (FA-HD)”. This is a multi-project grant equivalent in complexity and multidisciplinary approaches to a NIH Program Project Grant. Patients with FA-HD develop fatal syndromes early in life, and the genetics, underlying mechanisms, and appropriate treatment are not clear. He developed methods to utilize patients’ cells to develop pluripotential stem cells that are reprogrammed into cardiac myocytes. These are then studied in the laboratory at the electrophysiologic, genomic, biochemical, and biophysical levels to ascertain the underlying defect(s) and test potential treatments. He published four papers in 2023, including one that was recognized as one of the top papers downloaded in the journal.
James McHale, PhD, Professor
Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, St. Petersburg Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of coparenting theory, research, and clinical intervention, and leadership of a multi-national International Coparenting Collaborative revisioning global approaches to infant-family mental health diagnostic case conceptualizations.
Professor James McHale, director of USF's Family Study Center, introduced the concept of coparenting to the child development field. His studies of coparenting in diverse family systems, sponsored since 1996 by the National Institutes of Health, Administration for Children and Families and various Foundations, have established USF as a thought-leader in the field of coparenting. In 2023, he was PI for six different projects, accounting for over $2 million, and published five papers advancing his field in new directions: including infants in family therapy, improving systems of care through trauma-informed, family-centered consultation and organizational training, and revisioning infant-family mental health diagnostic case conceptualizations, published with the seven-nation International Coparenting Collaborative (ICC) that he leads. He was invited to present a Master Class on coparenting theory and research at the World Association for Infant Mental Health Congress in Dublin, where he also delivered a workshop with the ICC and a report debuting new NIH-sponsored randomized controlled trial (RCT) findings.
Gokhan Mumcu, PhD, Professor
Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For seminal discoveries in reconfigurable antenna arrays, radio frequency (RF)/mm-wave devices, and their heterogenous integration with mm-wave electronics using emerging additive manufacturing technology (AM).
In 2023, Professor Gokhan Mumcu was the principal investigator on new research grants totaling more than $2.4 million. In addition, he was a co-principal investigator on new research grants totaling more than $1.4 million. His research program discovered novel applications of additively manufactured integrated antenna arrays within the domains of wireless communication system security and high-power mm-wave thermal management. His research projects were funded through National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Army, and industry. Overall, he participated as an investigator in ten external research grants throughout 2023 while mentoring a research group consisting of nine PhD and two MS students. He was the co-major professor of two PhD graduates. He served as the general chair for the IEEE WAMICON 2023 and 2024 conferences, bringing together more than 25 industry sponsors with leading experts in wireless and microwave technology.
Tempestt Neal, PhD, Associate Professor
Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For outstanding contributions to cybersecurity and biometrics, including mobile-based continuous authentication and authorship attribution, as well as mobile-based sensing for human behavior analysis in interdisciplinary applications.
Associate Professor Tempestt Neal is the director of the Cyber Identity and Behavior Research Lab. Her research focuses on biometrics and smart sensing for person identification and interdisciplinary applications of human behavior analysis. She also conducts research aimed at increasing cybersecurity awareness among populations historically excluded from science and engineering. In 2023, she received the NSF CAREER award and a USF Strategic Investment Pool grant. She published seven peer-reviewed papers, was awarded the 2023 Sloan Minority PhD Program Faculty Mentor of the Year Award, and organized the First Workshop on Interdisciplinary Applications of Biometrics and Identity Science (InterID 2023) at the IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition. Neal also co-chaired the Doctoral Consortium at the IEEE/IAPR International Joint Conference on Biometrics, the premier forum for research in biometrics and related technologies, for which she secured an NSF Conference Travel Grant to support student attendees.
Alexandra Panos, PhD, Assistant Professor
Language, Literacy, Ed.D., Exceptional Education, and Physical Education, College
of Education, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of literacy addressing transdisciplinary challenges, including climate change, school equity, and placemaking.
Assistant Professor Alexandra Panos investigates how people use literacies, texts, and practices to be in relationship with the places that matter to them and their socioecological communities from an equity-focused and justice-driven perspective. Her 2023 grants included Stories-to-Live-by: Literacy Teaching for the Climate in Florida funded by a 2023 Spencer Foundation Small Grant Program and Understanding Literacy’s Role in Climate Change Education in Florida funded by a 2023 USF New Researcher Grant. Her 2023 publications included journal articles in the American Educational Research Journal and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and two book chapters published by Routledge. She also co-created an openly accessible educational resource for educators and students: Ecoliteracies for Climate Action in Florida.
Matthew Pasek, PhD, Professor
School of Geosciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of geology, particularly to understanding phosphorus chemistry on the early earth and investigating the unique minerals formed by lightning.
In 2023, Professor Matthew Pasek published twelve papers, including in the journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and Nature Geoscience, and also received national recognition for a paper in Communications: Earth and Environment, wherein he described the first occurrence of an unusual phosphorus mineral group in a rock formed by lightning in New Port Richey, Florida. He also received a best paper award in 2023 from Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science for a manuscript discussing the potential issues that may arise from collecting samples of water from Jupiter’s moon Europa. These works in 2023 have added to Pasek's standing as a leader in early earth phosphorus geochemistry and as a known expert in lightning-induced changes in rocks and soil.
Judith J. M. Rijnhart, PhD, Assistant Professor
College of Public Health, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of epidemiology and expertise in mediation analysis to investigate causal mechanisms that underlie exposure and intervention effects of cognitive health outcomes in older adults.
Assistant Professor Judith Rijnhart has applied her expertise to her work in cognitive health outcomes in older adults, and in 2023, she received an award from the Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant to Promote Diversity (AARG-D), on her first proposal attempt. Rijnhart was also the recipient of an “Abstract of Distinction” for the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. In addition, she is one of USF’s researchers among the top 2% of the most cited scientists in the world, as listed by Stanford’s annual ranking on citations. In 2023, as an assistant professor, she published six papers, with one additional paper in press and five under review.
Lisa Staes, M.S., Associate Director
Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For significant contributions to public transportation safety and security, transit worker and rider safety, transit standards, fatigue and fitness for duty, and transit workforce development and training.
In 2023, Associate Director Lisa Staes had impressive contributions through grant funding and associated broad impacts for research, including a $17.0M award from the USDOT, Federal Railroad Administration, for a “Comprehensive Approach to Promoting Railroading Careers and Developing the Current Rail Industry Workforce.” She also received an additional $1.9M in research funding from the USDOT’s Federal Transit Administration, the University Transportation Centers Program from USDOT’s Office of the Secretary of Research through the Mineta Transportation Institute, the Transportation Security Administration through ENSCO, Inc. and the American Public Transportation Association to support public transit standards development for the industry. Staes holds several appointments including the Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS), bestowed upon her by USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board.
Saulius Sumanas, PhD, Professor
Pathology, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of developmental biology, particularly on assessing genetic regulation of vascular development and disease.
Professor Saulius Sumanas uses zebrafish to study vascular development and disease. His research has identified new genes and mechanisms involved in blood vessel growth and stability, some of which predispose humans to vascular diseases, such as intracranial aneurysms. In 2023, Sumanas was supported by two NIH R01 awards as a principal investigator, one of which was a new award to study signaling in vascular tubulogenesis, which is related to venous malformations in humans. In addition, he obtained an NIH Supplemental Diversity award for postdoctoral training, and two of his trainees obtained AHA awards. In 2023, Sumanas published four peer-reviewed manuscripts, including a Cell Reports publication, demonstrating how new blood cells can emerge from the heart in zebrafish embryos. He gave oral presentations in national and international meetings including the national NAVBO meeting and International Zebrafish Conference, and served on the NIH special emphasis panel study section.
Brendan M. Walker, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research, and Roskamp Endowed Chair in Biological Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions in the field of alcohol use disorder involving amelioration of dysregulated neuropeptide signaling in the brain as a neurotherapeutic.
Professor Brendan Walker is an internationally recognized expert in the field of alcohol use disorder therapeutic development within motivational, negative affective and executive function domains. In 2023, his laboratory published a foundational manuscript identifying that neural site-specific gene modulation could recapitulate symptoms of alcohol dependence that served as the basis for his 2023 award of a five-year NIH R01 grant totaling $2,792,804 that complements his other NIH R01, competitively renewed since 2011. In 2023, Walker continued to serve as a standing member on the Neurotoxicology and Alcohol NIH grant review study section and traveled to multiple institutions, as well as professional conferences, to present his research. In addition to his post-doctoral and medical student training, in 2023 Walker continued to support high-level research engagement with the USF Honors College that contributed to successful research-based theses for multiple students.
DaZhi Wang, PhD, Endowed Professor / Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine
USF Health Heart Institute, Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa
Campus
For seminal contributions to the field of cardiology, including advancements in our understanding of cardiac development and disease, and pioneering research on the critical role of non-coding RNAs (Ribonucleic acid molecules) in muscle function and regulation.
In 2023, Professor DaZhi Wang was awarded two new R01 grants: “IncRNA Function and Mechanisms during Cardiac Development and Disease” ($2.24 million) and “Function and Mechanism of the Intercalated Disc Protein Xinβ in Cardiomyocyte Proliferation and Cardiac Regeneration” ($2.25 million). In addition, he was awarded a three-year $0.66 million grant from Additional Ventures, a private agency funding cutting edge scientific research. In addition, in 2023 alone he published nine papers in highly regarded scientific journals including Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Cardiology, and Circulation, all focused on cardiac regeneration.
Jing Wang, PhD, Agere Systems Endowed Chair and Professor (WAMI Co-Director)
Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to field of active and passive radio frequency (RF) sensing as well as mm-wave/5G frontend wireless systems by heterogenous IC integration and advanced structural electronics packaging, while pioneering in thermal, circuit, and electromagnetic co-design strategies.
In 2023, as co-director of the WAMI Center, Professor Jing Wang bolstered its mission through industry collaboration and student engagement, securing more than $6.6 million in funding, guiding three PhD students to graduation, and achieving recognition through awards like the 2023 USF IEEE WAMI Forum best poster. His work in RF sensing and mm-wave/5G systems led to significant federal grants, including a $2M NSF FuSe grant and $4.3M DoD grants. His research products include three journal papers, two book chapters, and five conference papers, alongside patents and licensing agreements yielding substantial industry collaboration and funding.
Ying Yang, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of cardiovascular research, particularly for advancing understanding of the development of the lymphatic vasculature and discovering novel therapeutic targets for treating lymphatic diseases
Associate Professor Ying Yang is a recognized expert in lymphatic research. Her lab studies the lymphatic vasculature with a specific focus on identifying potential therapeutic targets for lymphatic diseases. In 2023, she was awarded a nearly $2 million R01 grant with a 2nd percentile score from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant aims to understand the novel functions of TSC proteins in the lymphatic vasculature and improve the treatment strategies for human TSC disease by testing the effects of new therapeutic targets identified in the lab. Yang is a co-investigator on another NIH grant related to lymphatic associated obesity and metabolic syndrome. She published four new papers demonstrating the ability of the new therapeutic targets to improve lymphatic formation and function using mouse models in 2023.
Yao Yao, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of extracellular matrix and neurobiology, particularly for advancing understanding of laminin function in blood-brain barrier integrity and various neurological disorders, including stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
Associate Professor Yao Yao is a recognized expert in extracellular matrix (ECM) and blood-brain barrier (BBB) research. He has elucidated the function of laminin in BBB maintenance and various neurological disorders, including stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. In 2023, Dr. Yao was awarded a five-year R01 grant from the NIH (Total Funding: $2,465,595). This grant aims to investigate the functional significance of fibroblast-derived laminin in stroke outcomes and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. He also published three papers in 2023, including one in Small Methods reporting a novel approach for live imaging of the brain ECM and another in PloS Biology commenting on the role of NR4A1 in ischemic stroke. His work has been cited 368 times in 2023. Yao serves as a standing member in the NIH CMBG study section for a four-year term from 2022-2026, and was selected as the vice chair in 2023.
Daniel H. Yeh, PhD, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For ground-breaking contributions to environmental engineering, sustainability, and to membrane and biological technologies for water purification and wastewater recycling to mitigate water scarcity in disadvantaged communities worldwide.
Professor Daniel Yeh is a leader in the fields of water quality and wastewater treatment. The National Science Foundation recently awarded him a $650,000 Convergence Accelerator Phase I grant under the Equitable Water Solutions theme to lead a group of interdisciplinary researchers to tackle onsite wastewater management challenges in the Pacific Islands. Recognizing his pioneering work with the NEWgenerator, the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) selected him as the 2023 Stanley E. Kappe Distinguished Lecturer to tour U.S. universities and deliver lectures on his journey with the NEWgenerator. Also in 2023, in Johannesburg, South Africa at the IWA Non-Sewered Sanitation conference, Yeh received the NSS Chairman Recognition Award for his years of contribution and dedication to address global sanitation through innovative technologies. Since 2020, he has served as a Visiting Professor of Bioregenerative Water Purification to assist NASA with designing and testing innovative wastewater treatment systems for the Artemis Program to establish permanent human presence on the Moon and eventually Mars.
Tansel Yucelen, PhD, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Tampa Campus
For distinguished contributions to the field of mechanical and aerospace engineering, particularly in pioneering control, information, and decision-making systems for next-generation highly-capable autonomous vehicles and swarms.
Associate Professor Tansel Yucelen performs research at his laboratory, the Laboratory for Autonomy, Control, Information, and Systems (LACIS), focusing on the discovery of novel control, information, and decision-making systems for next-generation autonomous vehicles and swarms to elevate our society and perform safety-critical civilian and military applications. In 2023, he published a book, "Derivative-Free Adaptive Control, AIAA" and seven peer-reviewed articles in competitive journals, received 550 citations (Google Scholar), and was informed to receive approximately $4M from new grants as the PI. He also received the Best Paper Award at the joint IEEE and IFAC flagship conference entitled 2023 International Conference on Control, Decision, and Information Technologies (Rome, Italy), and was appointed a Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.