2019 Awardees

Since joining the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute, Jeffrey Bloomquist has supervised an internationally recognized program on new insecticides and repellents for mosquito control. “Overall, our goal is the development of ...

Shannon Boye’s research focuses on treating human retinal blindness. Throughout her career, she has identified ways to move gene therapy forward as a solution for a number of blinding eye ...

Hai-Ping Cheng’s research activities center around the physical, chemical, and mechanical processes in complex systems ranging across nano-size objects such as molecular magnets. “I use large-scale computer simulation methods and ...

Ronald Cohen’s research investigates what successful cognitive aging can look like. Specifically, he is responsible for conducting studies of brain aging-mechanisms and age-associated comorbidities that affect cognition and the brain (e.g., ...

Rhonda Cooper-DeHoff is an expert in the field of heart-related medication. Specifically, her research focuses on the intersection of high blood pressure and heart disease, exploring the way in which ...

Natalie Ebner’s work takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand the social and emotional mechanisms of successful aging. “Current aging research focuses on physical and cognitive functions and certain mental illnesses common ...

Leonardo Ferreira’s scientific mission is to advance the treatment of breathing and locomotor muscle abnormalities related to heart failure. Heart failure is a complex clinical condition that causes shortness of breath, ...

Luke Flory’s expertise is in the ecology of non-native invasive species. Specifically, he studies the causes, consequences and long-term dynamics of biological invasions. “Only a small subset of introduced species become ...

Kelly Foote’s research explores advanced technology for the treatment of neurological disorders. In particular, Foote has spent the past 15 years dedicating his work to the study of Deep Brain ...

José António Baptista Fortes is an expert on distributed computing research and information processing systems. “I have always been interested on how science can help build bigger and faster computers,” Fortes ...

Benoit Giasson’s primary research interests are focused on the mechanisms involved in the regulation of protein folding and subcellular interactions that affect abnormal protein accumulation in the nervous system. “We’ve learned ...

Aysegul Gunduz develops diagnostic and therapeutic tools that identify and characterize neurological disorders in human patients. Specifically, her research uses invasive brain recordings from neurosurgical patient populations to develop closed-loop deep ...

Berta Hernandez-Truyol has utilized an interdisciplinary, multidimensional and international framework to promote human flourishing around the globe. “My academic engagement includes participation in initiatives that seek to develop, expand and transform ...

Michael Hofmann is a distinguished writer and critic; his activities spanning four distinct realms: those of poet, reviewer, translator and teacher. “ it’s in my blood and my genes,” ...

Mark Hudak’s research focuses on improving the clinical outcomes of vulnerable newborn infants. More specifically, his research focuses on the developmental changes in cerebral blood flow and metabolism in fetal and ...

Jiri Hulcr is an expert in exotic wood boring insects and their interactions among fungi, bacteria and trees. Exotic wood boring insects cause an estimated $2.5 billion damage annually in the ...

Ester de Jong’s scholarship aims to address the overarching question of how teachers can create equitable, high-quality learning environments for bilingual learners or English language learners (ELLs). “Immigrant children and ...

Akito Kawahara’s research program is focused on understanding biodiversity and the processes that lead to the extraordinary range of organisms on Earth. Specifically, however, he focuses on butterflies and moths. This ...

Tanmay Lele’s main interests lie in the field of mechanobiology. “Studying a cell’s ability to sense and respond to mechanical cues has emerged as a field unto itself over the last ...

Joanna Long is an expert at using magnets to see the invisible. Specifically, her work focuses on developing and applying magnetic resonance techniques to determine biomolecular structure, chemistry and dynamics in ...

Fiona McLaughlin is a linguist who has been conducting fieldwork-based research on language in West Africa for more than 20 years. Her recent work focuses on language contact in urban ...

Rowan Milner’s goal is create true disease models of human cancer by looking at naturally occurring cancers in canines. As most preclinical cancer research endeavors use mouse models and human clinical ...

Since the beginning of his doctoral studies 25 years ago, Duane Mitchell has been dedicated to research focused on utilizing the human immune system to combat different cancer tumors. “My overall ...

Marcelle Nascimento’s work focuses on the problem of tooth decay among children. This condition is highly preventable but continues to be prevalent in the population. “I trust that my research can ...

Mario Poceski is an expert on Buddhist history and Chinese religions. Currently, he seeks to explore the major transformations of the classical paradigm of Buddhist meditation, which incorporates two distinctive approaches ...

The database of information about initial public offerings, or IPOs, that Jay Ritter started building in 1979 has grown into an essential resource for journalists, investors, scholars and policy makers. Ritter ...

Matthew Smith’s area of research is fungal biology; however, he intends for his work’s impact to spread well beyond mushrooms. “My overarching goal has always been to help students become thoughtful ...

Jeanne-Marie Stacciarini has established herself as a researcher in the area of health disparities and culturally sensitive care for underrepresented and minority populations in rural areas. “Most of my research endeavors ...

Maya Stanfield-Mazzi is an expert on the indigenous and Catholic art of colonial Spanish America. Specifically, her research focuses on the art of the Spanish colonial viceroyalties of Peru and ...

Lukasz Stelinski’s research interests center on practical application for pest control in both agriculture and forestry. Notably, Stelinski is recognized worldwide for applying insect pheromones in pest management using a technique ...

David Wei’s research primarily focuses on using basic physical chemistry concepts, principles and theories to enhance the fundamental understanding of surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-enhanced photocatalysis, which uses light as a ...

Samantha Wisely’s expertise is in the field of applied wildlife disease ecology. Her work combines field and laboratory techniques to answer questions about movement patterns of wildlife and the diseases they ...