Recipients of UIC Research and Scholarship Annual Awards

The Research and Scholarship Annual Award competition celebrates the efforts and commitment of individuals who are making exceptional progress advancing knowledge in their areas of research and scholarship. These individuals inspire and promote continued excellence at UIC.

One Distinguished Researcher and one Rising Star Awardee will be selected from each of the following categories:

  • Basic Life Sciences
  • Clinical Sciences
  • Natural Sciences & Engineering
  • Social Sciences

One Distinguished Scholar and one Rising Star Awardee will be selected from the following category:

  • Humanities, Arts, Design, & Architecture

The Distinguished Awards will be given to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their fields, whereas the Rising Star Awards will be bestowed on individuals who show exceptional promise to become future leaders. Awardees will be recognized at a ceremony in spring.

Previous Recipients Heading link

Basic Life Sciences

  • 2023
    • Rising Star: Andrew P. Riley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished: John Nitiss, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
  • 2022
    • Rising Star: Yu (Tom) Gao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished: Yulia Komarova, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Regenerative Medicine, College of Medicine
  • 2019
  • 2018
    • Rising Star: Yury S. Polikanov, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished: Zaijie (Jim) Wang, Ph.D., Professor and University Scholar, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
  • 2017
    • Rising Star: Terry W. Moore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished: Parasani Subbaiah Ph.D., Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, College of Medicine
  • 2016
    • Rising Star: Marcelo G. Bonini, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Pharmacology; College of Medicine
  • 2015
    • Rising Star:  Douglas Thomas, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished:  Richard van Breemen, Ph.D., Professor Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy
  • 2014
    • Rising Star:  Michael Federle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Pharmacy
    • Distinguished:  Wonhwa Cho, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Chemical Biology, Chemistry, Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2013
    • Rising Star:  Joanna E. Burdette, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Pharmacy
    • Distinguished:  Anne George, Allan G. Brodie Endowed Professor, Brodie Tooth Development Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research Laboratory, Dentistry
  • 2012
    • Rising Star:  Seungpyo Hong, Assistant Professor, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy
    • Distinguished:  Xiaoping Du, Professor, Pharmacology, Medicine
  • 2011 – Dr. Gail Prins, Ph.D., Professor, Urology
  • 2010 – Donald Morrison, Professor, Biological Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2009 – Dr. Joel Brown, Professor, Biological Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2008 – Dr. Alexander Mankin, Professor, Center for Biopharmaceutical Technology, Pharmacy

Clinical Sciences

  • 2023
    • Rising Star: Natasha Crooks, Ph.D., R.N., Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development Nursing Science, College of Nursing
    • Distinguished: Ardith Doorenbos, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Nursing Collegiate Professor, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing
  • 2022
    • Rising Star:
      – Zackery Bulman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy
      – Asfar Naqvi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry and Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine
    • Distinguished: Krista Varady, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Kinesiology & Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences
  • 2019
  • 2018
    • Rising Star: Basmattee Boodram, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health
    • Distinguished: Deepak Shukla, Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine
  • 2017
    • Rising Star: Maria Argos, Ph.D., MPH, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    • Distinguished: Richard Novak, M.D., Professor, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine
  • 2016
    • Rising Star: Tanvi Bhatt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences
    • Distinguished: Alfonse T. Masi, M.D. DR. PH. , Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Director, Division of Rheumatology, UIC College of Medicine at Peoria
  • 2015
    • Rising Star:  Andrew Boyd, M.D., Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, College of Applied Health Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Geri Donenberg, Ph.D., Professor, Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine
  • 2014
    • Rising Star:  Ana Bedran-Russo, D.D.S, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Restorative Dentistry, Dentistry
    • Distinguished:  Yi-Chung (Clive) Pai,  Ph.D., Professor and Director, Clinical Gait and Movement Analysis Laboratory, Physical Therapy, Applied Health Sciences
  • 2013
    • Rising Star:  Julienne Rutherford, Women, Children, and Family Health Science, Nursing.
    • Distinguished:
      – Alan Schwartz, Professor and Associate Head, Medical Education;  Research Professor, Pediatrics
      – Saul J. Weiner, Vice Provost for Planning and Programs, Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Medical Education;  Medicine and Pediatrics
  • 2012
    • Rising Star:  Krista Varady, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Nutrition, Applied Health Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Stacie E. Geller, Professor and Associate Head for Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medicine
  • 2010 – Ghanshyam N. Pandey, Professor, Pharmacology and Psychiatry, College of Medicine
  • 2009 – Dr. Judith A. Cook, Professor, Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Director, Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy
  • 2008 – Dr. Robert C.  Bailey, Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health

Natural Sciences & Engineering

  • 2023
    • Rising Star: Pai-Yen Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Distinguished: Robert Klie, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2022
    • Rising Star:
      – Yayue Pan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
      – Ian Tobasco, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics, & Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Eben Alsberg, Ph.D., Richard and Loan Hill Chair, Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine
  • 2019
    • Rising Star: Benjamin Antieau, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished: Sudip K. Mazumder, Ph.D., Fellow, IEEE, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
  • 2018
    • Rising Star: Jie Xu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Distinguished: Tanya Berger-Wolf, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering
  • 2017
    • Distinguished: Isabel Cruz, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering
  • 2016
    • Rising Star: Neal P. Mankad, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chemistry; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished: Kathryn L. Nagy, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Institute for Environmental Science and Policy; Head, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences ; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2015
    • Rising Star:  Ying Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
    • Distinguished:  Lawrence Ein, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2014
    • Rising Star:  Robert Klie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physics, Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Krishna Reddy, Ph.D., Professor, Civil and Materials Engineering, Engineering
  • 2013
    • Rising Star:  Izzet Coskun, Professor, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, Liberal Arts and Sciences.
    • Distinguished:  Philip S. Yu, Distinguished Professor & Wexler Chair in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering.
  • 2012
    • Rising Star:  Natasha Devroye, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering
    • Distinguished:  Bing Liu, Professor, Computer Science, Engineering
  • 2011 – Dr. Cecilia Gerber, Professor, Physics
  • 2010 – Simon T. Alford, Professor, Biological Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2009 – Dr. Luke Hanley, Professor, Chemistry, Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2008 – Dr. Vladimir Gevorgyan, Professor, Chemistry, Liberal Arts & Sciences

Social Sciences 

  • 2023
    • Rising Star: Nicole Nguyen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Law & Justice, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Claire Laurier Decoteau, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2022
    • Rising Star: Jennifer A. Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Sociology and Latin American & Latino Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Alexandra Filindra, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Political Science and Psychology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2019
    • Rising Star: Charles Hounmenou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Jane Addams College of Social Work
  • 2018
    • Rising Star: Federico R. Waitoller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, College of Education
    • Distinguished: Rachel Gordon, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2017
    • Rising Star: Dima Mazen Qato, Ph.D., PharmD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy,College of Pharmacy
    • Distinguished: Kimberly Lawless Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education
  • 2016
    • Rising Star: Susan Magasi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
    • Distinguished: Jamie F. Chriqui, Ph.D., MHS, Professor, Division of Health Policy and Administration and Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health
  • 2015
    • Rising Star:  Shannon Zenk, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Health Systems Science, College of Nursing
  • 2014
    • Rising Star:  Stewart Shankman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Psychology, Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Nik Theodore, Ph.D., Professor, Urban Planning and Policy, Urban Planning and Public Affairs
  • 2013
    • Rising Star:  Aria Razfar, Associate Professor, Curriculum & Instruction, Education.
    • Distinguished:  Lisa M. Powell, Professor, Health Policy and Administration, Public Health.
  • 2012
    • Rising Star:  Benjamin Michael Superfine, Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies, Education
    • Distinguished: Maria Varelas, Professor of Science Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Education
  • 2011 – Dr. Susan Hughes, Professor, Community Health Sciences
  • 2010 – Brian Bauer, Professor, Anthropology, Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2009 – Dr. Timothy Shanahan, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Director, Center for Literacy
  • 2008 – Dr. Frank J. Chaloupka, Distinguished Professor, Economics, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Institute of Health Research & Policy

Humanities, Arts, Design and Architecture

  • 2023
    • Rising Star: Adam Goodman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Latin American & Latino Studies and History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Christina Pugh, Ph.D., M.F.A., Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2022
    • Rising Star: Ronak K. Kapadia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Gender & Women’s Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Mark Canuel, Ph.D., Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2019
    • Rising Star: Elizabeth S. Todd-Breland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished: Clare Lyster, MArch., Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Design and the Arts
  • 2018
    • Rising Star: Yann Robert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, French and Francophone Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
    • Distinguished: Jennifer Brier, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Gender and Women’s Studies Program, Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • 2017
    • Distinguished: Lennard Davis, Ph.D, Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • 2016
    • Rising Star: Omur Harmansah, Associate Professor of Art History, School of Art and Art History
  • 2015
    • Rising Star: Alexander Eisenschmidt, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Architecture, College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts
    • Distinguished:  Jennifer Reeder, Associate Professor, Art, College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts
  • 2014
    • Rising Star: Roger Reeves, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, English, Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Deborah Stratman, Associate Professor, Art, Architecture, Design, and the Arts
  • 2013
    • Rising Star: Esra Akcan, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Art History, Architecture, Design and the Arts.
    • Distinguished:  Samuel Fleischacker, Professor, Philosophy, Liberal Arts and Sciences.
  • 2012
    • Rising Star: Rachel Havrelock, Associate Professor, English and Jewish Studies Program, Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Distinguished:  Leon Fink, UIC Distinguished Professor, History, Liberal Arts & Sciences

Team Award

Faculty Mentor of the Year

  • 2023
    • Todd A. Lee, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes & Policy, College of Pharmacy

Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year

  • 2023
    • Zeenat Farooq, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine