2022-2023 UIC Research and Scholarship Annual Award Competition

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Winners of the 2022 Researcher and Scholar of the Year Awards! Heading link

We are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2022 Researcher and Scholar of the Year Awards!

Last fall, nominations were solicited to honor a Distinguished Researcher/Scholar and Rising Star in each of five categories. After careful review of the candidates’ contributions and achievements, the following individuals were selected for awards. OVCR proudly recognizes the accomplishments of these faculty and wishes them continued success in their endeavors! Congratulations!

Clinical Sciences

Rising Star

Zackery Bulman, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy

Asfar Naqvi, Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry and Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine

Distinguished Researcher

Krista Varady, Professor, Department of Kinesiology & Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences

Basic Life Sciences

Rising Star

Yu (Tom) Gao, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy

Distinguished Researcher

Yulia Komarova, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Regenerative Medicine, College of Medicine

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Rising Star

Yayue Pan, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Ian Tobasco, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Distinguished Researcher

Eben Alsberg, Richard and Loan Hill Chair, Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine

Social Sciences

Rising Star

Jennifer A. Jones, Associate Professor, Departments of Sociology and Latin American & Latino Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Distinguished Researcher

Alexandra Filindra, Departments of Political Science and Psychology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Humanities, Arts, Design, and Architecture

Rising Star

Ronak K. Kapadia, Associate Professor, Department of Gender & Women’s Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Distinguished Scholar

Mark Canuel, Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Overview of the competition Heading link

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.

Note: The nomination must be submitted through the OVCR online portal.

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  • Nominations: January 9, 2023, 11:59 PM Central Time
  • Letters of support: January 23, 2023, 11:59 PM Central Time
  • Awards announced: March, 2023
  • Award celebration: April, 2023

Nominee eligibility

  • All faculty (i.e. tenured, tenure-track, research-track, clinical-track, including research assistant professors) with a full-time appointment at UIC may be nominated for any category of award pending additional criteria below.
  • All UIC nominees must have been at UIC for at least the past 3 consecutive years as of the nomination deadline date.
  • In exceptional cases, two investigators from the same college may be co-nominated and will each be evaluated for the appropriate award (Rising Star or Distinguished Researcher/Scholar) based on career stage.

Nominator eligibility

Nominations can be submitted by anyone from the UIC community who is knowledgeable about a successful UIC researcher/scholar. Although self-nominations are accepted, reviewers tend to view these as less compelling than those submitted by an enthusiastic colleague.

 

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.

Rising Star nominees must be within 12 years of their terminal degree (no earlier than 2010), with at least the last 3 years at UIC.

Note: eligibility for Rising Star has previously been 10 years from terminal degree. This year the eligibility is extended to 12 years to compensate for the 2-year COVID hiatus in the program.

Distinguished Researcher/Scholar nominees will be evaluated on their full body of work, with emphasis placed on significant contributions made over the past 3 years.

All documents will be uploaded in the nomination portal. Nominators will be asked to submit the names and contact information for two references who will be asked to provide 2-page letters of support. Research Development will handle these requests, but we strongly encourage nominators to confirm that references are willing to provide letters by the January 16, 2023 deadline.

Application checklist:

  • Cover form — enter information directly in the nomination portal
  • Narrative statement (2 pages) — upload document in nomination portal
  • Nominee’s CV (5 pages) — upload document in nomination portal
  • Letter of support 1 (2 pages) — provide writer’s contact info in nomination portal
  • Letter of support 2 (2 pages) — provide writer’s contact info in nomination portal
  • Optional supporting materials (5 pages) — upload document in nomination portal

 

  • Submit a nomination letter, nominee’s CV, optional other supporting documents, and names of two references for letters of support by January 9, 2023
  • Letters of support (internal or external to UIC) due by January 23, 2023

Apply here.

airplane against moon backdrop

The Vice Chancellor for Research cordially invites all Distinguished Researchers and Scholars and Rising Star Awardees to attend a celebration in their honor at the Field Museum of Natural History.

 

 

 

Date and details forthcoming.

Office of Research Development Heading link

1737 W. Polk St., AOB 310, MC 672, Chicago, Illinois 60612