Kudos March 2023
Celebrating Tufts Faculty and Staff
by: Sara Norberg
Kudos is a monthly submissions-based roundup celebrating university faculty and staff -- awards, honors, thought leadership, new arrivals, and more. Share your own great news or recognize a colleague at go.tufts.edu/kudos.
AS&E Shared: Molly Bruno, Operations Coordinator, Office for Campus Life
AS&E Shared: Theodore Ogaldez, Senior Academic Advisor, Office-Dean Undergraduate Ed
Advancement: Ingrid Cornetta, Alumni Relations Asst, UA-Alumni Relations
Arts and Sciences: Sivasubramanian Balasubramanian, Scientist III, Biology - A&S
Arts and Sciences: Maryanne Pasiewicz, Administrative Assistant, Psychology - A&S
Central - Others: Lisa Bishop, Executive Assistant, Investment Office
Central - Others: Norlyne Whitehead, Senior OHS Nurse Practitioner, Occupational Health
Central - Others: Kevin Chan, Post Award Financial Spec, Post Award Research Admin
Central - Others: Stephanie Santos, Strategic Sourcing Specialist, Procurement
Cummings: Sarah Harrington, Client Services Assistant, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Cummings: Benedict Rauschkolb, Vet Tech I, ECC, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Dental: Kacee Desrosiers, Insurance Coordinator, Clinic Billing Operations
Dental: Nancy Suter, Program Manager, Clinical Affairs - Dental
Dental: Skyler Magyar, Program Coordinator, Continuing Education - Dental
Dental: Khaled Asaad, Clinical Instructor, Pediatric Dentistry
Dental: Shanik Rivera, Sr Dental Assistant, Public Health & Comm Service
Dental: Jenise Martinez, Research Administrator I, Research Administration Dental
Dining: Marie Gedeon, General Assistant, Dewick Dining
Dining: Joseph Munoz, Food Delivery Worker, Faculty Center/Catering
Engineering: Artem Arkhangelskiy, Postdoctoral Scholar, Biomedical Engineering
Engineering: Angelica Carberry, Program Coordinator, Computer Science
Fletcher: Bronwyn Grover, Events Coordinator, Academic Support-Fletcher
HNRCA: Alya Abd Aziz, Sr Research Coordinator, Metabolic Research Unit-HNRC
HNRCA: Nichole Szatkowski, Staff Nurse, Metabolic Research Unit-HNRC
Medical: Faria Sultana, Postdoctoral Scholar, Biochemistry-Basic Sci/Medical
Medical: Sonya Greider, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Grant Myers, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Sara Cristello, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Kalik Skeete, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Michelle Perry, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Melissa Strzelinski, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Joseph Faia, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Valerie Ngai, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Jamie Terran, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Laura Flores, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Kristin Grimes, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Nicholas Sutton, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Theodore Gehrig, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Brittany Uhlenbrock, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Ochuko Ojameruaye, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: James Smoliga, Visiting Professor, DPT Seattle Program
Medical: Sivasangari Balakrishnan, Postdoctoral Scholar, Immunology
Medical: Mariela Coholan, Research Tech, Immunology
Medical: Christopher Singleton, Sr Research Technician, Immunology
Medical: Klemen Strle, Research Assistant Professor, Microbiology-Basic Sci/Medical
Medical: Navdeep Bajwa, Research Asst, Neuroscience-BasicSci/Medical
Medical: Yang Wang, Research Tech, Neuroscience-BasicSci/Medical
Medical: Olivia Shiffman, Student Health Administrator, Student Health
Operations: Kurt Osborn, HVAC Mechanic, Facilities Services - Grafton
Operations: Brendan Gelsinon, Residential Facilities Coord, Facilities Services - Medford
Operations: Michael Mullaney, Campus Security Officer I, Public Safety - Boston
Operations: Juan Moreno, Campus Security Officer I, Public Safety - Boston
Operations: Sang Nguyen, Campus Security Officer II, Public Safety - Medford
Operations: Nicholas Draper, Planner Project Manager, VP Operations Administration
Provost: Richard Cox, Head Athletic Trainer, Athletics
Provost: Sean Butler, Lab Animal Caretaker, CMS
Provost: Pramesh Singh, Data Scientist I, Data Intensive Study Center
Provost: Sylwia Kohut, Intl Student & Scholar Advisor, Provost's Office
Tisch: Lloyd Johnson, Lecturer, Tisch College
Tisch: Katherine Hilton, Research Analyst, Tisch College
Tufts Technology Services: Andrea Paynter, Principal Business Analyst, TTS
Tufts Technology Services: Carolyn Libby, Sr Data Analytics Engineer, TTS
Tufts Technology Services: Juston Espinoza, Sr Service Designer, TTS
University College: Tressa Janati, Associate Director, University College Administration
University College: Abigail Theirrien, Program Administrator, University College Administration
University Relations: Veneta Greenaway, Director of Acquisition Marketing, University Communicatoins and Marketing
Ayse Asatekin, associate professor and Steve and Kristen Remondi Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Alexei Degterev, associate professor in the Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology at Tufts School of Medicine; Philip Haydon, Annetta and Gustav Grisard Professor and Chair of Neuroscience at Tufts School of Medicine; Krishna Kumar, Robinson Professor of Chemistry at the School of Arts and Sciences; and Charles Shoemaker, professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, have been named as senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a prestigious recognition awarded to academic inventors who are rising leaders in their respective fields and who have produced technologies that have brought or aspire to bring a positive impact on society. Read more on Tufts Now.
Adrianne Gladden-Young, Ph.D. student in molecular microbiology at Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was chosen as an honorable mention for the Rising Black Scientists Awards, presented by Cell Press, Cell Signaling Technology, and the Elsevier Foundation. The winners and honorable mentions were chosen from a pool of over 300 applicants from across the life, physical, earth, environmental, health, and data sciences. Read Gladden-Young’s essay.
Jelena Golubovic, an SSHRC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Fletcher School, has won the 2022 Early Career Researcher prize by the Journal of Refugee Studies for her article “Beyond Agency as Good.”
Eric Grin and Julia Perugini, both A23, took first place in the Richard W. Vomacka Student Speaker Competition at the 30th annual National Collegiate EMS Foundation conference in Boston on February 25. Their winning presentation was titled “From Brugada Syndrome to Commotio Cordis: Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People.” Grin and Perugini are members of Tufts EMS (TEMS), a student-run volunteer EMS agency that has been providing 24/7 emergency medical care to Tufts campus since 1985. All TEMS members are Massachusetts-licensed emergency medical technicians.
David Kaplan, Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering, and Michael Levin, A92, Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology, have received $8 million from the latest fundraising round for their startup Morphoceuticals, which they founded in 2020 to advance technology for enabling people to regrow limbs lost as a result of trauma or disease. Read more in the Boston Globe.
Miriam McLean, director of development for university initiatives, has won the 2022-23 Opportunity and Inclusion Award from District I of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This recognition from the professional development organization of the advancement profession honors McLean’s leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the profession, on her campus, and/or within the surrounding community. McLean’s achievement will be recognized at the CASE District I and II Conference in New York, which begins March 12.
Joan Mecsas, professor of microbiology at Tufts School of Medicine, has been elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. The academy, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, recognizes excellence, originality, service, and leadership in the microbial sciences.
Ethan Murrow, professor of the practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, co-authored and co-illustrated the children’s book Zero Local: Next Stop: Kindness. It received a Massachusetts Book Award in the Picture Book/Early Readers Honors category in a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House. Read more on the SMFA website.
Karen Panetta, professor and dean of graduate education in the School of Engineering, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her trailblazing efforts in supporting women in STEM and her outstanding research contributions in the field of electrical and computer engineering. Election to the academy is one of the foremost professional distinctions in engineering. Read more about Panetta and her achievement on Tufts Now.
Samantha Parad, D21, assistant professor at Tufts School of Dental Medicine, was honored as a 2023 Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) 10 Under Ten recipient. The Massachusetts Dental Society 10 Under Ten awardees represent MDS member dentists who have been in the profession for 10 years or less and have made a significant contribution to the profession, their community, and/or organized dentistry.
Matthias Scheutz, Karol Family Applied Technology Professor of Computer Science, has been elected a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The AAAI’s Fellows program recognizes individuals who have made significant, sustained contributions—usually over at least a 10-year period—to the field of artificial intelligence. The AAAI notes that Scheutz has been recognized for his significant contributions to human-AI interaction and for service to the AI community.
Abiy Tasissa, assistant professor of mathematics, was honored by the organization Mathematically Gifted & Black as a Black History Month 2023 Honoree.
Alexia Berg, clinical assistant professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, shared advice with WCVB on how to keep pets safe during extreme cold temperatures.
Ruby Belle Booth, elections coordinator at Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tisch College, spoke about the views and engagement of young voters on WOSU’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher.”
Jennifer Burton, professor of practice in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, co-wrote the episode “Partners” for season two of the Netflix show Oddballs. Oddballs season two dropped on February 24.
Shira Doron, associate professor of medicine, co-wrote an op-ed for The Hill titled “Why misleading COVID-19 hospitalization data shouldn’t influence local policy decisions.”
Rose Facchini, lecturer in the Department of Romance Studies, published her translations of Diego Lama’s stories Rebecca and God Is Slow in West Branch, a magazine of poetry, fiction, essays, and reviews.
Paula Fagbule, F24, and Daniel Kibet, F23, wrote blog posts, “Why Is Climate Change More Drastic in African Countries?” and “Celebrating the Legacy of Black History Month,” respectively, for the CIERP and Climate Policy Lab Black Legacy Month blog series.
Catherine Freudenreich, professor and department chair of biology, coauthored an article titled “What repeat expansion disorders can teach us about the Central Dogma,” published in Molecular Cell.
Kelly Sims Gallagher, Fletcher School academic dean and professor of energy and environmental policy, spoke on the panel “Competition, Innovation and Industrial Policy for Sustainable Growth” at the OECD High-Level Symposium on Pro-Competitive Policies for a Sustainable Economy” and at the CFR Boston Roundtable on “Climate Change After COP27.”
Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tisch College, is quoted in the GBH News article “Should students on the Boston School Committee be allowed to vote?”
Kerri Greenidge, assistant professor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora and the Department of History, is serving on the new Boston Reparations Task Force, created to lead research on the historical impact of slavery in Boston and explore ways the city can provide reparative justice for Black residents. Over the next 18 months, task force members will convene and work on proposing recommendations to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for reparative solutions for the descendants of enslaved persons.
Daanika Gordon, assistant professor of sociology, and Tufts students Sophia Costa, A23, Lauren Pollak, A23, Nicole Setow, A23, and Olivia Ting, A23, published their study “Evaluating and Improving Department Racial Climate through Action Research” in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. The study describes a learning experience that utilized participatory action research to improve the racial climate of the Tufts Department of Sociology.
Eric Hines, professor of the practice and Kentaro Tsutsumi Faculty Fellow in civil and environmental engineering, and Babak Moaveni, professor of civil and environmental engineering, published their research “Structural instrumentation and monitoring of the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm” in Renewable Energy.
Abby Kiesa, deputy director of Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tisch College, spoke with WVPB on young people’s civic and political engagement, gaps in youth outreach, and what it’s going to take to ensure all youth have the information and access they need to vote.
Joshua Kritzer, professor of chemistry, has been awarded a five-year “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award” from the National Institute of Health. This award seeks to fund scientists’ entire research programs rather than individual projects and will fund all the ongoing biomedical research projects in Kritzer’s lab.
Niko Krivanek, graduate student in studio art at the SMFA at Tufts, was profiled in the Boston.com piece “Tufts student Niko Krivanek’s mother has been incarcerated for 19 years. His art connects them.”
Carol Kumamoto, professor of molecular biology and microbiology at Tufts School of Medicine, and Jesus Romo, postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology and microbiology at Tufts School of Medicine, coauthored the article “A frenemy fungus provides clues about a new deadly one” in The Conversation.
Susan Landau, professor in cybersecurity and policy at The Fletcher School and the School of Engineering, was interviewed in the Project Sustainability podcast episode “Securing Our Homes” about when to use a VPN, whose responsibility home security is, and what damage cyberattacks can cause in our homes.
Richard Lerner, Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development, has been re-appointed by the Pope to serve on the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life for a five-year term. Lerner will serve from March 1, 2023 through March 1, 2028.
Jonathan Lamontagne, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, co-wrote the Boston Globe op-ed “Massachusetts needs a coastal adaption agency.” The op-ed explores how Massachusetts communities can protect themselves amid threats of sea-level rise and coastal flooding.
Cheryl London, the Anne Engen and Dusty Professor of Comparative Oncology and associate dean for research and graduate education at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, was quoted in a recent WHDH article about her research and work treating canine bone cancer.
Adam Lowenstein, assistant professor of pediatric dentistry, and Carlos F. Mourao, assistant professor of periodontology at Tufts School of Dental Medicine, in collaboration with other researchers, published four studies: “Clinical Assessment of Biphasic Calcium Phosphate in Granules and Paste Forms in Human Maxillary Sinus Bone Augmentation: A Randomized, Split-Mouth Clinical Trial” in Materials; “Characterization and Applicability of a Bone Spheroid Model for the Evaluation of Cytocompatibility of Bone Substitutes” in Applied Sciences; “The Use of Alb-PRF as a ‘Drug Delivery’ System for the Treatment of Malignant Lesions” in Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia; and “RE: Platelet-Rich Fibrin Progressive Protocol: Third Generation of Blood Concentrates” in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Alice Isabella Sullivan, assistant professor of the history of art and architecture, recently won a RSA-Samuel H. Kress Publication Subvention for Art Historians from the Renaissance Society of America for her forthcoming monograph The Eclectic Visual Culture of Medieval Moldavia. She also is co-editor of the recently published book Natural Light in Medieval Churches.
Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School, published two op-ed articles in The Hill: “Disinformation amid the rubble in Syria” and “With the media in decline, will a memorial to fallen journalists help restore trust?”
Allen Taylor, senior scientist and director of the Nutrition and Vision Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts and professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, received a gift from the Macular Degeneration Research Foundation. Taylor will use the funds to advance human intervention trials of GLOVE (Glucose LOwering for Vision Extension). This clinical study will study ways that Taylor’s human epidemiologic studies and laboratory animals research can be translated into using diet to diminish risk of age-related macular degeneration.
Jonathan Wilson, professor emeritus of English, published The Red Balcony (Schocken Books) in February, a novel that explores the murder of Haim Arlosoroff, an influential leader who helped Jews emigrate to Palestine in the 1930s. In the summer of 1933, Arlosoroff was gunned down on a beach in Tel Aviv. Three people were arrested for the murder, but all were acquitted, and his murder remains unsolved to this day. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Joshua Cohen called The Red Balcony a “bright and fully ripened achievement” and Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans, called Wilson’s novel “a flat-out page-turner . . . one of the best books I’ve read in years.” Wilson is the author of eight previous books, including the soccer memoir Kick and Run.
Find past Kudos (formerly known as People Notes). Submit your own great news or recognize a colleague at go.tufts.edu/kudos.