Kudos June 2023
Celebrating Tufts Faculty and Staff
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: Kaylen Dwyer, Asst Librarian Digital Scholar, Tisch Library
Arts and Sciences: Madeline Ditzler, Staff Assistant, Art Gallery
Arts and Sciences: Stefania Kapsetaki, Research Associate, Biology - A&S
Arts and Sciences: Elena Sergeeva, Scientist III, Biology - A&S
Arts and Sciences: Tracey Lawler, Administrative Assistant, EP Child Study & Human Dev
Arts and Sciences: Alexis Ralli, Postdoctoral Scholar, Physics & Astronomy - A&S
Central Administration: Samantha Yip, Bursar's Office Rep, Controller
Central Administration: Lori Burke, Sr Occupational Health Nurse, Occupational Health
Central Administration: Ioannis Genkos, Sr Budget Analyst, Office of Budget & Planning
Central Administration: Gustavo Ferreira, Post Award Financial Spec, Post Award Research Admin
Central Administration: Steven Jagielo, Director Procurement, Procurement
Central Administration: John Mccarthy, Manager Payroll Operations, Tufts Support Services
Cummings: Debra Larson, Central Sterilization Tech, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Cummings: April Burke, Client Liaison, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Cummings: Sarah Dicenzo, Pharmacy Tech, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Cummings: Emily Rosenberg, Veterinary Assistant, Foster Hosp - Cummings-Vet
Cummings: Charlotte Williamson, Program Assistant, Infec Disease&Global Hlth-Vet
Cummings: Caroline Studley, Animal Care Attendant, Large Animal Hosp-Cummings-Vet
Cummings: Michael Frappier, Animal Care Attendant, Large Animal Hosp-Cummings-Vet
Dental: Rachel Gilchrist, Administrative Coordinator, Administration - Dental
Dental: Jennifer Johnson, Insurance Coordinator, Clinic Billing Operations
Dental: Kanokwan Senviboon, Patient Financial Coordinator, Clinic Billing Operations
Dental: Calvin King, Health Info Coordinator, Clinic Registration - Dental
Dental: Rebecca Johnson, Research Asst, Periodontology - Dental
Dental: Madiha Taimoor, Assistant Professor, Public Health & Comm Service
Dental: Marcia Andrade, Lead Dental Assistant, Public Health & Comm Service
Dental: Sophen Joseph, Research Administrator I, Research Administration Dental
Dental: Alexander Zidonis, Research Coordinator, Research Administration Dental
Dental: Vanni Morello, Research Tech, Research Administration Dental
Dining: Ausberto Castro, Stock Control Clerk, Hodgdon Dining
Engineering: Matthew Lindley, Laboratory Manager, Biomedical Engineering
Engineering: Aelish Mcgivney, Research Tech, Biomedical Engineering
Engineering: Marissa Lee, Postdoctoral Scholar, CABCS
Engineering: Danilo Dos Santos, Postdoctoral Scholar, Electrical & Computer Engineer
Engineering: Morgan Dent, Marketing & Commun Specialist, Gordon Institute
Engineering: Simone Nicholson, Diversity Program Administrato, School of Engineering
Fletcher: Maxwell Bevilacqua, Lecturer, Instruction - Fletcher School
Friedman: Hung-Hsin Yang, Sr Research Administrator, Business Operations
Friedman: Lisanne Hann, Sr Recruiting & Marketing Spec, Communications
Friedman: Vincent Pecorelli, Project Administrator, Dariush Mozaffarian Research
Friedman: Shaelin Cullen, Project Coordinator, Patrick Webb Research
HNRCA: Ashley Thompson, Staff Nurse, Metabolic Research Unit-HNRC
HNRCA: Britania Morales Guerra, Specimen Processing Tech, Nutrition Evaluation Lab-HNRC
Medical: Dianne Whyte, Executive Assistant, Administration - Medical
Medical: Amanda Hyslop, Adjunct Assoc Prof, DPT Boston Program
Medical: Ashley Court, Adjunct Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Cheryl Newman, Adjunct Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Eric Bloom, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Katherine Lammers, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Sarah Williams, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Seth Hampton, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Kathleen Prenovost, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Samantha Cohen, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Regina Mccall, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Emmah Njuguna, Lab Instructor, DPT Phoenix Program
Medical: Ofelia Dockery, Research Administrator II, Dev, Mol & Chem Bio/Medical
Medical: Gregory Harrison, Postdoctoral Scholar, Microbiology-Basic Sci/Medical
Medical: Hope D'erasmo, Project Administrator, Microbiology-Basic Sci/Medical
Medical: Erin Ginn, Research Tech, Neuroscience-BasicSci/Medical
Medical: Kyoeun Keum, Sr Research Technician, Neuroscience-BasicSci/Medical
Medical: Dylan Stoesser, Student Wellness Coordinator, Student Wellness
Operations: Scott Stefanowski, HVAC Mechanic, Facilities Medford - Trades A
Operations: David Brissette, Maintenance Worker 1, Facilities Services - Boston
Operations: Christopher Pooley, Grounds Keeper, Facilities Services - Medford
Operations: Griffin Veldran, Asset Information Manager, Office of VP Operations
Provost: Paul Stone, Assistant Coach, Athletics
Provost: Taylor Dempsey, Assistant Coach Soccer, Athletics
Provost: Julia Weisz, Lab Animal Caretaker, CMS
Provost: Theodore Myatt, AVP Research Integrity, Office of the Vice Provost
Provost: Eric Rouse, Biosafety Level 3 Manager, Office of the Vice Provost
SMFA at Tufts: Alyssa Baker, Assoc Dean Student Affairs, SMFA at Tufts
TTS: Kira Novak, AV Services Campus Coordinator, Tufts Technology Services
TTS: Robert Oneil, VoIP Systems Technician, Tufts Technology Services
University Relations: Shawna Yen, Associate General Counsel, University Counsel
Haneen Abderrazzaq, A23, Hannah Magoon, E23, and six alumni were named National Science Foundation Fellows.
Safi Chalfin-Smith, A24, was selected to the 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll for advancing nonpartisan student voter registration, education, and turnout efforts.
Lenore Cowen, professor of computer science, has been named a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
Kathy Hu, F23, Shruti Rao, F23, Riya Mehta, F23, Sotiris Papadopoulos, F23, and Nino Sakvarelidze, F23, won The Wharton School’s 2023 Turner Impact Portfolio Challenge.
Sara Johnson, Evans Family Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, has been selected by the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement as a fellow for the 2023–2024 academic year.
Rachel Kanefsky, V24, became the first Cummings School student to earn a scholarship from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation. Read more about Kanefsky and this scholarship on the Cummings School website.
Nikayla Lampkins, MG23, customer support team lead for Tufts Auxiliary Services, was recognized with the 2023 New Professional Award at the annual NACCU conference.
Heather Nathans, dean of academic affairs and associate dean for diversity and inclusion, professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and Nathan and Alice Gantcher Professor in Judaic Studies, received the Lawrence J. Kanter Award for travel and research from the Southern Jewish Historical Society to support work on her current book project. Nathans was also recently inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. The college promotes and encourages the highest standards of research, writing, and creativity in educational and professional theater through honoring distinguished service and notable accomplishment by individuals of recognized national stature.
Srijith Rajeev, EG22, research assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will receive the Joseph P. Noonan Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in recognition of his outstanding research contributions made during his studies in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Jacob Rha, M23, was one of four Suffolk District Medical Society scholarship awardees.
Sameer Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering, School of Engineering students Ege Cogulu and Cihan Asci, and postdoctoral scholar Ruben Del Rio Ruiz won the MassRobotics Challenge. The team edged out MIT, WPI, Seoul National, and others for the $25K first prize with their microbiome sampling robotic pill. Read more about the project on the School of Engineering’s website.
Chris Tomo, A24, received a 2023 astronaut scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Astronaut Scholarships are awarded to students in their junior and senior year of college studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics with the intent to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree. Astronaut Scholars are among the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity, and excellence in their chosen field.
Howard Woolf, outgoing director of the Experimental College and an instructor in film and media studies, had his recent film, Dust, named an Official Selection of the Lonely Wolf International Film Festival, London, where it was nominated for Best Medium-Length Film, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. Dust, a narrative film about the 1970s, was also an Official Selection and Award Finalist at the Stockholm City Festival and an Official Selection of the Hollywood North International Film Festival (Toronto).
The Fletcher School won the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) 2023 Impact Award. The APSIA Awards is an annual recognition program that celebrates the hard work and innovation in the APSIA community. Each year, nominations are received from the institutions themselves as well as the broader community. The Impact Award celebrates an APSIA member or affiliate that has contributed to APSIA’s success across the organization over time and helped move the community forward.
The following faculty awards were presented to Arts, Sciences & Engineering faculty members:
The Faculty Research Awards Committee Distinguished Scholar Award
Misha Kilmer, Mathematics
The School of Engineering Seymour Simches Awards for Distinguished Teaching and Advising
Ron Lasser, Electrical and Computer Engineering
The Henry and Madeline Fischer Award
Jeff Hopwood, Electrical and Computer Engineering
The Lillian and Joseph Leibner Award
Samuel Sommers, Psychology
The Lerman-Neubauer Prize for Outstanding Teaching
Alex Blanchette, Anthropology
The Recognition of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
Daanika Gordon, Sociology
The Arts & Sciences Seymour Simches Award for Distinguished Teaching and Advising
Martha Pott, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development
The Faculty DEIJ Service Award
Ninian Stein, Environmental Studies
Gerald R. Gill Distinguished Service Award
Pearl Robinson, Political Science
The following 12 students from the Class of 2023 were named Senior Award recipients for academic achievement, campus and community participation, and outstanding leadership: Siwaar Abouhala, A23, Isabelle Charles, A23, Yenna Chu, A23, Zachary Ferretti, A23, Leslie Jaramillo Martinez, E23, Jaden Pena, A23, Kai Renshaw, A23, Mathilda Rigby, A23, Enrique Rodriguez, E23, BR Rose, A23, Maycon Cesar de Santos, A23, Beverly Udegbe, A23.
The 2023 Graduate Award winners were recently announced. The awards celebrate outstanding graduate student, faculty, and alumni achievement in areas such as academic performance, research, student leadership, community service and citizenship, and more.
Winners of this year’s $100k New Ventures Competition have been announced. Read about them and their projects on the Gordon Institute’s website.
Tufts University won a 2023 Loyal E. Horton Dining Award from the National Association of College & University Food Services. The university received gold in the “Residential Dining Concepts” category for the kosher vegan platform “Beans, Greens, and Grains.” The association said this year’s award recipients displayed exceptional dedication to innovation, quality, and culinary excellence, which has carried them to the top of their field.
Pilar Alcaide, assistant dean of faculty development and Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor of Immunology at the School of Medicine, co-authored “Long COVID and the cardiovascular system—elucidating causes and cellular mechanisms in order to develop targeted diagnostic and therapeutic strategies: a joint Scientific Statement of the ESC Working Groups on Cellular Biology of the Heart and Myocardial” in the journal Cardiovascular Research.
Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, assistant dean for diversity and inclusion, Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health, and associate professor of public health and community medicine, was an author on the study “Preconception and Perinatal Hospitalizations as Indicators of Risk for Severe Maternal Morbidity in Primiparas,” recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM. Amutah-Onukagha was also featured in a Blue Cross Blue Shield Q&A about her and the center’s efforts to eliminate maternal health inequities.
Helen Boucher, dean of the School of Medicine, is featured in the WCVB segment “What end of COVID-19 public health emergency changes” discussing changes when the COVID public health emergency ended on May 11. Boucher appeared on another WCVB segment explaining how public health officials are using wastewater to monitor for the highly contagious norovirus and how that information can be used to prevent outbreaks.
Benjamin Brimelow, F23, authored the recent Business Insider article “After a 35-year break, the U.S. Navy is building frigates again, and it has a lot of catching up to do.”
Sean Cash, Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition at the Friedman School, Dariush Mozaffarian, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School, and Jennifer Pomeranz authored a study published in The Milbank Quarterly, entitled “U.S. Policies That Define Foods for Junk Food Taxes, 1991–2021.” Read more about research into junk food on Tufts Now.
Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at The Fletcher School, provides insight on ChatGPT in this BBC podcast.
Steve Cicala, associate professor of economics, was recently quoted in a New York Times article about oil price caps.
Jenna Clark, program coordinator for the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at The Fletcher School, and Mieke van der Wansem, senior associate director of strategic initiatives, international training, and partnerships for CIERP, attended the Imagining 2040 scenario workshop in New York City. Clark and van der Wansem spoke at the workshop about potential future climate scenarios.
Ethan Danahy, research associate professor, and Paul Galvan, E26, both of Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, partnered with LEGO Education to design and build egg-decorating robots for the annual White House Egg Roll.
Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation and a research professor at The Fletcher School, spoke about how hard it is to end conflict in Sudan on a recent NPR podcast.
Rocco DiRico, executive director of government and community relations, was elected president of the Medford Chamber of Commerce.
Shira Doron, associate professor of medicine, was first author on research led by Tufts Medical Center finding that dexamethasone is a feasible and reliable tool for measuring COVID-19 hospitalization severity. Doron was also featured in a piece from NOVA talking about the dangers Candida auris poses to patients in hospitals.
Travis Franck, assistant research professor and climate modeling and policy director at the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School, presented to those in attendance at the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative on Climate Policy Lab Raising Ambition project.
Catherine H. Freudenreich, professor of biology, and her team of researchers (James Haber, Erica J. Polleys, Isabella Del Priore, A19) published “Structure-forming CAG/CTG repeats interfere with gap repair to cause repeat expansions and chromosome breaks” in Nature Communications. Read more about this research on Tufts Now.
Kelly Sims Gallagher, academic dean and professor of energy and environmental policy at The Fletcher School, attended the U.S.-India Track II Dialogue in Washington, D.C., where she presented on the current climate policies in the United States.
Andrew Greenburg, Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Professor of Metabolism and Nutrition at the Friedman School, and Dariush Mozaffarian, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School, offer their perspective in a Boston Globe article discussing weight-loss injections and obesity in the United States.
Justin Hollander, A96, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, was interviewed on NPR’s WGBH as part of a story on the redevelopment of mills, which is related to a recent book he co-authored, “Supporting Shrinkage: Better Planning and Decision-Making for Legacy Cities.” Hollander also recently authored the book entitled “The First City on Mars,” which received a very positive review in the journal Nature Astronomy. Read more about Hollander’s book on Tufts Now.
Rachel Kyte, dean of The Fletcher School, was interviewed for a recent New York Times article about climate change and the new World Bank president.
Keren Ladin, associate professor of community health, spoke to the LA Times about the challenges faced by those on the kidney transplant list.
Tristan Lajarrige and Sammy Polinsky, SMFA at Tufts students, are featured in the Boston Globe as two of six art-school stars to watch.
Susan Landau, professor in cybersecurity and policy at The Fletcher School and professor in the School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science, was featured on Maine Public Radio with her talk about cybersecurity in Ukraine, “The Reality of Cyberwar – in Ukraine and Elsewhere.”
Michael Levin, A92, Vannevar Bush Professor of biology, joined the Big Brains podcast to discuss how bioelectricity provides the instructions to regrow limbs and organs. Levin’s research is building the foundation for the future of regenerative medicine.
Alice Lichtenstein, Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at the Friedman School, is quoted in the New York Times article entitled “Secrets of a Healthy Breakfast.”
Bricker Like, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Engineering, Christina Uhlenbrock, E22, and GENELab principal investigator Matthew Panzer, dean of research at the School of Engineering and a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, authored the paper “A quantitative thermodynamic metric for identifying deep eutectic solvents” in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. Read more about the research on the School of Engineering’s website.
Adam Lowenstein, assistant professor of pediatric dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine, and Carlos Fernando De Almeida Barros Mourao, assistant professor of periodontology, collaborated with other researchers on three new publications: Standardization of Animal Models and Techniques for Platelet-Rich Fibrin Production: A Narrative Review and Guideline; Sublingual Hematoma Followed by Life-Threatening Airway Obstruction after Mandibular Dental Implant Placement; and Exploring the Extraoral Submandibular Extraction Technique for Impacted Teeth: A Clinical Case Report.
William Masters, professor at the Friedman School, joined the EconoFact Chats podcast episode “Causes and Consequences of Malnutrition Today.” Masters was also featured in the Marketplace episode “Grocery inflation cools while restaurant prices continue to rise.”
Melissa Mazan, professor and associate chair of clinical sciences at Cummings School, spoke with WalletHub just prior to the Kentucky Derby about the measures in place to protect the health of racehorses.
Scott D. McDonald, a Ph.D. student at The Fletcher School, wrote an article for The Conversation, entitled “Sunzi, ‘shì’ and strategy: How to read ‘Art of War’ the way its author intended.”
Peter Neumann, professor of medicine, co-authored the paper “Cost-effectiveness Thresholds Used by Study Authors, 1990–2021” in published in JAMA Network.
Soyoung Oh, junior research fellow in climate policy and Ph.D. student at The Fletcher School, wrote an article for The Conversation, entitled “What is carbon capture and storage? EPA’s new power plant standards proposal gives it a boost, but CCS is not a quick solution.”
Maurice Parent, professor of the practice in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, is also a member of the Front Porch Collective leadership team as co-producing artistic director. The Front Porch Collective has 30 nominations at this year’s Elliot Norton Awards (presented by the Boston Theater Critics Association), and Front Porch is represented in almost every category.
Clifford Rosen, professor of medicine, co-authored “Toward Comprehensive Care for Long Covid,” outlining the key features needed to combat long COVID, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Jugal Kishore Sahoo, research associate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Onur Hasturk, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Thomas Falcucci, EG23, and David Kaplan, Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering, authored the review “Silk chemistry and biomedical material designs” in the Nature Reviews Chemistry journal.
Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice in Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School, authored a recent article in the Miami Herald and two articles in The Hill about “America’s battle over gun rights” and George Santos and his recent criminal charges.
Chenchen Wang, research professor of medicine, and School of Medicine students Brigette Suerig and Samon Oomen-Lochtefeld co-wrote a paper on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Researchers at Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) authored “Immortalized Bovine Satellite Cells for Cultured Meat Applications” in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology. Read more about this research on Tufts Now.
Cummings School researchers authored the study “Evaluation of automated external defibrillator designed for people in dogs” in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. You can learn more about the research on the Cummings School website.
Friedman School researchers authored a study in the journal BMC Public Health: “Community coalition efforts to prevent childhood obesity: two-year results of the Shape Up Under 5 study.” Read more about their research on Tufts Now.
GSBS and Department of Biomedical Engineering researchers authored the study “Label-free, multi-parametric assessments of cell metabolism and matrix remodeling within human and early-stage murine osteoarthritic articular cartilage” in the journal Communications Biology.
The following faculty have been promoted to professor, effective July 1.
James Adler, Mathematics
Nancy Baker, Occupational Therapy
David Ekbladh, History
Silke Forbes, Economics
Eitan Hersh, Political Science
Richard Jankowsky, Music
Pearl Robinson, Political Science
The following faculty have been promoted to associate professor, effective July 1.
Brian Gravel, Education
Kerri Greenidge, Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora
Sara Johnson, Child Study and Human Development
Cynthia Kinnan, Economics
Melinda Latour, Music
Jill Weinberg, Sociology
Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, research associate professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department at the School of Medicine, was named permanent executive director of the Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI) at Tufts Medical Center.
Find past Kudos (formerly known as People Notes). Submit your own great news or recognize a colleague at go.tufts.edu/kudos.