Kudos July 2025
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.
Pilar Alcaide, assistant dean of faculty development and Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor at the School of Medicine, received the President’s Distinguished Lecture Award from the International Society of Heart Research.
Reagan Bushok, Ph.D. candidate at the School of Engineering, was selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. With this grant, Bushok will be able to advance understanding of endometriosis with an eye toward potential treatment.
Bess Dawson-Hughes, senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), was awarded the Frontiers in Science and Distinction in Endocrinology Award by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The award is the organization’s highest bestowed honor.
Shafiqul Islam, professor of civil and environmental engineering, was named a 2025–26 fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. During his fellowship, Islam will focus on engineering diplomacy, a framework bridging science, policy, and ethics to solve global problems. Islam also co-authored a letter in The Guardian, where he commented on tensions between India and Pakistan through the lens of engineering diplomacy.
Maurice Emmanuel Parent, professor of the practice of theatre, dance, and performance studies, was named the new artistic director of the Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theatre. Parent is a co-founder and current co-producing artistic director of the Front Porch Arts Collective and steps into the role of producing artistic director on July 1. The Front Porch Arts Collective play Next to Normal recently won an Outstanding Musical Award from the Boston Theater Critics’ Association as well as awards for Outstanding Lead Performer in a musical and Outstanding Featured Performer in a musical. Additionally, a review of Hello, Dolly!, a play Parent recently directed, was reviewed by the Boston Globe. Parent also collaborated with several Tufts students in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Her Portmanteau, as well as Hello, Dolly!, all of which received critical acclaim.
Greses Pérez, McDonnell Family Assistant Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is a 2025 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. The fellowship award of $70,000 is intended to assist with the fellow’s salary replacement and research expenses for the fellowship period. This year, the National Academy of Education selection committee, comprised of leading scholars in education research, selected 25 fellows from an extremely competitive pool of 270 education scholars. Pérez’s research project is titled “Thriving in Fogaraté: Engineering Ingenuity in Haitian-Dominican Communities.”
Kayla Roy, pre-college programs administrator and team lead in University College, was selected as the first poet laureate for North Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, assistant professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, received the Foundation for Child Development Young Scholars Award, which supports early-career scholars whose research aims to inform and to advance policy and practice to ensure that all young children, including those marginalized by racism, xenophobia, or economic inequality, can thrive. Salinas-Quiroz was also asked to participate as a senior leader for the Society for Research in Child Development’s “Chat with Leaders” event this May. In addition, they were elected as a commissioner for the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth and a board member for PFLAG National.
Caleb Scoville, assistant professor of sociology, won the 2025 Distinguished Article Award from the Animals and Society Section of the American Sociological Association for “How to divide people with things: division entrepreneurs, wedges, and the Delta Smelt controversy.”
Kristin Skrabut, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, won the Flora Tristán Best Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association, Peru Section, for her first monograph, Unruly Domestication. From the awards committee: “This book presents a rigorous and innovative case study of the urban area of Pachacutec in Lima, as well as a powerful indictment of state and international agencies’ technocratic, allegedly neutral, definitions of poverty.”
Enxhi Subashi, Karla Romo, and Jeries Kakish, all International Student Program students at the School of Dental Medicine, were awarded the inaugural Dr. Amit Sachdeo Award for Clinical Excellence and Community Service. Amit Sachdeo, associate professor in prosthodontics at the School of Dental Medicine, provided the initial donation for three scholarships. Beyond assisting with dental school expenses, the award highlights the importance of giving back, particularly to underserved communities. The recipients have made community service a core aspect of their careers.
A significant number of Class of 2025 graduates were inducted into the Honos Civicus Society for their service and civic leadership on campus and beyond during their time at Tufts.
Several Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine faculty and students were presented with 2025 Faculty and Student Awards at the annual Dean’s Dinner in May.
The following School of Dental Medicine post-graduate students received top prizes for their exceptional research projects: first place, Michele Bhagwagar, periodontology; second place, Ryan Kim, pediatrics; third place, Abdullatif Barahmah, oral medicine.
Several faculty were recognized by Tufts for excellence in research and teaching.
The Tufts University Athletics Department finished third in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings out of 323 participating NCAA Division III colleges and universities. This marks the 12th consecutive year the Jumbos have ranked in the top 10.
Wayne Altman, chair of family medicine at the School of Medicine, was featured on a 7 News Boston segment spotlighting the rise of direct primary care.
Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, assistant dean for diversity and inclusion and Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health at the School of Medicine, was interviewed for the Something Was Wrong podcast episode titled “Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice with Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Ph.D., Founder CBMHRJ.”
Jonah Bloch-Johnson, assistant professor of earth and climate sciences, organized a 100-hour livestream event to broadcast all the recent cuts to weather and climate research. This livestreamed event was covered by the New York Times.
Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at The Fletcher School, authored the Foreign Policy article “10 New AI Challenges—and How to Meet Them” and was featured in episode two of CNN’s United States of Scandal, which covers the Enron scandal of the early 2000s.
Jake Jinkun Chen, DI09, professor of periodontology and director of the Division of Oral Biology at the School of Dental Medicine, was senior author on a study that describes a new approach to dental implants that could better replicate how natural teeth feel and function. He, along with other researchers, authored a piece in Scientific Reports that shows early success with both a “smart” implant and a new gentler surgical technique in rodents. Research was also conducted by School of Dental Medicine faculty Qisheng Tu and Zoe Zhu, as well as postdoctoral scholars Siddhartha Das (lead author) and Subhashis Ghosh at Tufts University School of Medicine. Read more about the research on Tufts Now.
Cameron Conner, visiting professor of the practice at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, is published in both The Forge and The Fulcrum.
Lynn Cooper, Catholic chaplain and associate director or University Chaplaincy, authored a book entitled Embracing Our Time: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship. Cooper was a featured speaker with Auburn Theological Seminary's Heal the World Series.
Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School, was quoted in the Inter Press Service article titled “Civilians Face Humanitarian Disaster in Great Lakes, Horn of Africa Conflicts” and is featured in the CBC Front Burner segment “When hunger is a weapon.”
Daniel Drezner, Distinguished Professor of International Politics at The Fletcher School, wrote the World Politics Review article “Trump’s War on the ‘Deep State’ Will Hurt His Own Agenda” and spoke about the rifts that have formed in the relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk on BBC’s Newsday segment “Trump-Musk feud escalates.”
Heather Gardner, assistant professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, had her ongoing research featured as one of the American Journal of Veterinary Research spotlights. This article was authored by Alastair Cribb, dean of Cummings School.
Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA), is quoted in the Wall Street Journal on the taxable value of Boston’s commercial properties.
Ralph Isberg, Joan Mecsas, Bree Aldridge, all professors of microbiology at the School of Medicine, and fellow researchers from Tufts and other institutions including MIT and the Broad Institute, authored “Large-scale combination screens reveal small-molecule sensitization of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens” in PNAS. Read more about the research on the Broad Institute website.
Maulik Jagnani, assistant professor of environmental economics at The Fletcher School, co-authored the VoxDev article “Heat hurts teamwork before it slows individuals.”
Michael Klein, professor at The Fletcher School, was quoted in the South China Morning Post article “U.S. appeal court allows Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in effect.”
Krishna Kumar, Robinson Professor of Chemistry, led the team of researchers who designed a new next-generation compound with hopes that it could be more effective than current weight loss drugs with fewer side effects, which they report in a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Rean more about the research on Tufts Now.
Susan Landau, professor in cybersecurity and policy, was featured on BBC’s The Briefing Room. She and other guests discussed the threat of ransomware attacks on companies and organizations.
Brian Lin, research assistant professor in the Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, was the corresponding author on the study “Quiescent horizontal basal stem cells act as a niche for olfactory neurogenesis in a mouse 3D organoid model,” published alongside researchers from Tufts and other institutions in Cell Reports Methods. Read more about the research on the Tufts Solutions website and News Medical Life Sciences website.
Rayne Loder, clinical associate professor at the School of Medicine, along with colleagues from other institutions, authored the study titled “Gender Minority Physician Assistant/Associate Applicants and Likelihood of Matriculation: A Retrospective Analysis” that was recently published in the Journal of Physician Assistant Education.
Alberto Medina, senior communications specialist at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tisch College, commented in Bloomberg on the differing issues that young women and young men prioritize when voting.
Chris Miller, professor of international history at The Fletcher School, is quoted in the Politico article “Can defense become Europe’s economic growth machine?,” in The Hill article “Trump takes foot off ceasefire push in Russia-Ukraine war,” in the New York Times article “How the Maker of the ‘Most Complex Machine Humans Ever Created’ Is Navigating Trade Fights,” in the Politico article “The ‘Chip War’ under Trump,” and was recently interviewed for a recent episode of The Generalist podcast and authored the Financial Times article “Trump’s Middle East dealmaking could reshape the global AI race.”
Dariush Mozaffarian, dean emeritus of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and director of the Food is Medicine Institute, recently served as lead chair and author of a clinical advisory titled “Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity,” published across four peer-reviewed journals and issued by four leading organizations in lifestyle medicine, obesity medicine, and nutrition—the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and the Obesity Society. This consensus-based guidance, which includes an outline of eight key nutritional priorities to support patients on GLP-1 medications, reflects the top interdisciplinary recommendations to help clinicians support patients receiving GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity care with evidence-based nutritional and behavioral strategies. Read more about Mozaffarian’s work on Tufts Now.
Timothy Oh, externship site preceptor in the Department of Public Health and Community Service at the School of Dental Medicine and founder of Caring Hands of Maine Dental Center, led a clinic where Tufts dental students provided free dental care to rural Mainers without regular access to a dentist, which was covered in the Bangor Daily News.
Kenneth Pucker, professor of the practice at The Fletcher School, commented in a Sourcing Journal article on Shein’s sustainability goals.
Anna Sajina, associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics, and her colleagues authored “Halfway to the Peak: Ice Absorption Bands at z ≈ 0.5 with JWST MIRI/MRS” in the Astrophysical Journal. Read more about the research on Tufts Now.
Brian Schaffner, Newhouse Professor of Civic Studies at the School of Arts and Sciences, commented in Newsweek on Cooperative Election Study data examining how individuals with different political views rate their personal well-being.
Atul Sharma, research assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Nafize Ishtiaque Hossain, Ph.D. candidate at the School of Engineering, Ayanna Thomas, professor and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Sameer Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering, authored “Saliva-Sensing Dental Floss: An Innovative Tool for Assessing Stress via On-Demand Salivary Cortisol Measurement with Molecularly Imprinted Polymer and Thread Microfluidics Integration” in the journal ACS Applied Materials. Read more about the research on Tufts Now and Forbes.
Monica Duffy Toft, professor of international politics at The Fletcher School, was quoted in the New York Times article “Trump’s Vision: One World, Three Powers?” Toft was also interviewed for the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast episode “Musk’s Long Goodbye.”
Allen Wang, BFA26, student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, had a solo show, Silted Memories, on display at Massachusetts General Hospital in May.
Abiodun Williams, professor of the practice of international politics at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and The Fletcher School, delivered a public lecture on “Lessons in Leadership from the United Nations” at the University of Oxford.
Andrija Zekovic and An Há, students at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and alumni Miguel Caba, Michael Ilisoi, and Vivian Tran, had works featured in Tracing the Familiar, an installation at the 25/8 artspace in Cambridge, Massachusetts, guest-curated by alum Clarajames Daly.
Julie Zollmann, Digital Planet fellow at The Fletcher School, authored The Conversation article “Kenya’s ride-hailing drivers say their jobs offer dignity despite the challenges.”
Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health authored “Dietary Carbohydrate Intake, Carbohydrate Quality, and Healthy Aging in Women” in JAMA Network Open. Read more about the research on Tufts Now.
The new Tufts Epsilon Institute is featured in a recent Boston Globe article.
Ron I. Riesenburger was named chair of neurosurgery at the School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center. Riesenburger previously served as the interim chair of neurosurgery.
Margie Skeer was named permanent chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the School of Medicine. Skeer previously served as the interim chair of the department.