Cheers: November 2015

Cheers is a monthly listing of appointments, promotions, and honors and awards received by faculty and staff. Submissions can be emailed to hubatwork@jhu.edu.

Applied Physics Laboratory

Xiomara Calderón-Colón, Gina Marshall-Johnson, and Deanna Green received 2015 Women of Color Technology Awards during the 20th Annual Women of Color STEM Conference, held in October in Detroit, for their accomplishments in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Calderón-Colón, a senior materials scientist in the Research and Exploratory Development Department, works across several disciplines, including nanomaterials and biomaterials, spectroscopy, microscopy, and mechanical/optical/chemical characterization. She received the Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution, Industry.

Marshall-Johnson, an electrical engineer and program manager in the Asymmetric Operations Sector, received an Award for Technical Innovation, Industry. She manages APL Homeland Security–focused cybersecurity programs that address research and development, architecture, systems engineering, and test and evaluation.

Green, a senior software engineer, project manager, and section supervisor in the Force Projection Sector, received a Technology All-Star award. She develops software that provides graphical user interfaces, access to data, and real-time processing of high-capacity data sets. She applies her skills across multiple domains to support programs for the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

Ron Luman, chief of staff, was among seven distinguished alumni inducted into George Washington University's Engineering Hall of Fame on Oct. 22. Luman, who has significant experience in strategic planning and implementation, systems engineering, stochastic optimization, and strategic weapon systems technologies, was recognized for his technical leadership in undersea and missile guidance systems, ballistic missile defense, and intelligence systems architectures. He earned his doctor of science in systems engineering degree from GWU's School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1998.

Bayview Medical Center

Victoria Handa, a professor of gynecology and obstetrics, has been named director of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Bayview and deputy director of the department at the School of Medicine. An internationally recognized leader in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, she is also the director of the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Bloomberg School of Public Health

Ian Salas, a research economist at the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and an assistant scientist in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, has been awarded the 2015 Take Stock Hero Award from the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition in recognition of his pioneering research on stockouts of contraceptives. His work demonstrated that stockouts have led to increases in unintended pregnancies, especially among poor, rural, and low-educated women. He received the award in October in Oslo during the RHSC general membership meeting.

Kellogg Schwab, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and director of the JHU Water Institute, will hold a new professorship in water and public health that was established with a combination of a private donation, from William C. Clarke III, and state funding through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative. Schwab's research focuses on how pathogenic microorganisms spread in water, food, and the environment. Read more.

Amy Tsui, a senior scholar at the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, has been elected president of the Population Association of America. A former director of the Gates Institute, she is also a professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Bloomberg School, where the institute is based. PAA is a nonprofit, scientific, professional organization that promotes research on population issues; it has more than 3,000 members. Tsui will take on her new responsibilities with PAA Jan. 1.

Carey Business School

Phillip Phan has been appointed the first holder of the Decker Professorship in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, for a five-year term.

Scott Suozzi joined the school in September as associate dean for strategic initiatives.

Ken Yook, an associate professor in the practice track with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, and stock repurchases, won a 2015 Award for Excellence from Emerald Group Publishing for co-writing an article judged to be the best of 2014 in the journal Managerial Finance.

Centers and Affiliates

Young Mi Kim, a senior research and evaluation associate at Jhpiego, is the recipient of the 2015 Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award given by the American Evaluation Association. She is one of six individuals receiving awards from the 7,000-member organization for "cutting-edge evaluation and research initiatives that have influenced citizens around the world." Kim will be recognized at the AEA's annual luncheon ceremony, to be held Nov. 13 in Chicago.

The board of directors of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, has chosen Jhpiego as a co-recipient of the 2015 STTI Archon Award for its "phenomenal track record of promoting the health of women and their families" over four decades and in 155 countries and for recognizing "the value of integrated health care long before words like 'interprofessional' entered our vocabulary." Leslie Mancuso, president and CEO of Jhpiego, will accept the award Nov. 9 during the organization's biennial convention in Las Vegas.

Cross-Disciplinary

Peter Agre, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and in the School of Medicine's departments of Biological Chemistry and Medicine, and director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, was chosen to receive the George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation from CRDF Global. The award recognizes individuals and organizations for their critical work advancing international cooperation in science and technology. Agre will receive the award at the CRDF Global Annual Awards Gala, to be held Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C.

Mindi Levin, founder and director of SOURCE (Student Outreach Resource Center), the community engagement and service-learning center that serves the schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing, has won the Institutional Leadership Award from the Maryland-DC Campus Compact. The award honors one outstanding individual for significant contributions to the institutionalization of community engagement, by inspiring a vision for service on the campus, including involving faculty, students, and campus-community partnerships.

Cosmologist Alexander Szalay, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in the Krieger School's Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Whiting School's Department of Computer Science, was named the recipient of the 2015 IEEE Computer Society's Sidney Fernbach Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the application of high-performance computers using innovative approaches. Read more.

Johns Hopkins Medicine

The Office of Marketing and Communications has received a Public Relations Society of America National Capital Chapter's Thoth Award for excellence in crisis communications. The award recognizes the office's extensive team effort to describe Hopkins' preparations for responding to the 2014–15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and proactively address concerns raised by misinformation in the media.

Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Ludwig Brand has been appointed professor emeritus in the Department of Biology.

Nathan D.B. Connolly has been promoted to associate professor, with tenure, in the Department of History.

Benjamin H. Passey has been promoted to associate professor, with tenure, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

John K.H. Quah has been appointed professor, with tenure, in the Department of Economics, effective Jan. 1.

David L. Savitt has been appointed professor, with tenure, in the Department of Mathematics.

H. Alan Shapiro has been appointed W.H. Collins Vickers Professor of Archaeology Emeritus in the Department of Archaeology.

Judith R. Walkowitz has been appointed professor emerita, in the Department of History.

Bernadette Wegenstein has been appointed professor of media studies, with tenure, in the Department of German and Romance Languages and Literatures, effective Jan. 1.

Peabody Institute

A work by Judah Adashi, a faculty member in the Composition and Music Theory departments, premiered as part of the American Composers Orchestra's SONiC Festival, held Oct. 15–23 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Caroline Shaw performed Adashi's Sestina with the orchestra in Zankel Hall at the festival's closing concert, "Orchestra Underground: 21st Firsts," featuring five world premieres by composers under 40.

Senior Ji Su Jung, percussion, won second prize in the PercussiveLinz International Marimba Competition at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Austria. Jung, who studies under faculty artist Robert van Sice, has performed as a soloist with the Oradea-Rumania, Eurasian Philharmonic, Gyeonggi State Philharmonic, and Suwon City Youth orchestras, as well as at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2013.

Dan Trahey, a Preparatory faculty member, has been chosen by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to help develop three youth orchestras and teach low brass while continuing his existing roles at Peabody and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's OrchKids program. The National Take a Stand Orchestras—sponsored by the Longy School of Music of Bard College and the Los Angeles Philharmonic—will involve students from underserved communities, with performances at Bard, the Aspen Music Festival, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Joshua Walden, a Musicology faculty member, received a 2015 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for his 2014 article "The 'Yidishe Paganini: Sholem Aleichem's Stempenyu, the Music of Yiddish Theatre, and the Character of the Shtetl Fiddler," published in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. The award recognizes outstanding print, broadcast, and new media coverage of music.

School of Education

Eric Rice, an assistant professor, received a Beacon of Light Award from the Baltimore Teacher Network at a gala held in October at the National Aquarium. The event was a benefit for the new Young Scholars in Service after-school enrichment program, which combines academic work with community volunteering and a research-based curriculum with arts programming. Rice's award was one of three presented in recognition of the recipients' advocacy for teacher voice, equality in education and increased funding of schools, positive media reporting of student issues, and education support through community partnerships.

School of Medicine

Michael Amey, who oversees research administration, has been promoted to senior associate dean.

Seth Blackshaw has been promoted to professor of neuroscience.

Peter Calabrese, a professor of neurology and director of the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center, was part of the three-member team selected to receive the 2015 Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research awarded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The prize recognizes innovation and originality in MS research, with emphasis on the potential to lead to treatments and a cure for the disease. For close to 10 years, the team has investigated the anatomy of the eye in people with MS.

Hal Dietz, a professor in the departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Molecular Biology and Genetics, and director of the William S. Smilow Center for Marfan Syndrome Research, will hold the Reta Honey-Hiers Professorship for Tarlov Cyst Disease, established with a combination of a private donation, from Mary Ellen Pease and Charles Scheeler, and state funding through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative. Read more.

James Erickson, executive director of finance, has been promoted to senior associate dean.

John Flynn has been appointed to the John A. Flynn Professorship, in the Department of Medicine, effective Jan. 1.

Mary Foy has been promoted to senior associate dean and registrar.

Elisabeth Glowatzki has been promoted to professor of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, with a secondary appointment in Neuroscience.

Angela S. Guarda has been appointed the first holder of the Stephen and Jeanne Robinson Professorship for Eating Disorders, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Ralph H. Hruban has been appointed to the Baxley Professorship, and as director of the Department of Pathology.

Kay Redfield Jamison is the co-recipient of the 2015 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the National Academy of Medicine. She was honored for her major insights into mood disorders and suicide, as described in her award-winning books.

Kenneth W. Kinzler, co-director of the Ludwig Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, is one of 80 new members elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Read more.

Alex Kolodkin has been appointed the first holder of the Charles J. Homcy, M.D./Simeon G. Margolis, M.D., Ph.D., Endowed Professorship.

Daniel A. Laheru has been promoted to professor of oncology.

Mark J. Levis has been promoted to professor of oncology.

Katarzyna J. Macura has been promoted to professor of radiology, with secondary appointments in Oncology and Urology.

Martin Markary, a professor of surgery, has been honored by the National Pancreas Foundation with its 2015 Nobility in Science award, which recognizes one individual each year who has made outstanding achievements in the areas of pancreatic research and treatment. Makary's work focuses on medical quality, patient safety, and disparities in health care. He accepted the award Oct. 24 at the foundation's annual Night at the Newseum gala in Washington, D.C.

Brian Matlaga has been appointed the first holder of the Stephens Professorship at the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute.

Justin McArthur has been appointed to the John W. Griffin Professorship in Neurology, effective July 1, 2016.

Claude Migeon, a professor of pediatrics, received the International Award from the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology. He was honored for excellence in pediatric endocrinology and as one of the most outstanding scientists in the field. He is a leading researcher in the study and care of patients with abnormalities of sex differentiation and congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and he continues to study the long-term outcomes of individuals with these disorders. The award was announced in October at the 54th ESPE Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

Kunal Parikh, a biomedical engineering doctoral student, received a Roche/ARCS Scholar Award from the National Academy of Sciences. The three-year award, funded by the Roche and ARCS foundations, grants nonrestricted funds to support the next generation of life sciences students. Parikh's research focuses on developing technologies that improve the delivery of vaccines and medicine in the body. Of 36 national Roche/ARCS Scholars, Parikh is one of two chosen to attend the highly selective Roche Pharma Research and Early Development symposium, "Increasing Drug Development Success: Understanding Drug-Disease Interactions Through Quantitative Systems Pharmacology," to be held in November in New York City.

Michael J. Polydefkis has been promoted to professor of neurology.

James H. Segars Jr. has been named the first holder of the Howard W. Jones, Jr. and Georgeanna Jones Chair in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Gwenn S. Smith has been appointed to the Richman Family Professorship for Alzheimer's and Related Diseases.

Jean-Paul Wolinsky has been appointed professor of neurosurgery, with a secondary appointment in Oncology.

School of Nursing

Jeanne Alhusen, an assistant professor in Community-Public Health, has received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Didactic Novice Faculty Teaching Award.

Jason Farley, an associate professor in Community-Public Health and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, began his new role as president of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care at the organization's annual conference in October. His work at the school includes an initiative he led last year, supported by a $1.5 million grant, to launch a new HIV curriculum that gives students more time in clinical placement and sensitivity training to challenge preconceptions they might have about patients living with or at risk for HIV. Globally, he works as an epidemiologist in South Africa addressing the high prevalence of HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis co-infection.

Fannie Gaston-Johansson, a professor emerita in Acute and Chronic Care and a University Distinguished Professor, has received the honor of Living Legend, the highest distinction of the American Academy of Nursing. She is known for a broad range of work, including research on the aftereffects of breast cancer treatment on African-American women and end-of-life and pain-management issues. Read more.

Laura Gitlin, an applied research sociologist and professor in Community-Public Health and director of the school's Center for Innovative Care in Aging, was named an honorary fellow by the American Academy of Nursing. Gitlin, who is not a nurse, has led advancements in caring for older adults through her work on aging in place, with minority populations with depressive symptoms, and in dementia care. She also has been invited by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to serve as a member of the HHS Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services.

Nancy Glass, associate dean for research, has been awarded the Edith Moore Copeland Award for Excellence in Creativity, one of seven prestigious Founders Awards presented biennially by Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing. She will be recognized at STTI's 43rd Biennial Convention in November in Las Vegas.

Martha Hill, dean emerita and a professor in Acute and Chronic Care, has been selected by the board of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, as co-recipient of the Lucie S. Kelly Mentor Award in recognition of her influence on the lives and careers of countless nurses.

Sharon Kozachik, an assistant professor in Acute and Chronic Care, will be inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She studies the mechanisms of pain and sleep disturbance, especially among those undergoing chemotherapy. Another focus is health disparities, and she works to provide resources for urban African-Americans and other vulnerable groups undergoing cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Shawna Mudd, an assistant professor in Acute and Chronic Care, received the 2015 Outstanding Nurse Educator Award from the Maryland Nurses Association.

Marie Nolan, executive vice dean for academic affairs and a professor in Acute and Chronic Care, received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Excellence Award.

Tammy Slater, a clinical instructor, received the 2015 Outstanding Advanced Practice Clinical Award from the Maryland Nurses Association.

Sarah Szanton, an associate professor in Community-Public Health and director of the school's PhD program, received a new designation as an American Academy of Nursing "Emerging Edge Runner."

Elizabeth Tanner, an associate professor in Community-Public Health, received the National Gerontological Association's 2015 Distinguished Nurse Educator Award.

Jennifer Wenzel, an associate professor in Acute and Chronic Care, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her research integrates her oncology and case management clinical backgrounds, her interest in health disparities, and her educational focus on health services.

Sheridan Libraries and University Museums

Earle Havens, curator of books at the Sheridan Libraries, has been appointed the first holder of the Nancy H. Hall Curatorship of Rare Books and Manuscripts, effective Jan. 1.

University Administration

President Ronald J. Daniels is one of four university presidents chosen by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to receive its 2015 Academic Leadership Award, given biennially in recognition of exceptional leadership in higher education. The honor includes a $500,000 grant to each of the winners' institutions to be spent at the honorees' discretion to promote their academic priorities. Read more.

Whiting School of Engineering

Randal Burns has been promoted to professor, with tenure, in the Department of Computer Science.

Gregory Chirikjian, a professor in Mechanical Engineering, is a co-winner of the 2014 IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering Best Paper Award, which he received at the IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering. The paper, co-authored by Wooram Park, a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, is titled "An Assembly Automation Approach to Alignment of Noncircular Projections in Electron Microscopy." Winners are selected on the basis of technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, clarity of presentation, and practical significance for applications.

Mounya Elhilali, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been named the Charles Renn Faculty Scholar, which provides five years of support to young faculty while they are building their research program. Elhilali, who is affiliated with the Center for Language and Speech Processing and who directs the Laboratory for Computational Audio Perception, researches the neural and computational bases of sound and speech perception in complex acoustic environments. The award is sponsored by Whiting School Advisory Board member George Sykes '91 and his wife, Elsa, to honor Elsa's grandfather, Charles Renn, a faculty member from 1946 to 1970 in the Department of Sanitary Engineering, later renamed the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering.

Nassir Navab, a professor in the Department of Computer Science, has won the 10 Years Lasting Impact Award at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. He was honored for overall contributions to augmented reality, with a particular focus on medical augmented reality.

Sean X. Sun has been promoted to professor, with tenure, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.