Honors, awards and achievements …

Bright minds

Dr. Dominick Angiolillo

Dr. Marco Pahor

Two UF Health researchers have been named to Thomson Reuters’“The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds: 2014” list for their work in the fields of clinical medicine and social sciences. Analysts at Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch, an online resource for science metrics and research performance analysis, ranked the top 1 percent of the scientists around the world whose scholarly papers were among the most cited by other researchers during 2002-2012.

Dominick Angiolillo, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine and medical director of cardiovascular research at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville, and Marco Pahor, M.D., chair of aging and geriatric research in the UF College of Medicine and director of the UF Institute on Aging, were among the 3,200 individuals to be recognized around the globe.

Angiolillo’s research includes studies on coronary artery disease and antiplatelet medications, which prevent blood clot formation. In 2013, this work earned him an Outstanding Achievement Award from the European Society of Cardiology, the largest cardiovascular society in the world.

Recently, Pahor served as principal investigator of a multicenter study that received national attention when it was published in May. The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Study showed that daily moderate physical activity helps seniors maintain their ability to walk at a higher rate than older adults who did not exercise. ‑— Marilee Griffin

Top 10 experts

Two College of Medicine faculty members have been named among the top 10 Type 1 diabetes researchers in the world by the online database Expertscape, a health care information website that allows patients to search for health care professionals by rank. Mark Atkinson, Ph.D., a professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine, and Desmond Schatz, M.D., a professor of pediatrics, were ranked in the top 10 of the website’s assessment of worldwide experts. In a ranked list identifying the 60 Type 1 diabetes experts, Atkinson is listed as second in the world and Schatz is listed as seventh. Additionally, UF was ranked as the fifth top institution for Type 1 diabetes research. — Morgan Sherburne

Dentistry

Abi Adewumi, B.D.S., FDSRCS (Eng), M.Ped., DentRSC (Eng), has been appointed residency program director for the department of pediatric dentistry. She also received the 2014 National Dental Association Foundation/Colgate-Palmolive Faculty Recognition Award, which recognizes dental faculty who demonstrate excellence in professional development and a willingness to support and help others. 

Kathleen Neiva, D.D.S., Ph.D., received the Endodontic Educator Fellowship Award, one of the most prestigious awards for educators from the Foundation of the American Association of Endodontists. Neiva joined UF in 2010 and is a clinical assistant professor in the department of endodontics.

Nursing

Saun-Joo Yoon, Ph.D., R.N., an associate professor of nursing, has received a UF Research Opportunity Seed Fund award, which supports new interdisciplinary research with the potential for extramural support.  Working with colleagues from the colleges of Medicine, Public Health and Health Professions, and Pharmacy, Yoon will study the impact of mechanism-based acupuncture intervention to counteract weight loss in gastrointestinal cancer patients with cachexia, a wasting syndrome characterized by involuntary weight and muscle loss that cannot be reversed nutritionally. 

The College of Nursing has once again received an educational development grant from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare to give one doctoral student a $10,000 scholarship. Faculty members in the college selected doctoral student Rachel Hunt, R.N., to receive the 2014-2016 scholarship. Hunt’s research interests include improving the quality of life in patients with renal insufficiency and renal failure through education and diet management. 

Pharmacy

W. Thomas Smith, Pharm.D., J.D., a clinical associate professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy, has been appointed as the director of the co-curriculum, which is focused on advancing the development of professional attitudes and behaviors in all students. He will provide oversight in the development, ongoing delivery and continuous quality improvement of the co-curriculum. 

Katie Vogel Anderson, Pharm.D., a clinical assistant professor in pharmacotherapy and translational research, has been elected the 2014-15 president-elect of the  Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists. In her nomination statement, she urged a united effort for advocacy of the pharmacy profession as a whole and in Florida. After serving this year as president-elect, she will be sworn in as president at the 2015 annual meeting. 

Public Health and Health Professions

Sarah Bauer, a doctoral student in health services research, and Jessie King, a public health doctoral student in social and behavioral science, each received a Student Incentive Award from the American Public Health Association Disability Section Executive Committee. The award is given in recognition of the students’ research abstracts submitted for the association’s 2014 annual meeting. Bauer and King’s abstracts were rated by external reviewers as two of the top three student proposals submitted.

Mark Hart, Ed.D., a research assistant scientist and instructional designer in the department of behavioral science and community health, received the Best Paper Award at the Annual Society for Informational Technology and Teacher Education conference. His paper described how instructors could use a pre-course technology, or TPACK, survey to assess student’s technology skills and capabilities and then use the findings to mold course curriculum.

Jacob Jones, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, is one of two students nationwide to receive the 2014 Benton-Meier Neuropsychology Scholarship from the American Psychological Foundation. The annual award recognizes students involved in innovative neuropsychology doctoral research. Jones’ research has focused on cognitive and emotional consequences of Parkinson’s disease under the mentorship of Dawn Bowers, Ph.D., a professor in the department of clinical and health psychology. Jones is one of 13 UF clinical psychology doctoral students who have received the Benton-Meier Neuropsychology Scholarship since its inception in 2001.

Arch G. Mainous III, Ph.D., the chair of the department of health services research, management and policy, has been named to a three-year term on the editorial advisory board of BMJ Open, the open-access sister journal of BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal). The journal considers papers that address patient outcomes or the practice and delivery of health care.