Distinctions

October 2017 Distinctions

College of Medicine

Lindsay Thompson, M.D., FAAP, an assistant professor of pediatrics and health policy, has received the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2017 Council on Community Pediatrics Local Hero Award. This award recognizes pediatricians for outstanding community action and advocacy for children in local communities. She received the award at a ceremony in Chicago.

Irene Malaty, M.D., has been named president of the Florida Society of Neurology. Malaty, an associate professor in UF’s department of neurology, will become the first female president of the 50-year-old statewide organization, which has 338 members.

College of Nursing

Jennifer Elder, Ph.D., R.N., has received a Tier III Pipeline to Proposal award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, or PCORI, to build collaborations that further autism research for underserved families. Tier III awards fund the development of high-quality research proposals that can be submitted for PCORI funding.

Cassandre Jean-Antoine and Christina Jones, students in the Ph.D. program, have earned national scholarships. Jean-Antoine received the National Black Nurses Association’s Lynn Edwards Research Scholarship. The $15,000 scholarship is based on scholastic achievement and leadership for those pursuing a Ph.D. in nursing. Jones was selected to receive the 2017-2018 Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future-AACN Minority Nurse Faculty Scholarship. She will receive a $16,500 scholarship to further her studies of the role of nursing-implicit bias on racial and ethnic disparities in end-of-life decision making for terminally ill patients.

Stacia Hays, D.N.P., ARNP, a clinical assistant professor, has been selected to participate in the Florida Center for Nursing/Florida Action Coalition Board Service Initiative for Emerging Nurse Leaders. The purpose of the three-month training, supported by the Florida Blue Foundation, is to prepare nurse leaders to speak for the health needs of their communities.

Debra Lynch Kelly, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor, has been accepted as a full member of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Kelly is the only nurse who holds full status in this prestigious professional organization of over 2,200 members. Her primary focus of research is in the area of biobehavioral responses to distressing symptoms of chronic illness, with a population focus in oncology.

Lisa Scarton, Ph.D., R.N., a postdoctoral associate, was selected by the National Institutes of Health Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity to participate in the NIH Future Research Leaders Conference. Scarton works with mentors CON Endowed Professor Diana Wilkie and UF College of Medicine faculty member Mark Atkinson, director of the UF Diabetes Institute.

College of Pharmacy

Michelle Farland, Pharm.D., a clinical associate professor and the college’s director of the personal and professional development curriculum, has won the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Emerging Teaching Scholars Award. The honor recognizes academic pharmacy faculty who excel at engaging in scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Farland’s portfolio highlighted two published works that together have been cited by more than 80 publications.

Lance R. McMahon, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacodynamics, has been named the chair of the department of pharmacodynamics. McMahon’s research focuses on behavioral approaches to identify and understand the mechanisms underlying drug abuse and dependence. He will lead the recruitment of faculty and expand the department’s research vision for understanding mechanisms of disease and developing new therapeutics.

Shannon Lyons, a third-year Pharm.D. student at the Gainesville campus, has been appointed a member-at-large to the 2018 American College of Clinical Pharmacy, or ACCP, National Student Network Advisory Committee. Members of the committee represent student pharmacists across the country and have an integral role in the development of new programs and services for student members. Lyons’ goal is to increase ACCP’s presence on social media and create a space where ACCP student chapters can connect.

College of Public Health and Health Professions

Mark Bishop, Ph.D., P.T., an associate professor in the department of physical therapy, is the 2017 recipient of the Florida Physical Therapy Association’s Award for Scholarly Impact on Practice. The award acknowledges and honors a physical therapist whose individual and/or collaborative scholarly activity has made a meaningful difference to clinical practice by physical therapists in Florida.

Gloria Miller, Ph.D., P.T., N.C.S., a clinical assistant professor and curriculum coordinator, received the 2017 Florida Physical Therapy Association’s Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching. The award recognizes a physical therapist who demonstrates exceptional teaching effectiveness and excellence as a role model in academic teaching for students, faculty and clinicians.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Juan Samper, D.V.M., Ph.D., has been appointed associate dean for students and instruction. In his new role, Samper will oversee instructional and other activities associated with the college’s professional D.V.M. program, along with college admissions.