The Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor’s office is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Third Annual RBHS Chancellor Awards. The RBHS Chancellor Awards were established to acknowledge the extraordinary work of our faculty and staff.
In addition to the high recognition, the awardees will be honored during a celebratory event to be held later this year.
A special thank you to all the nominators and those who participated on the committees to review the nominations. There were many highly qualified nominees for these recognitions, so the selection committees had a challenging task. It’s important to highlight that a nomination in and of itself is an important form of recognition by a co-worker, colleague, mentee, or unit director.
Please join us in congratulating the following honorees of 2022:
Basic Sciences Researcher Award
- Early Career
- Anna Konova (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University Behavioral Health Care, and Brain Health Institute), Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry: “For research on the cognitive mechanisms and neuroscience of human drug addiction to opioids.”
- Shuo Xiao (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology: “For the development of novel approaches to investigate female reproductive health and pathophysiology in response to drugs and toxicants.”
- Established Investigator
- Chaoyang Xue (New Jersey Medical School), Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics: “For innovative research in fungal infection pathogenesis, drug resistance, and protective immunity including the development of a promising vaccine against fungal disease.”
Clinical or Health Sciences Investigator Award
- Established Investigator
- Lawrence Kleinman (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Professor, Vice Chair for Academic Development, and Director, Division of Population Health, Quality, and Implementation Science, Department of Pediatrics: “For sustained research that continues to stimulate new ways of understanding health services, child health, and policy.”
- Weili Lu (School of Health Professions), Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions: “For research on trauma-informed care that is critical to improving clinical services for individuals with serious mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Distinguished Educator Award
- Liza Barbarello-Andrews (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Clinical Director, Simulation and Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration: “For leadership, mentorship, and transformative vision in simulation-enhanced learning and interprofessional education.”
- Diana Glendinning (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology: “For dedication to teaching innovations to educate physicians with excellent clinical reasoning and life-long learning skills.”
Distinguished Innovator Award
- Peter Lobel (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine), Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: “For groundbreaking translational research on lysosomal proteins and lysosomal storage diseases resulting in an FDA-approved therapy.”
Distinguished Mentor Award
- Lauren Aleksunes (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology: “For enthusiastic, dedicated, and unrelenting efforts in mentoring the next generation of toxicologists and clinician-scientists.”
- Cheryl Dreyfus (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology: “For being an inspiring mentor who has made a tremendous impact on the careers of many trainees and junior faculty.”
Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Nancy Cintron (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Associate Dean for Student Services and Director for the Educational Opportunity Fund, Office for Student Development/EOF: “For promoting and enacting diversity, equity, and inclusion principles at Rutgers University for 35 years.”
- Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins (School of Nursing), Associate Dean and Associate Professor, Center for Healthcare Quality, Division of Nursing Science: “For disparity-focused research and leadership that have made substantial contributions toward reducing disparities and creating inclusivity.”
- Kyle D. Warren (School of Nursing), Senior Vice Dean, Administration and Student Services: “For being a role model and champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and working tirelessly to promote inclusive culture.”
Community Service Award
- Wilson Ng (School of Nursing), Program Coordinator, Institutional Research and Sponsored Programs: “For giving unselfishly, and exemplifying the best in volunteerism by demonstrating a sense of care and responsibility for his community.”
Sustained Service Award
- Mojgan ‘Moj’ Bruzios (Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine), Pre-Award Manager: “For being an invaluable asset to CABM in ensuring effective essential grants support functions.”
- Lena Fullem (posthumously) (Brain Health Institute), Administrative Services Manager: “For providing extraordinary service to Rutgers for over 16 years and believing deeply in our mission.”
- Lauren Kelly (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Program Administrator, Department of Neurology: “For raising the team’s impact with her exceptional resourcefulness, professionalism, dedication, and positive outlook.”
- Joan Mordes (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Program Assistant, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology: “For being highly accomplished and committed to supporting students, faculty, and staff with a can-do and enthusiastic attitude.”
- Deborah A. Stalling (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Business Manager, Department of Chemical Biology: “For providing outstanding administrative leadership, personnel management, and mentoring at Rutgers for 47 years and counting.”
- Cynthia Washington (School of Dental Medicine), Registered Dental Assistant, Department of Orthodontics: “For decades of excellence as an RBHS clinical employee and an unwavering commitment to orthodontic patients, staff, faculty, and residents.”
Emerging Leader Award
- Lisa Mulé (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Director of Administration, Office of the Dean: “For organizational and leadership abilities in keeping the administrative functions of the school thriving, particularly in light of challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Leadership Award
- Vincent Nacco (School of Dental Medicine), Chief Financial Officer, Administration: “For visionary leadership that inspires and fosters teams by example that has benefited the RSDM community and beyond.”
Team Award
- The Department of Student Engagement at the School of Nursing
- Shakira Adams, Mehtap S. Ferrazzano, Laura Stone, Michael Varano (School of Nursing), Senior Student Program Coordinator; Assistant Dean for Student Engagement and Wellness; Senior Student Program Coordinator; Director of Student Engagement, respectively: “For always putting students first, including responding to wellness and mental health challenges experienced by nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic and helping them cope with multiple transitions during their college careers.”
- The New Brunswick Point of Dispensing Vaccine Clinic
- Leslie Barta, Donna Feudo, Nina Raps, Michala Rose, Parth Shah, Machelle Woolston (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Director of Simulation and COVID-19 Vaccination POD Manager; Associate Dean of Experiential Education Program and Adjunct Clinical Professor; COVID Vaccine Management Leader; Program Coordinator of Student – Rutgers Immunization Group; Assistant Point of Dispensing Manager; Covid Vaccine Clinic Clinical Lead, respectively: “For their contributions to provide interprofessional experiential learning while providing critical healthcare for the Rutgers community.”
- The Office of Research at the School of Public Health
- Amanda Allen, Morgan Pesanelli, Katherine Zapert (School of Public Health), Pre-Awards Grants Manager; Research Analyst; Assistant Dean of Research, respectively: “For being an efficient, effective, well-organized, nimble, unflappable, responsive, and ‘customer-friendly’ administrative team.”
Staff Mentoring Award
- Marsha Gordon (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Executive Director, RWJMS Center Advancing Research and Evaluation for Patient-Centered Care, and Administrator, Research Division, RWJMS Department of Family Medicine and Community Health: “For encouraging staff and students to leverage their strengths to lead change in their personal and professional lives.”
AND, TO CAP OFF ALL THE SPECIAL AWARDS:
Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award
- Debra Laskin (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Distinguished Professor and Roy A. Bowers Endowed Chair of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology: “For pioneering research on the role of inflammatory macrophages in tissue injury and chronic disease induced by drugs and chemicals.”
- Michael Lewis (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), University Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, and Director of the Institute for the Study of Child Development, Department of Pediatrics: “For pioneering research in the field of child development that continues to influence and shape thinking and practices.”