The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences has honored multiple professors, researchers, and research staff members with named scholar positions and research awards in recognition of their contributions to education and learning at the University of Illinois.
Congratulations to the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology faculty who were among this year's recipients!
The awards include the LAS Interdisciplinary Research Award and the LAS Emerging Scholar Award. The named scholar positions include the Conrad Professorial Scholars and the Lincoln Excellence for Assistant Professors (LEAP) Scholars. The awardees are as follows:
LAS Interdisciplinary Research Award
The LAS Interdisciplinary Research Award recognizes faculty members or research teams who engage in substantial interdisciplinary work, integrating theories, methods, or analytical approaches from two or more LAS disciplines. Awarded projects demonstrate effectiveness, innovation, or meaningful impact through cross‐disciplinary collaboration.
The recipients are Pamela Martinez, professor of microbiology and statistics, and Gökçe Dayanikli, professor of statistics.
Their project, “Incorporation of Game Theory Tools to Improve the Policy Making to Mitigate Epidemics of Respiratory Diseases,” aims to improve policymaking processes to mitigate the transmission of respiratory pathogens by incorporating individuals’ decision-making and socio-demographic heterogeneity.
The researchers have been developing game-theoretical mathematical models, as well as simulation tools and numerical approaches, that can be adapted to specific public health problems. Undergraduate and graduate students are being trained as part of this interdisciplinary project.
Martinez's research focuses on understanding how biological and social processes shape infectious disease dynamics, particularly the mechanisms that influence transmission by examining host and pathogen heterogeneity and the long‑term dynamics shaped by external factors such as climate. To do so, they integrate diverse data sources with mathematical and statistical approaches. She teaches biostatistics and infectious disease modeling, providing students interested in disease transmission and control with a strong quantitative foundation.
Conrad Professorial Scholar
These professorial scholar awards are funded by a gift from Arlys Conrad and are designed to support the work of exceptionally promising associate professors within the College of LAS.
The recipients are Xin Li, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, who researches development, genetics, genomics, neurobiology, and regulation of gene expression. Li and her lab investigate how the sequential expression of transcription factors in neuroblasts generates neural diversity. Her research sheds light on the neurogenesis of a complex adult neural structure, as well as on the general mechanism of temporal patterning of neural progenitors.
Additional recipients include Jessica Brinkworth, anthropology; Julian Catchen, evolution, ecology, and behavior; Jonathan Dunn, linguistics; Jorge Lemus, economics; Gautham Narayan, astronomy; Bobby Smith II, African American studies; Chadly Stern, psychology; Corey Van Landingham, English; and Sihai Dave Zhao, statistics.
Lincoln Excellence for Assistant Professors Scholars
The LEAP award’s goal is to foster excellence and recognize the impact assistant professors have in the College of LAS. Those honored are decided by scholarly productivity and contributions to the college’s educational mission. That includes research, teaching, service, and commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable scholarly community.
The recipients are Kevin Van Bortle, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, whose research explores how cells regulate genes through RNA polymerase III, a molecular machine that produces small RNAs with important roles in cancer biology. His lab combines genomics, molecular biology, and computational approaches to understand how these small RNA landscapes change across cell types and disease states. In teaching and mentoring, he helps students integrate statistics, programming, and modern genomic technologies to address fundamental biological questions.
Additional recipients include Steven Burgess, plant biology; Benedek Kurdi, psychology; Anna Torres-Cacoullos, Spanish and Portuguese; Tess McNulty, English; and Yuri Ramirez, history.
