Hope Ginsburg, Department of Kinetic Imaging
Nominated for the NIRA for being one of VCUarts most prominent artists with national and international exhibits at venues such as MoMA PS1, MASS MoCA, Wexner Center for the Arts, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Contemporary Art Center Vilnius and the Mercosul Biennial in Brazil, and with projects receiving support from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, among other achievements.

Massa Lemu, Ph.D., Department of Sculpture
Nominated for the NIRA for being invited to lecture and exhibit his work internationally in Athens, Germany, England, Switzerland; being the Boss Visiting Artist Fellow in the Department of Art at University of Minnesota; and garnering national and international support and interest in your most recent work with the Ozhopé Collective, among other achievements.

Semi Ryu, Ph.D., Department of Kinetic Imaging
Nominated for the NIRA for your cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship in the groundbreaking fields of virtual reality and avatars where possibilities are both endless and emerging, and your collaborative research using avatars to treat patients in the Palliative Care Unit bridges creative and medical research, integrating new technologies with theoretical study that has led to articles published in medical journals, as well as interactive performances and installations, among other achievements.

Seong Byun, Department of Finance Insurance and Real Estate
Nomination for the NIRA for elevating the research profile and reputation of the School of Business nationally by publishing papers in journals such as the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis which is recognized by Financial Times as Top 50 business journals; and earning the 2022 VCU School of Business Distinguished Scholar Award, among other achievements.

Jose Cortina, Ph.D., Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Nominated for the NIRA for prodigious scholarship, producing more than a dozen peer reviewed journal articles in three years, eight of which fall in the highest journal ranking of the list used in the VCU School of Business, and four appear in the influential Financial Times 50 list, among other achievements.

Xiaojin Liu, Ph.D., Department of Supply Chain Management & Analytics
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding and prestigious scholarship, publishing papers in Decision Sciences, Decision Support Systems, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production & Operations Management, and Strategic Management Journal – demonstrating high quality and high-profile impact publications across multiple, among other achievements.

Christopher Reina, Ph.D., Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Nominated for the NIRA for prodigious and prestigious scholarship, producing no fewer than six journal articles which fall in the highest journal ranking of the ABDC Journal Quality List used in the VCU School of Business and published an additional 6 articles this past year, which includes one in the Harvard Business Review, addressing the mindset of great leaders, among other achievements.

Jeffrey Smith, Ph.D., Department of Supply Chain Management & Analytics
Nominated for the NIRA for demonstrating leadership in building a culture of research in the Department of Supply Chain Management that leads among units in the School of Business and personally publishing no fewer than six papers, most of which fall in the highest journal rankings of the ABDC Journal Quality List used by your school, among other achievements.

Victoria Yoon, Ph.D., Department of Information Systems
Nominated for the NIRA for publishing no fewer than six peer-reviewed journal articles, four of which fall in the highest journal ranking of the ABDC Journal Quality List used in the VCU School of Business and two publications are in Information Systems Research, a journal on the influential UTD24 Journal List and the FT50 List; serving your first year as co-editor-in-chief at Decision Support Systems, a leading journal in the field; serving your first year as president of the Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), a prestigious international conference; and serving on the editorial board of Journal of Database Management and International Journal of Intelligent Information Technologies, among other achievements.

Anthony Faber, Ph.D., Department of Oral Biology
Nominated for the NIRA for publishing many high quality and high impact cancer research papers in journals such as Cancer Cell, PNAS, Cancer Discovery, Cancer Research, Science Translational Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research, a truly phenomenal performance. In fall 2023 he will hold 4 NIH grants awarded from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In addition, he has received funding from the Department of Defense as well as from several philanthropic organizations. He is a co-leader for the Developmental Therapeutics program at Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and was intimately involved in the recent NCI review that resulted in the award of Comprehensive status to Massey. He was also recently awarded Massey Scientist of the Year for 2023.

Irfan Ahmed, Ph.D., Department of Computer Science
Nominated for the NIRA for becoming one of only three academic members serving on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Industrial Control Systems Working Group; securing no less than $800,000 in DHS external funding for the industrial control system (ICS) community; publishing research that has earned Best Paper Awards and inclusion in the Virginia CCI Research Showcase; collaborative efforts with other highly-ranked R1 engineering colleges as well as federal and state government agencies; and an experiential learning program with Virginia State Police, among other achievements.

Jayasimha Atulasimha, Ph.D., Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Nominated for the NIRA for achieving national and international acclaim for your research on hardware AI and quantum computing; securing an $800,000 National Science Foundation grant to advance quantum information science; publishing no fewer than 90 journal articles with a Google Scholar h-index of 36; and serving as associate director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment and co-chair for materials and devices of the DOE Semiconductor Industry Energy Efficiency Scaling Roadmap Working Group, among other achievements.

Carlos Castano Londono, Ph.D., Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Nominated for the NIRA for your nationally and internationally recognized research expertise on material surface properties for applications in energy, transportation and manufacturing; your leadership in securing and/or leading grants from the National Science Foundation, the Bulgaria Academy of Science, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission; earning aFaculty Early Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 2021, and publishing no fewer than 42 journal articles earning a Web-of-Science h-index of 20, among other achievements.

Nibir K. Dhar, Ph.D., Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Nominated for the NIRA for earning a world-renowned reputation as a leader in Electro-Optic and Infrared technology, including being a Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics and the Optical Society of America, and a Senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and earning author and co-author credit for 15 book chapters and more than 240 technical papers, among other achievements.

Priscilla Hwang, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering
Nominated for the NIRA for earning high-impact, national level grants including, NSF CAREER, and NIH-NCI-R01 (consortium agreement), and an additional NIH-NCI-R01 (collaboration) grant with fundable score; being published in the high impact factor journal, Developmental Cell; earning a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation for 2022; and developing collaborations across the nation, including Washington University and University of Georgia; working with the American Cancer Society to create webinars to disseminate research; and serving on the steering committee for a URM cancer camp (Miami), among other achievements.

Jennifer Puetzer, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering
Nominated for the NIRA for earning more than $2.5 million in external research funding, including an NIH R01 and NSF CAREER, the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award given to junior faculty; developing and teaching two undergraduate and one graduate level courses; service to committees within VCU and leadership roles in professional societies; and leading the development of ASTM standards, among other achievements.

Kevin Sutherland, Ph.D., Department of Counseling and Special Education
Nominated for the NIRA for earning a national reputation for your research with no fewer than 6,558 citations in Google scholar; publishing no fewer than 10 peer reviewed articles; and securing no less than $13.8 million in new and continuing external research funding, including grants from the Institute of Education Sciences and National Institute of Mental Health, among other achievements.

Yaoying Xu, Ph.D., Department of Counseling and Special Education
Nominated for the NIRA for earning the Dr. Deborah Ziegler Distinguished International Leadership Award from the Division of International Special Education and Services of the Council for Exceptional Children; publishing nine peer reviewed articles and two peer-reviewed book chapters; generating $2.6 million in new and continuing external research funding; serving as director of the International Educational Studies Center at the VCU School of Education, among other achievements.

Virginia Chu, Ph.D., Department of Occupational Therapy
Nominated for the NIRA for receiving a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development for research that explores the relationship between early childhood sensory deficits and later movement challenges associated with developmental coordination disorder to identify children who experience sensorimotor challenges before they show significant motor delays and to provide earlier intervention.

Benjamin Darter, Ph.D., Department of Physical Therapy
Nominated for the NIRA for receiving more than $6 million in consecutive funding from the Department of Defence and an additional $70,000 from the McGuire VA Medical Center for research in the areas of rehabilitation following extremity amputation, optimization of gait performance, and overall health promotion.

Indika Arachchige, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding research resulting in two different awards from the National Science Foundation totaling nearly $1 million; and earning no fewer than 30 publications and two patents, among other achievements.

Carolyn Eastman, Ph.D., Department of History
Nominated for the NIRA for earning state and national awards for your new book; amassing an impressive list of publications that include no fewer than two monographs, seven annotated editions; 13 refereed articles, and 27 non-refereed articles and reviews; and earning National Endowment for the Humanities funding for another book that you are now writing, among other achievements.

Rocio Gomez, Ph.D., Department of History
Nominated for the NIRA for being named the Green Professor of Latin American History in May 2022; earning the Elinor Melville Book Prize in Latin American Environmental History from the Conference on Latin American History, a top book prize in your field, as well as the Honorable Mention for the Best Book of Social Science from the LASA Mexico Section Awards for your first book, “Silver Veins, Dusty Lungs: Mining, Water, and Public Health in Zacatecas, 1835-1946,” among other achievements.

Matthew Hartman, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative chemical biology research that has earned a $1 million grant from the National Institute of Health and another $1 million grant from the Gilbert Family Foundation; successfully achieving no fewer than 43 publications, including a 2022 publication in Nature Communications; and leading an effective research group with active project collaborations across both of VCU’s Richmond campuses, among other achievements.

Gina Longo, Ph.D., Department of Sociology
Nominated for the NIRA for your innovative research in the emerging sub-discipline of Digital Sociology, with a focus on race, gender, and inequality in transnational spaces and immigration; and successfully publishing seven journal articles and book chapters and five book reviews, and for invited international presentations in 2022, among other achievements.

Fantasy Lozada, Ph.D.  Department of Psychology
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding and innovative research on understanding the normative emotional experience and promoting the emotional liberation of African American and Latinx communities, generating more than $7 million in external funding from organizations including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Science Foundation; securing no fewer than 42 publications; and earning the VCU Psychology Outstanding Scholarship Award in 2022, among other achievements.

Bryce McLeod, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding and innovative research on youth mental health and prevention services; serving as the principle investigator or co-principle investigator on projects that have generated approximately $24 million in external funding; earning no fewer than 110 publications; serving as an associate editor for a top journal; and delivering the keynote address to the inaugural CHILD conference in Singapore, among other achievements.

Allison Moore, Ph.D.,  Department of Mathematical Sciences
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding and innovative research in topology and geometry, garnering rarely-achieved federal funding for basic research in mathematics in the form of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in addition to an NSF conference grant as a co-primary investigator and two internal awards that totaled nearly $250,000 in the form of the VCU Quest Fund Award and the VCU Breakthrough Fund Award, among other achievements.

Jan Rychtar, Ph.D., Department of Mathematical Sciences
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative and outstanding pedagogy that has earned national recognition, including the 2023 Inclusivity Award from the Council of Undergraduate Research, Math and CS division, a national recognition of a faculty who has shown excellence and sustainable work to broaden access to mathematical, computational, or statistical sciences with a focus on the implementation of real-world research projects for undergraduate students; the 2022 Faculty Mentor Award (Advanced Career) from theCouncil of Undergraduate Research, Math and CS division, a national award recognizing outstanding mentoring of students in undergraduate research; and the 2022 John M. Smith Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, from the Mathematical Association of America MD-DC-VA Section, awarded to faculty that are widely recognized as extraordinarily successful in their teaching and have had influence in their teaching beyond their own institution, among other achievements.

Terri Sullivan, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative and outstanding research focused on violence prevention that has garnered more than $32 million in externally funded research projects of which you serve as primary investigator or co-primary investigator; earning no fewer than 100 publications; and serving as the newly-appointed director of the Clark-Hill Institute, a university-recognized center, among other achievements.

Arnethea Sutton, Ph.D., Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative and interdisciplinary research aimed at curing breast cancer; earning a grant from the National Institute of Health worth $419,000; publishing three papers in peer-reviewed journals and conducting six presentations; serving as assistant editor for the JACC Cardio-Oncology and vice chair of the American Society of Preventive Oncology Cancer Disparities Special Interest Group, among other achievements.

RaJade Berry-James, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs
Nominated for the NIRA for exceptional national/international service on behalf of your school and academic discipline, including serving as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration; chair of the Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance; president of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA); active member of the Partnership for Public Service Research Advisory Council and the American Society for Public Administration H. George Frederickson Center for Social Equity Advisory Committee, among other achievements.

David Webber, Ph.D., Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative and outstanding research on defense-related public policy including serving as a co-primary investigator on a project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, serving as a paid consultant on an additional multi-year defense department grant; presenting at the John McCain Institutes Prevention Practitioners Fall Symposium; reviewing submissions for four journals, including the National Academy of Sciences, and reviewing grant applications for the National Institute of Justice, among other achievements.

Melanie Bean, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics
Nominated for the NIRA for impactful work in pragmatic obesity treatment clinical trials and health equity policy research (more than 80 research publications, including 18 publications this past year). She has over $11 million in consistent NIH funding for 13 years as PI and plays a pivotal role at the Wright Center as well as national societies. She stands out as a mentor, guiding trainees to secure external funding while making significant contributions to clinical and research domains.

Javier González-Maeso, Ph.D., Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Nominated for the NIRA for pioneering work in psychedelic research, and the establishment of an outstanding and groundbreaking research program at VCU. He has garnered national and international attention, attracted funding from a variety of sources including NIH, and trained many students ranging from high school through PhD and MD programs.

Gretchen Neigh, Ph.D., Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Nominated for the NIRA for expertise in the areas of cerebrovascular biology, neuroendocrinology, transcription factors, psychoneuroimmunology as they relate to HIV and other conditions. Her work has been pivotal in evaluating sex differences and the effect of stress on individuals. She has received grant funding to mentor women scientists and helps lead a train-the-trainer model for helping faculty learn to be successful mentors.

Leslie Randall, M.D., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Nominated for the NIRA for making great strides as a nationally recognized subspecialist and clinical trialist in improving regional gynecologic cancer care and establishing a vibrant clinical trials program. Her division’s clinical trial accrual was key to the successful Comprehensive Cancer Center Designation application. Dr Randall’s contributions at VCU are critical to provide gynecologic cancer services.

Nicholas Thomson, Ph.D., Department of Surgery
Nominated for the NIRA for outstanding violence prevention scholarship, which has led to innovative life-saving gun violence prevention strategies. During 2023, he served as PI on 4 R01s funded by the NIH and CDC, an R43 and an R56 funded by NIH, as Co-PI on a CDC center grant, and co-investigator on eight awards from DHHS, DMV, CDC, SAMSHA, and NSF. He strategically aligned his research with the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan by developing a multidisciplinary proposal to the CDC for funding VCU’s first Injury Control Research Center and an NIH-funded Post-Doctoral Research Training Center (T32).

Jane Chung, Ph.D., Department of Family and Community Health Nursing
Nominated for the NIRA for significant and highly innovative scientific work in exploring smart and connected health technology and digital health equity research to promote healthy aging in community-dwelling older adults. She has received NIH R01, R21, and P30 center-supported pilot grant funding, and is a fellow of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. Additionally, she serves on international journal editorial boards, national organizational committees, NIH study sections, and University and School committees.

Amy Salisbury, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship & Innovation
Nominated for the NIRA for significant and highly innovative scientific work in exploring smart and connected health technology and digital health equity research to promote healthy aging in community-dwelling older adults. She has received NIH R01, R21, and P30 center-supported pilot grant funding, and is a fellow of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. Additionally, she serves on international journal editorial boards, national organizational committees, NIH study sections, and University and School committees.

Qingguo Xu, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutics
Nominated for the NIRA for research on translational medical research on drug delivery, nanotechnology, and physiochemical characterization of mucosal and tissue barriers to drug delivery systems. A “founding faculty member” for VCU’s first in the nation Pharmaceutical Engineering Ph.D. program, he has received 12 major grants as PI/MPI generating ~$8.5 million dollars to VCU; 17 patents/applications (seven through VCU). He is a 2019 Blick Scholar and has published 45 total papers.

Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Nominated for the NIRA for his comprehensive program of small molecule drug design/discovery/development for the treatment of substance abuse, pain, and cancer, which has continuously been recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) since 2006 and yielded more than $23 million in funding. One molecule that treats opioid addiction & fentanyl overdose is likely to enter clinical trials in two years. Dr. Zhang has no fewer than 130 research publications and has presented invited talks at no fewer than 30 national and international conferences.

Anika L. Hines, Ph.D., MPH, Department of Health Policy and Behavior
Nominated for the NIRA for research that explores the complex effects of stress in the lived experiences of minorities as it pertains to cardiovascular disease, with an eye toward interventions that address stressors and reduce racial disparities. Dr. Hines heads the Equity in Cardiovascular Health Outcomes Lab and is a trailblazer in cardiovascular health equity.

Maysaa Al-Mumin, Art Foundation
Nominated for the NIRA for innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative teaching and artistic creation that included securing significant funding for creative projects, launching The Bokeh Lab, and producing films recognized on international platforms, among other achievements.