UMRF Awards Faculty with Professorships

University of Memphis Research Foundation awards two faculty with research professor appointments.

The University of Memphis Research Foundation (UMRF) recently awarded two faculty with a 2023 UMRF Professorship. The two faculty, Dr. Carl D. Herickhoff, assistant professor, and Dr. Aaryani Tipirneni-Sajja, assistant professor, are both from the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Theses appointments will last for three years and is awarded for their recent research successes, including their nationally competitive Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award both were awarded earlier this year from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The faculty will receive a sum each year that can be used for research and other related expenses. The hope for this distinction is that this award encourages and inspires faculty to further excel in their research efforts as the University moves to cement Carnegie R1 status for the longer term.

For more information on these professorships, email the University of Memphis Research Foundation at umrf@memphis.edu.

CAREER Projects:

Herickhoff received a $593,248 CAREER award grant for his proposal on Super-Resolution 3D Ultrasound Imaging of Brain Activity. The research advancements in Herickhoff’s CAREER project will create a new volumetric neuroimaging paradigm to be widely disseminated among the neuroscience research community. This innovative platform will include novel transducer hardware and signal-processing algorithms—with drastically reduced channel count and associated system cost—to help elucidate neurobiological processes and neuropathologies, leading to the accelerated development of effective interventions and therapies. The proposal’s integrated educational and outreach plan is focused on sharing specific knowledge and broadly increasing interest and engagement with imaging technology. The planned project includes three educational activities, with participants ranging from graduate and professional levels to middle school students. The activities include developing and refining courses and curriculum paths in imaging and ultrasound research, creating a seminar series to disseminate ultrasound neuroimaging methods and learnings, and facilitating new K-12 Engineering programs and interactive outreach workshops. The NSF CAREER Award positions Dr. Herickhoff to further develop and succeed as a scientific researcher and educator, supporting his long-term scholarly ambition to become a recognized leader in ultrasound innovations applied to neuroscience. Herickhoff’s CAREER award will support training for undergraduate and graduate engineers to enhance science education and facilitate a more competitive STEM workforce. 

"I am truly honored and grateful to be awarded the 2023 UMRF Research Professorship," stated Herickhoff. This distinction and support will help my lab grow and accelerate our research—to develop new ultrasound tools and imaging methods to facilitate both basic science and clinical care. Thank you, UofM Research Foundation!"

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Sajja was awarded $730,629 for her project on Open-Access, Real-Time High-Throughput Metabolomics for High-Field and Benchtop NMR for Biological Inquiry. This project aims to develop, validate, and disseminate open-access metabolomic techniques that automatically quantify the metabolites in complex biological spectra obtained from high-field (HF) and benchtop low-field (LF) NMR. This research will provide a breakthrough in the field of NMR metabolomics by eliminating a major processing barrier for both HF and benchtop NMR, thus making NMR an accessible and effective analytical tool for the biological community. Through the integrated educational objectives of this project, under-represented women and minorities and people of low socioeconomic class from K–12 to graduate students will be inspired and trained to pursue careers at the intersection of life sciences, engineering, data science, and technology, thus increasing diversity in STEM workforce and preparing them to be future STEM leaders to advance science and benefit society.