Research & Innovation Awards

June 2025

  

Dr.Matthew Smeltzer, associate professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health, awarded $800,226 from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) for his project “Pathologic Response Early Clinical Endpoint in Neoadjuvant Therapy- Data Coordinating Center (PRECENT-DCC).”

Dr. Jeremy Whittaker, associate dean for Student Success and Inclusion the Loewenberg College of Nursing, awarded $648,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for his project “Supporting the Retention of Next Generation Registered Nurses (STRONG-RNs).”  

Dr. Marian Levy, associate dean in Public Health Practice & Community Engagement and professor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health, awarded $300,000 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for her project “TRAIN Learning Management System: UofM School of Public Health curriculum development.”    

Dr. Ali Fatemi, Ring Companies Endowed Professor and department chair and director of Fatigue and Fracture Research Laboratory in Mechanical Engineering, awarded $177,893 from US Department of Defense (DoD) for his project “Steel Performance Initiative: Steel Technology Advanced Research (STAR).”

Dr. Christos Papadopoulos, professor and Sparks Family Chair of Excellence in Global Research Leadership the Department of Computer Science, awarded $128,925 from National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Collaborative Research: IMR:MM-1B: Privacy in Internet Measurements Applied to WAN and Telematics.”

Dr. Sabya Mishra, professor of Civil Engineering, awarded $110,321 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DoT) for his project “Accelerating Innovative Mobility - Memphis Area Transit Authority Case Study.”

Dr. Mark Gillenson, professor in the Department of Management Information Systems (MIS), awarded $66,250 from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for his project “Testing & Evaluation Course Instruction and Research in Support of Information Technology Systems.”

Dr. Samuel Mensah, associate professor of Teaching and Coordinator in the Department of Physics and Materials Sciences, awarded $60,000 from American Physical Society (APS) for his project “APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics.”

Dr. Thomas Goebel, assistant professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, awarded $50,000 from U.S. Army Research Office for his project “How do Earthquakes Stop? A multi-scale study of dynamic fracture and slip using optical and seismic imaging.”

Dr. Maryam Karimi, director of Research and associate professor in the School of Public Health, awarded $48,846 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project “CanAiry: A Wearable Medical Device for Monitoring Environmental Exposure and Assessing Respiratory Response.”

Dr. D Kimbrough Oller, professor and Plough Chair of Excellence in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, awarded $38,960 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “Early communication in TSC and its relation to Autism.”

Dr. Alex Headley, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, awarded $34,437 from the U.S. Department of Energy (US DoE) for his project “Second Life Battery Degradation Monitoring and Testing for Rural EV Infrastructure.”

Dr. Daniel Collier, assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, awarded $30,000 from the Shared Ascent Fund for his project “Balancing the Burden: Exploring the Impact of Student Loan Debt on Subjective Well-Being.”

Dr. Jennifer Mandel, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, awarded $18,333 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project “NSF-GRFP-Serena Blais 2023.”

Dr. Meghan McDevitt-Murphy, professor in Clinical (Psychotherapy) in the Department of Psychology, awarded $15,218 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for her project “Building the Memphis Opioid Workforce – Graduate Psychology Education II”.”

Mary Schallert, unit coordinator and clinical associate professor in the College of Health Sciences, awarded $15,000 from the American Athletics Conference for her project “Efficacy of combining sport specific digital media messaging with applied performance nutrition education in a university Teaching Kitchen.”