With Distinction

To suggest an Accolade, please fill out a submission form. Note that Accolades for faculty and staff are shared by Pittwire and @Pitt.

To request an On the Move, please fill out a submission form.

On the Move | Accolades | All


Cathedral of Learning and downtown

University Center for Teaching and Learning Hosts Regional Faculty Symposium

The University Center for Teaching and Learning hosted more than 250 regional and international professionals at the second annual Pittsburgh Regional Faculty Symposium, which was held on Pitt’s campus on March 11.

The symposium drew registrations from faculty from universities and colleges in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Ontario.

“The symposium was the first of its kind here on Pitt’s campus, and brought together talents and expertise from across the entire spectrum of higher education,” said Erik Arroyo, director of academic support services for the Teaching Center.

The daylong conference consisted of 35 interactive sessions, networking opportunities and a keynote address by Sarah Rose Cavanagh, associate director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College. Thirteen different Pitt faculty and staff members were involved in the symposium’s planning or in hosting a session.

Cynthia Golden, director of the Teaching Center, said that this regional collaboration created the potential to bring new ideas, partnerships and teaching strategies to Pitt campuses. “It was an honor for the University Center for Teaching and Learning to host the Pittsburgh Regional Faculty Symposium. The Pitt faculty we work with not only break new ground in research, they are leaders and innovators in effective teaching,” said Golden.

Added Arroyo, “If each of the attendees are in the position to impact 20 students, and they left the symposium with one new idea or approach or strategy, then this symposium has the potential to positively impact over 5,000 students enrolled in college right now.”

The event was organized by the Teaching Center and supported by the Colleagues in Connection, a regional professional development collaborative, and the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education.

Maseru in a gray suit

Health Equity Director Co-Authors March of Dimes Consensus Statement on Birth Equity

Women of color are 50 percent more likely than white women to give birth prematurely, and three times as likely to die from pregnancy complications. Noble Maseru, director of Pitt’s Center for Health Equity is working to change that.

Maseru, who’s also professor of behavior and community health sciences at Pitt, recently co-authored the March of Dimes "Birth Equity For Moms and Babies Consensus Statement" to advance social determinants pathways for research, policy and practice.

Among the recommendations: Improve maternal death surveillance, expand research, engage in health system reform, empower communities through inclusion and change social and economic conditions.

Read the Consensus Statement on the March of Dimes website.


Nachega in a dark brown suit

Public Health's Nachega Recognized by African Science Institutions

Jean Nachega, associate professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases and microbiology in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, recently received recognition from two Africa-based science organizations.

The African Academy of Sciences elected him fellow in recognition of his efforts to develop patient care, teaching and research around epidemiology and infectious diseases in Africa. In addition, the Academy of Sciences of South Africa — which aims to provide evidence-based scientific advice on issues of public interest — named him a member-elect.


Badylak in front of shelves in a lab

Stephen Badylak Named 2018 Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator

For his dedication to achieving impact through commercialization, Stephen Badylak has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award from the Innovation Institute. He is a professor of surgery at Pitt and deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

In his prolific 15 years at Pitt he ranks among the University’s all-time leaders in terms of invention disclosures filed, patents issued and technologies licensed. Earlier this year, Badylak became chief scientific officer of ECM Therapeutics, a new Pittsburgh-based startup company that has licensed a patent portfolio from Badylak’s lab and is seeking to commercialize those discoveries across a broad range of therapeutic targets.

More information can be found at the Innovation Institute’s website.


Datta in a red plaid shirt in front of a blue background

Bioengineer Moni Datta Receives a $300K DoD Award to Design Biochemical Marker Technology

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Conditions for cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease leading to heart failure, are clinically silent until serious complications arise, and current diagnostic tools are unreliable, time consuming and expensive. Moni K. Datta, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, received a $300,000 award from the Department of Defense to develop a quicker, simpler and more reliable diagnostic technology related to cardiomyopathy so that the signs of disease can be spotted and treated earlier.

Prashant N. Kumta, the Edward R. Weidlein Chair and Distinguished Professor of bioengineering, chemical and petroleum engineering, mechanical engineering and materials science, and professor of oral biology in the School of Dental Medicine, is co-investigator on the project with Robert L. Kormos, the Brack G. Hattler Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Read more at the Swanson School’s website.


Kohanbash

T-Cell Project Awarded Major Funding

Gary Kohanbash, assistant professor of neurological surgery and director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery ImmunoOncology Laboratory (PNIO) at the University of Pittsburgh, was one of four researchers awarded a total of $3 million by the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative to help fund primary brain tumor immunotherapy research. Kohanbash’s project involves interrogating anti-tumor T-cells to develop adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy for pediatric high-grade gliomas.

Kohanbash and an interdisciplinary team of investigators at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Children’s National and the University of California, San Francisco have developed a new method for identifying the most tumoricidal T-cell within a patient’s tumor. Using this approach, the team will isolate these T-cells from pediatric glioma and DIPG tumors, validate the safety and tumor-killing ability of these cells and develop a strategy for expanding these cells for re-infusion into patients.

If the project is successful, it could become a cutting edge, off-the-shelf approach in which a T-cell identified in one patient could be used to create T-cells that could kill tumors in a majority of patients with the similar disease. Long-term the approach could be used to develop a highly personalized strategy in which the most effective cytotoxic T-cells within each patient would be identified and used to creating millions of these as a therapy for that patient. Read more at neurosurgery’s website.

Carla Ng Receives $500K NSF CAREER Award

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are manmade chemicals that are useful in a variety of industries because of their durability, but do not naturally break down in the environment or human body. With evidence showing that PFAS may have adverse effects on human health, Carla Ng, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, wants to further investigate the potential impacts of these chemicals and identify ways to remove them from the environment. She received a five-year, $500,000 NSF CAREER award to pursue this research.

Because of their useful oil- and water-repellent properties, PFAS are used in many consumer products, industrial processes and in firefighting foams, but unfortunately, their manufacturing and widespread use has contributed to the release of these chemicals into the environment. According to Ng, more than 4,000 different kinds of PFAS may have been for decades, and detailed toxicity data does not exist for the large majority of these. The goal of Ng’s CAREER award is to address these issues through a complementary approach using predictive modeling and experiments.


Rediker in a black coat

Distinguished History Professor Examines Historical Context of Spielberg Film

Marcus Rediker, distinguished professor in the Department of History, recently published an essay in “Writing History with Lightning: Cinematic Representations of Nineteenth-Century America.”

In his essay, Rediker critically examines Steven Spielberg’s film “Amistad,” and compares it to his own extensive historical research. Rediker says he found that Spielberg “distorted and omitted a great many important things about the ‘Amistad’ story, and that we must not leave the teaching of history to Hollywood.”

“My approach is called ‘history from below,’ which emphasizes the history-making power of ordinary people who are normally left out of the history text books,” said Rediker. “My account of the Amistad revolt stresses the power of enslaved people to emancipate themselves and challenge the institution of slavery.”

The essay also serves as a spin-off of Rediker’s 2012 book, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom.


Jakicic in a suit, spliced with Rogers in a red shirt

Healthy Lifestyle Institute Leaders to Give Keynote at Professional Summit

John Jakicic (EDUC ’95G), chair of the Department of Health and Physical Activity (HPA) in the School of Education, and Renee Rogers (EDUC ’09G, ’12G), assistant professor in HPA, will give a keynote presentation at the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) International Health and Fitness Summit in March.

Jakicic, who is also the founding director of Pitt’s new Healthy Lifestyle Institute (HLI), and Rogers, who serves as HLI’s programming director, will jointly present on the scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of physical activity.

Particularly, Jakicic and Rogers will focus on “novel science that contributed to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.” Jakicic served on the advisory committee that revised the guidelines.

“It is an honor to be asked by the American College of Sports Medicine to give a featured presentation at the International Health and Fitness Summit. As leaders at the Healthy Lifestyle Institute at PITT, we are passionate about translating research into practice,” said Jakicic.

Rogers added, “The opportunity to do this on a broader scale not only highlights the innovative work being done at Pitt, but allows for us to engage and inspire health, wellness and fitness professionals from all over the country.”


two people walking with a brilliant sun ray behind them

Pitt Sets Record for Low Employee Injury Rate

Pitt has set a record-low employee injury rate for the third year in a row.

The University’s 2018 employee injury rate fell to 0.94, calculated in incidents per 100 full-time workers, down from 1.04 in 2017 and 1.15 in 2016.

Pitt’s employee injury rate consistently has been below the national average for colleges and universities since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began its current industry classification system in 2003. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) monitors workplace injuries and illnesses.

The OSHA recordable injury rate for colleges and universities held steady at 1.7 in 2016 and 2017. National figures for 2018 have yet to be posted.

Gregory A. Scott, senior vice chancellor for business and operations, credited a campuswide dedication to safety for Pitt’s positive trend.

“This achievement is the result of a conscious effort — by supervisors, faculty and staff — to create a culture of safety at Pitt by consistently considering safety in all activities,” he said. “Their commitment is making a measurable difference.” 


Wallace in a Navy suit

John Wallace Named Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare

John Wallace, Dave E. Epperson Chair and Professor of Social Work, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. The academy is a society of distinguished scholars and practitioners dedicated to achieving excellence in social work and social welfare through work that advances social good.

Wallace does this in a number of ways, particularly in Homewood, the neighborhood in which he was born and raised. He is a co-founder of the Homewood Children’s Village and board president of Operation Better Block, both of which use community-based research to improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable city residents. His Pitt-Assisted Communities & Schools (PACS) program enriches the education of Westinghouse High School students. Through PACS, members of a group of teenaged Justice Scholars are taking Pitt courses, visiting Pitt for college-prep workshops and engaging in community service.

Wallace, also the pastor of Bible Center Church in Homewood, helped launch the Everyday Cafe coffee shop in Homewood two years ago, partners with colleagues in business and engineering to lead the Direct Curent HEaRT (Direct Current Humanity, Energy, and Regional Transformation) initiative and plays a key role with programming at Pitt’s Community Engagement Center.

“I am humbled to have been inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare,” said Wallace. “Having my work recognized by such an accomplished group of scholars is truly an honor.”


Wood in a gold outfit in front of a yellow background

Alumna Sossena Wood Featured on NBC

Sossena Wood, a Pitt alumna twice over who most recently earned a Doctor of Philosophy in bioengineering in 2018, developed a realistic phantom head for magnetic resonance research while at the Swanson School of Engineering.

Now, Wood and her research are featured in NBC News Learn’s new online video collection “Discovering You: Engineering Your World.” Debuting during National Engineers Week, which runs through Feb. 23, the series highlights the careers of engineers in a variety of sectors and offers insights to the next generation of students. The video segment on Wood’s research delves into her work while she was a doctoral student at Pitt. She is now a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University.

Read more about her work and watch the NBC segment.


Woon in front of a blue screen

Jonathan Woon Named Associate Editor of the American Journal of Political Science

Professor Jonathan Woon, chair of the Department of Political Science, has joined a team of associate editors of the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS), a leading political science journal and the flagship publication of the Midwest Political Science Association.

Woon has also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Experimental Political Science. His research focuses on political behavior, American politics, game theory and political economy.


statue thumbnail

Iris Marion Young Award Winners Announced

The Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program honored four student, staff and faculty members with the Iris Marion Young Award for Political Engagement for outstanding efforts in social justice at the University, local, national level, and international level.

The following honorees were recognized during a ceremony in January:

Dighan Kelly, a junior, received the 2019 undergraduate award, has been active with Pitt student organizations register voters and research sexual assaults on campus. Kelly has served on the local International Women’s Strike chapter’s steering committee and as president of Pitt’s Planned Parenthood Club.

Medha Kadri is pursuing a degree in the School of Social Work and received the 2019 graduate award. Kadri has a master’s in health psychology and worked for a child-rights focused, non-governmental organization in India that primarily rescued bonded child laborers and mainstreamed them back into school education.

Crystal McCormik Ware, director of diversity and inclusion initiatives at the University Library System, received the 2019 staff award. Ware directed the Welfare to Work program in the School of Social Work, which trained lifelong welfare recipients with job skills and job placement at Pitt and UPMC, and serves as a founding member of the Greater Pittsburgh Higher Education Diversity Consortium.

Kari Kokka, assistant professor of mathematics education in the School of Education, received the 2019 faculty award. Kokka researches student and teacher perspectives of social justice mathematics and the longevity of STEM teachers of color in urban schools. In her teaching, Kokka incorporates social justice issues into course readings and assignments.


a group of people walking around campus

Schools of Education, Social Work, CEC Named Finalists for Institutional Challenge Grant

The Schools of Education and Social Work, in partnership with the Homewood Children’s Village and Pitt’s Community Engagement Center in Homewood, have been collectively selected as finalists for the William T. Grant Foundation’s Institutional Challenge Grant.

The Institutional Challenge Grant “encourages university-based research institutes, schools and centers to build sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.”

This proposed research project will “empirically demonstrate the impact of simultaneous parent and child interventions to improve key student educational outcomes — grades, school attendance, and behavior.” The Pitt-Homewood Children’s Village project is one of four research-practice partnerships selected as a national finalist. The winning partnership will be announced at the end of March 2019.

“This opportunity is consistent with our university’s focus on engaging in impactful work with communities, building and sustaining educational partnerships, and contributing to community engaged work and research-practice partnerships,” said Valerie Kinloch, Renée and Richard Goldman Dean of the School of Education and the project’s principal investigator.

Co-principal investigators are John Wallace, David E. Epperson Chair and Professor in the School of Social Work, Katz School of Business, and Department of Sociology; and Walter Lewis, President and CEO of Homewood Children’s Village.


Cathedral of Learning on a sunny blue day

Pitt Joins EPA’s Green Power Partnership

Pitt has joined the US Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership. The program aims to increase the use of green power among organizations in the United States as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. 

Currently, 15 percent of Pitt’s electricity comes from renewables. The University’s green power usage is equal to the electric power used by approximately 3,000 typical American homes.

In accord with the goals of the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan, the University aims to produce or procure 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

Pitt recently announced its intent to purchase 100 percent of the hydropower produced by a proposed hydroelectric plant to be built on the Allegheny River at the existing Allegheny Lock and Dam No. 2, just below the Highland Park Bridge. This is the University’s largest-ever commitment to renewable power.

The hydropower facility, which is expected to begin commercial operation in 2022, will generate enough electricity to supply 25 percent of the Pittsburgh campus’ electricity needs.


Swan in a brown sweater

Pitt Professor Translates Holocaust-Era Diary of Warsaw Ghetto Survivor

Oscar E. Swan, professor in the department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and advisor for the Polish minor, translated the memoir of a Warsaw ghetto survivor that has topped the list of New Releases in Jewish Biographies on Amazon.

Swan met Leokadia Schmidt in 1972 and translated her diary from Polish to English. Schmidt’s journal recounts her traumatic experiences evading the Nazis with her husband and 5-month-old son, and eventually hiding in a tinsmith’s shed in the “Aryan side” of Warsaw. It wasn’t until recent years that Schmidt’s son contacted Swan about publishing his translation.

Swan’s English translation of “Rescued from the Ashes: the Diary of Leokadia Schmidt, Survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto” comes on the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.


Zhang in a collar shirt and sweater

New Documentary Based on ULS Initiative Puts China’s Cultural Revolution in Context

A new feature-length documentary is in production that will highlight the CR/10 Project — an ongoing University Library System (ULS) initiative that records, preserves,and publishes video interviews with Chinese citizens sharing their memories of China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Launched in 2015 by the ULS East Asian Library, CR/10 illuminates a watershed 10-year period in China, where an attempt by Chairman Mao Zedong to protect the Communist Party’s purity resulted in a serious class struggle. From 1966 through 1976, universities and schools were forced to close; teachers and scholars were publicly beaten and tortured. The oral histories in CR/10 present a variety of memories — views not from scholars or politicians, but from the common man. The project began with around 30 oral histories and now hosts more than 100.

With funding from the Henry Luce Foundation, the 90-minute documentary, “Unreconciled Memories: Reflections on China’s Cultural Revolution,” will help put the CR/10 project in context. In addition to online accessibility, hundreds of DVDs will be produced and distributed in 2020, mainly for use in high school and college classrooms and conferences. The project’s academic director is Edward Gunn, professor emeritus of Modern Chinese Literature at Cornell University. He is supported by Haihui Zhang (pictured), executive director and head of the ULS East Asian Library, and Kun Qian, professor of modern Chinese literature and film at Pitt.


Costello in a blue bowtie and black jacket

Dental Medicine Dean Begins Tenure as Medical Association President

Bernard J. Costello, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, has begun his year as president of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA).

Costello, who is also a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery, said in a recent welcome message that the association will “aim to improve upon the notable successes of the past and innovate for the future.”

“The chance to help lead this organization is a rare privilege and I am humbled to have had the opportunity to work with such fantastic leaders,” he said. “ACPA is filled with people who know teamwork like no other organization that I am a part of.”


Kovashka

Adriana Kovashka Receives Funding from Amazon Research Awards

Assistant professor of computer science Adriana Kovashka recently received funding from the Amazon Research Awards for her project studying how objects foreshadow film plots and explain advertisements. She proposes to understand two artistic media — movie plots and advertisements — via the objects emphasized in movie frames.

“We propose to understand objects in film and ads through models that rely on common-sense knowledge extracted from: movies and knowledge bases. We use films as a medium to visually capture life experiences, including the context (i.e.objects) in which they occur,” Kovashka said.

This funding will help strengthen the relationship and collaboration between the School of Computing and Information and Amazon Research.