The University of Illinois Chicago Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Office of Technology Management are honored to announce the recipients of the Research and Scholarship Awards for 2025-26. These awards recognize the efforts of researchers, scholars and support staff who advance knowledge and promote continued excellence at UIC.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted nominations for these awards. The quantity of submissions and range of disciplines represented by these nominations are a testament to the exceptional talent and contributions of the UIC research community. We also thank review panel members for their time spent evaluating applications and selecting the awardees.

Researcher and Scholar of the Year

Five UIC faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their fields will receive the Distinguished Researcher and Distinguished Scholar awards. Additionally, five UIC early-career faculty who have shown outstanding promise to become future leaders in their fields will receive the Rising Star Awards.

The awardees for 2025-26 are:

Basic Life Sciences

Rising Star: Ruixuan Gao, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Distinguished Researcher: Timothy Koh, PhD, Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences

Clinical Sciences

Rising Star: Shannon Halloway, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA, Associate Professor, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing

Distinguished Researcher: Robert Motl, PhD, Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences

Humanities, Arts, Design and Architecture

Rising Star: Jonathan Connolly, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Distinguished Researcher: Marina Mogilner, PhD, Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Rising Star: Matthew Daly, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Distinguished Researcher: Salman Khetani, PhD, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine

Social Sciences

Rising Star: Terrell R. Morton, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education

Distinguished Researcher: Cedric G. Johnson, PhD, Professor, Departments of Black Studies and Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Additional awards

Champion of Research Support

Recognizing an individual who provides outstanding contributions in support of the UIC research enterprise.

Reneé McCarthy, JD, Senior Associate University Counsel, Office of University Counsel

Faculty Mentor of the Year

Recognizing an individual who serves as an outstanding knowledgeable, empathetic guide and leverages their experience to inspire and support mentees in achieving their goals.

Amanda E. Lewis, PhD, Professor, Departments of Black Studies and Sociology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year

Recognizing a postdoctoral fellow who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and shows exceptional promise as a future leader.

A’Lester Allen, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Retzky College of Pharmacy

Inventor of the Year

The Inventor of the Year Award honors an outstanding inventor or outstanding team of inventors at UIC who have contributed to the development of intellectual property that significantly impacts their field and society. The award is given based on creativity, novelty and benefit to society.

Alexander Yarin, PhD, UIC Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering

Finally, we thank the Office of Research Development in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research for oversight of the entire process in selecting these outstanding awardees.

Sincerely,

Joanna Groden, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Research

Suseelan Pookote, PhD
Director, Office of Technology Management

For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Clair
rclair@uic.edu
keysuek@uic.edu