Faculty and staff
Rhonda Bacher, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biostatistics, has received the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences. The goal of the awards program is to provide investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.
Ji-Hyun Lee, Dr.P.H., a professor of biostatistics, has been nominated for the presidency of the American Statistical Association for the 2025 term. She is one of two ASA presidential candidates on the ballot for an election next spring. The ASA is the world’s largest community of statisticians, with more than 16,000 members in more than 90 countries.
Catalina Lopez-Quintero, Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology, has received the National Award of Excellence in Research by a New Investigator from the National Hispanic Science Network. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding research and/or publication in the field of Hispanic drug abuse.
Rebecca Pearl, Ph.D., an assistant professor of clinical and health psychology, is one of 103 highly innovative scientists who have received 2022 High-Risk, High-Reward Research awards from the Common Fund at the National Institutes of Health. The prestigious awards program was created to support unconventional approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.
Alana Rawlinson, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor of clinical and health psychology, received one of five prestigious 2022 Reubin O’D. Askew Young Alumni Awards, the highest honor bestowed upon young alumni by the Florida State University Alumni Association.
Students
Brittney Moore, a doctor of audiology student, was selected for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Minority Student Leadership Program. She will receive focused educational programming and activities to build and enhance leadership skills, as well as networking opportunities to meet with leaders in communications sciences.
Niccole Smith, a master’s in public health student, has been selected as a This is Public Health student ambassador for 2022-2023 by the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health. She is among 59 students from ASPPH member schools and programs who are charged with raising awareness about public health through activities such as social media takeovers, virtual fairs with prospective public health students, books clubs, public health presentations, panel discussions and more.
Karen Awura-Adjoa Ronke Coker and Bianca Punch, doctoral students in environmental and global health, are one of just five student teams across the U.S. to receive the 2022 Climate Justice Student Champions award from the American Public Health Association. Teams received funding to create academic community experiences that show how climate change affects health equity. Coker and Punch have designed events for members of the UF campus that provide a platform for persons from historically marginalized communities.
