Emory faculty and staff are frequently recognized for their work locally, nationally and internationally. The following is a sampling of recent accolades, including appointments to professional boards and awards for outstanding research.
Honors highlighted in this column:
- An-Na’im noted as Carnegie Corporation “Great Immigrant”
- Easley named to Princeton Board of Trustees
- Evangelista selected as 2020 IAQMS medalist
- Emory Midtown infection prevention team honored nationally
- Lesley named a Charlotte W. Newcombe fellow
- Markowitz elected to ASHEcon board
- Russell appointed chair of Georgia’s ACS Commission on Cancer
- Smith to join working group studying social determinants of health
- Zeidan recognized for outstanding research publication
An-Na’im noted as Carnegie Corporation “Great Immigrant”
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im is included in the annual list of Great Immigrants named by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Each Fourth of July since 2006, the philanthropic foundation has celebrated the exemplary contributions of immigrants to American life. The 2020 list honors 38 naturalized citizens who have enriched and strengthened our nation and democracy through their contributions and actions.
An-Na’im joined Emory University School of Law in 1995; he was named Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law in 1999. An internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights, and human rights in cross-cultural perspectives, An-Na’im teaches courses in human rights, international law and Islamic law.
Easley named to Princeton Board of Trustees
Janeria Easley is one of seven members elected to Princeton University’s Board of Trustees. She is the first person elected to the board in a new position created last year for an individual who has received a Princeton graduate degree within the five years prior to the year of election.
Easley is an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies. Her research and teaching specializations are racial and ethnic relations, demography, social stratification and urban studies.
Evangelista selected as 2020 IAQMS medalist
Francesco Evangelista, associate professor of chemistry, has been chosen as the 2020 recipient of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences medal.
The IAQMS is the leading international organization for the development and application of quantum theory for chemistry and chemical physics. This prestigious medal is given annually “to a young member of the scientific community who has distinguished himself [or herself] by a pioneering and important contribution.” Evangelista was chosen based on “significant contributions to multireference coupled cluster methods, the driven similarity renormalization group approach, adaptive configuration interaction, and quantum computing.”
To date, the medal has been awarded to 50 notable theorists such as Roald Hoffmann, Keiji Morokuma, Emily Carter and Sharon Hammes-Schiffer.
Emory Midtown infection prevention team honored nationally
The Infection Prevention team at Emory University Hospital Midtown has received national recognition for its work building relationships to enhance perception of the infection prevention and control function at their facility and reduce healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates.
The team – comprised of Paul Gentile, Jill Holdsworth, Aaron Preston, Patty Rider and Winta Yallew – was honored as one recipient of the 2020 Heroes of Infection Prevention Award by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Read about the team’s work here.
Lesley named a Charlotte W. Newcombe fellow
Elena Lesley, a PhD candidate in Emory's Department of Anthropology, recently received the Charlotte W. Newcombe fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Each year the foundation selects 23 scholars from around the country for the fellowship, which is the largest and most prestigious award for PhD candidates in the humanities and social sciences addressing questions of ethical and religious values.
Lesley’s dissertation examines Buddhist-influenced mental health interventions in Cambodia. Read the Newcombe Fellows press release here.
Markowitz elected to ASHEcon board
Sara Markowitz, economics professor and director of graduate studies in Emory College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Society of Health Economists. ASHEcon is dedicated to promoting excellence in health economics research in the United States.
Markowitz specializes in health economics, labor economics and applied microeconomics. She will serve a four-year term on the board.
Russell appointed chair of Georgia’s ACS Commission on Cancer
Maria C. Russell, associate professor of surgery of the Division of Surgical Oncology, has been named to serve as chair of the Georgia Society of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) for a three-year term.
Russell has served as the CoC's cancer liaison physician at Grady Memorial Hospital since 2014, evaluating, interpreting and reporting Grady's performance using data from the National Cancer Database and creating quality studies to improve cancer care at Grady.
As chair of the GSACS CoC, she will assist in improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and monitoring comprehensive quality care.
Smith to join working group studying social determinants of health
Randi N. Smith, assistant professor of surgery and trauma/surgical critical care at Emory School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of public health at Rollins School of Public Health, has joined the newly-formed Working Group on the Social Determinants of Health of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT).
Smith is a member of the Violence Prevention Task Force, based out of the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory, and a core member of the Program to Interrupt Violence through Outreach and Treatment at Grady. She also is an expert on the relatively recent social phenomenon of “coronaviolence,” defined as the surge of home-based violence attributed to the significant stress and isolation caused by COVID-19.
This multidisciplinary working group will examine social determinants — the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age — and their impact on chronic diseases (including trauma) and how they intersect with inequity and health care disparities. The group will then recommend methods and protocols for affecting and reversing these determinants at hospital and systems levels so that medical and public health personnel can better serve their patient communities.
Zeidan recognized for outstanding research publication
Amy Zeidan was awarded the 2020 Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Outstanding Research Publication Award for her work on “Implicit Bias Education and Emergency Medicine Training: Step One? Awareness.”
Zeidan is assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
The AWAEM was established in 2009 to promote the recruitment, retention, advancement and leadership of women in academic emergency medicine.