Florida State University’s distinguished faculty are central to the mission of the university. Faculty excellence in scholarship, research, and creative activity is critical to the quality of student learning and makes a difference in the lives of others.
Throughout the year, honors and recognitions are awarded to individual faculty and staff members across campus. Faculty and Staff Briefs are produced monthly to recognize accomplishments and provide a space where honors, awards, bylines, presentations, grants, service and any other notable items can be showcased.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Amy Farnum-Patronis (University Communications) received the 2025 News Service of Florida Above and Beyond Award, hosted by the News Service of Florida.
Lawrence S. Krieger, J.D. (College of Law) was named the 2025 recipient of the Michael K. Reese Quality of Life Award by The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division at the Florida Bar Annual Convention. The award recognizes his efforts in promoting mental health support and wellness initiatives in the curriculum for legal professionals.
Veronica Fleury, Ph.D., Lindsay Dennis, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences), Kelly Farquharson, Ph.D. and Erin Bush, Ph.D. (College of Communication and Information) received a meritorious award for their presentation “A Qualitative Exploration of SLPs’ Perspectives on an Adaptive Professional Development Model for Dialogic Reading” at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s annual conference.
Besiki Stvalia, Ph.D. (School of Information) co-authored “College Students’ Credibility Assessments of GenAI-Generated Information for Academic Tasks: An Interview Study” and received the 2024 Association for Information Science and Technology’s SIG AI Best Published Paper Award.
Rachel Fendler, Ph.D. (Department of Art Education) was awarded the Florida Higher Education Educator of the Year Award by the Florida Art Education Association.
Jonathan Christensen Caballero, MFA (Department of Art) was awarded first prize for his work “We are Home / Estamos en Casa” in the juried exhibition “Multi-Faceted: Mixed Media & Connected Identities” at the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County Gallery in Fayetteville, NC.
Laura Reid Marks, Ph.D. (College of Medicine Center for Translational Behavioral Science) was elected to Fellow status in the 2026 American Psychological Association, based on her outstanding contributions to the field of psychology.
Erin Bush, Ph.D. (School of Communication Science and Disorders), Erika Fundelius, Ph.D. (Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards), Jenny Root, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) and doctoral candidate Saurym Quezada have been honored with the Teacher Education Division Publications Award from the Council for Exceptional Children. The article “You Are Just a Life Role Model: A Multiple Case Study of Teachers with Visual Impairment in the Field of Visual Disabilities” was selected as the most outstanding publication of the year in Teacher Education and Special Education.
Jean Shon, MFA (Department of Art) was chosen to be a Cummings resident at the Griffin Museum of Photography for the 2025/2026 year.
GRANTS
Michael Roper, Ph.D. (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) received a $432,800 National Institutes of Health grant for the project “Centrifugal Microfluidic System for Functional Cellular Analysis.”
Robert Spencer, Ph.D. (Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science) received three grants that combine to $1.1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and NASA to examine the connectivity of elemental cycles within Arctic ecosystems.
Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing) led part of a major funding effort as the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Florida received a $43 million award from the National Institutes of Health to accelerate translating research into real-world health solutions. The award, which includes a seven-year grant plus two training grants, will bolster infrastructure, workforce development and collaborative efforts across the UF-FSU CTSA hub to move discoveries from lab to clinic more quickly.
Andrea Barton Hulsey, Ph.D. (School of Communication Science & Disorders) received a $2 million Step Up Technology grant award from the Office of Special Education Programs. The project “PATHS to Reading: Promoting Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Based Teaching for High Impact Early Reading Skills” will develop modules for supporting the implementation of literacy and AAC.
Michael Diamond, Ph.D. (Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science) received a $47,170 Reflective grant for his project “Polar Bear Fasting Season Length as an Ecologically Relevant Metric for Evaluating High-Latitude/Low-Altitude SAI Deployment Outcomes.”
Oliver Steinbock, Ph.D. (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) received a $452,542 National Science Foundation grant for his project “Exploring Diffusiophoretic Micromotors in Self-Organizing Reaction-Diffusion Systems.” His work was highlighted as the “Hot Science” news piece in Discovery magazine.
Gretchen Stahlman, Ph.D. (School of Information) received an Institute of Museum and Library Services planning grant to establish a sustainable data curation internship program for Library and Information Studies students.
Marcia Mardis, Ph.D. (School of Information) received a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program National Implementation grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This grant will support an initiative for disaster resiliency.
BYLINES
Alexander Tsesis, J.D. (College of Law) authored “The Originalist Framing of Free Speech Doctrine,” which was originally published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review in Summer 2025 and featured on Lawrence B. Solum’s blog, “Legal Theory Blog.”
Colleen Ganley, Ph.D. and Rob Schoen, Ph.D. (Learning Systems Institute) published “Examining How Grade Level and Teaching Experience Are Related to Math Anxiety and Anxiety about Teaching” in The Elementary School Journal.
Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, Ed.D. (Learning Systems Institute) published “The Erosion of Academic Freedom and Global Engagement in U.S. Higher Education under Presidential Executive Orders in 2025” in EDULEARN Proceedings.
Jie Chen, Ph.D., RN (College of Nursing) co-authored “Mechanistic Insights into a Self-Management Intervention in Young Adults with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Multi-Omics Study,” published in the journal Biomedicines.
Ibrahim Yigit, Ph.D. (College of Nursing) and Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing), co-authored “Development and Validation of an Updated Internalized HIV Stigma Scale Among People Living with HIV,” published in the journal AIDS and Behavior.
Ibrahim Yigit, Ph.D. and Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing) co-authored “Disclosure Concerns Moderate the Association Between Internalized Stigma and Antiretroviral Medication Adherence Among People with HIV in the Dominican Republic,” published in the journal AIDS Care.
Timothy Baghurst, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “A case for thinking about thinking in sports coaching: Understanding situated cognition as a means to inform coaching practice,” published in the International Sport Coaching Journal.
Lara Perez-Felkner, Ph.D., and Shouping Hu, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Does Advanced High School Coursework Enhance Community College Women’s Pathways to Computing Degrees? Evidence from Florida,” published in Review of Higher Education.
Gashaye Tefera, Ph.D. (College of Social Work), co-authored the article “Improving Quality of Life Among Substance Users in Nigeria: Implications for Evidence-Based Practice” in the Handbook of Addiction, Recovery and Quality of Life. He also co-authored “The Overlooked War in Northern Ethiopia: Examining Psychological Capital, Mental Distress, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Internally Displaced People in Amhara Region,” published in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry.
Robert Schoen, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Examining How Grade Level and Teaching Experience Are Related to Math Anxiety and Anxiety about Teaching,” published in The Elementary School Journal.
Joseph Watso, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Hypohydration Augments the Acute Increase in Urinary Biomarkers of Kidney Injury Following the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run,” published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Annie Wofford, Ph.D., Lara Perez-Felkner, Ph.D., Bret Staudt Willet, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) and doctoral students Anum Fatima and Xinting Wu co-authored “Minority-Serving Institutions’ Role in Enhancing Access to Computing Doctoral Education: A Multi-Method Landscape Analysis,” published in Innovative Higher Education.
Erin Bush, Ph.D., (College of Communication and Information) Jenny Root, Ph.D., (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) doctoral student Saurym Quezada and FSU alumna Erika Fundelius co-authored “You are Just a Life Role Model: A Multiple Case Study of Teachers with Visual Impairment in the Field of Visual Disabilities” published in Teacher Education in Special Education.
Roxanne Hughes, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) and graduate students Khadija Zogheib and Sharon Ndubuisi co-authored “Instilling a Sense of Belonging in STEM through a Virtual Summer Program for Girls,” published in Connected Science Learning.
Wen Guo, Ph.D. (Department of Art Education) published “Developing Socially Responsive Competencies in Arts Administration through Teaching Cases: Needs, Barriers, Debates & Possibilities for an Essential Pedagogy” in the Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society.
Dave Gussak, Ph.D. (Department of Art Education) published the edited volume of “The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy-2nd Edition” by Wiley Publishing.
Rachel Fendler, Ph.D. (Department of Art Education) and Sara Shields, Ph.D. (Department of Art Education) co-authored an article, “Curricularizing social movements: Intersecting Art, Pedagogy, and Social Change” in the Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education.
Meghan Mick, MLA (Department of Interior Architecture and Design) published the article “Beyond Sustainable: A Responsible Framework for Design” in The International Journal of Design Education.
Bret Staudt Willet, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) and alumnus Hunhui Na, Ph.D., co-authored “Ex-Edchat: Historic Retrospective of X/Twitter #Edchat,” published in the Computers & Education journal.
Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing) co-authored the National Research Update on Adolescent Health Research in the United States, published in the October issue of Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Research Update.
Melissa Radey, Ph.D., Schyler Brumm, MSW (College of Social Work), Lenore McWey, Ph.D. and Carson Outler, MFT (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored the article “‘It Seems so Simple … the Actual Execution is Difficult”: Self-Defined Needs of Parents Entering the Child Welfare System,” published in the Journal of Public Child Welfare.
Melissa Radey, Ph.D., Kristy Anderson, Ph.D., Michael Killian, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) and Emily Dolce, Ph.D. (College of Medicine) co-authored the article “Young Adulthood Milestones and Supports Within the Context of Autism,” published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Sana Tibi, Ph.D. (School of Communication Science and Disorders) published “Transposed-Letter Priming Effects in Arabic-English Bilinguals: Shifting Toward a Default Orthographic Processing Mode” in the journal Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. She also published “Staples of Screening for Dyslexia in University Students” in Dyslexia: An International Journal of Research and Practice.
Elizabeth Madden, Ph.D. and Michelle Therrien, Ph.D. (College of Communication and Information) published “’It Was Hard for Him to Deal with my Strokeness’ to ‘I Can’t Ask for No Better Friends than the Ones I Got Now’: Friendship Experiences Throughout Post-Stroke Aphasia Recovery” in Qualitative Research in Communication Differences and Disorders.
Mark Bauer, Ed.D., Roxann Mouratidis, MSLIS and Martin Wood, Ed.D. (College of Medicine) published “From Startup to Sundown: Exploring the Life Cycle of an Open Access, Patient-Centered Journal” in Case Studies in Library Publishing.
Nick Sellers, Ph.D. (School of Communication) had his chapter “GAMES FOR GOOD: Exploring the Potential for Traditional Video Game Narratives to Reduce Mental Health Stigma” published in the book Communicating Disability: Expanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Health Communication and Mass Media.
Amy Hall, Ph.D. and Karen MacDonell, Ph.D. (College of Medicine Center for Translational Behavioral Science) co-authored “Middle-Range Theory of Asthma Self-Management,” published in Sage Journals – Nursing Science Quarterly.
Sara Green, MSW, and Andrea Cheshure, M.S. (College of Medicine Center for Translational Behavioral Science), co-authored and presented their research, in partnership with youth community members, to identify and pilot tailored strategies for young adults at high risk of HIV in North Florida at the 2025 National Sexual Health Conference.
Nathan Falk, M.D., Rosa Joseph, M.D. and Marvin Dieujuste, M.D. (College of Medicine) co-authored “Lymphadenopathy: Evaluation and Differential Diagnosis,” published in American Family Physician.
Adam Tratner, Ph.D. (FSU Republic of Panama Campus) co-authored “Ethical Disclosure of Biomarkers for Alzheimer Risk in Latin American Participants,” published in the journal Frontiers in Dementia. He also co-authored “Association Between Cognitive Function, Socio-Clinical Factors and Biomarkers Among Panamanian Adults Living with and without HIV: A Cross-Sectional Study,” published in the journal Scientific Reports.
PRESENTATIONS AND CONFERENCES
Rob Hanna, Zaida McGinley, Carrie Meyers, and Jim Reynolds (Learning Systems Institute) presented “Co-Designing with AI: Empowering Science Educators for the Future of Learning” and “AI Savvy Science Classroom: Teaching Critical Thinking in the Age of AI” at the Florida Association of Science Teachers 2025 Conference.
Subhasree Sengupta, Ph.D. (Learning Systems Institute) presented “A Context-Aware Q&A Motivational Agent for Project-Based Learning in Computing Education” at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2025 conference. She also presented “Case Studies as a Pedagogical Approach in Responsible Data Literacy: A Conceptual Exploration” at the Association for Library and Information Science Education 2025 conference.
Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, Ed.D. (Learning Systems Institute) presented “The Erosion of Academic Freedom and Global Engagement in U.S. higher Education Under Presidential Executive Orders in 2025” at the EDULEARN25 Conference in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Andrea De Giorgi, Ph.D. (Department of Classics) presented “Daphne and the Making of Antioch’s Suburbia” at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Cy Weise, Ph.D. (Department of English) presented “How to Survive Techno-Hellscapes: On Crip Wisdom and Crip Critique,” at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Lucinda J. Graven, Ph.D., APRN, FAHA, FAAN (College of Nursing) presented the award lecture “Heart Failure Science: Building a Program of Research” at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America in Minneapolis, MN.
Gen Ramirez (Center for Leadership and Service) presented “Leading Like Miss Frizzle: Knowing How to Take Leadership Learning into Outer Space as a New Leadership Educator” at the October 2025 International Leadership Association Global Conference.
Wen Zhu, Ph.D. (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) presented “Identifying a Tunnel-Gating Residue in Human Asparagine Synthetase” at the American Chemical Society’s Florida Annual Meeting and Exposition in Palm Harbor.
Lauren Stanley, Ph.D., LCSW (Florida Institute for Child Welfare) presented “What Drives Burnout in Child Welfare Workers? Understanding the Strongest Predictor” for Practice & Research Together Canada.
Jenny Root, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) presented “What Does it Take? Evaluating the Feasibility of a Math Curriculum for Students with Autism and Intellectual Disability” at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s Single Case Conference in Minneapolis.
Hugh Catts, Ph.D. (School of Communication Science and Disorders) delivered the keynote address “Revisiting the Definition of Dyslexia” at the Danish Dyslexia Association meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. Catts also presented this at the Wisconsin Reading League Conference in Brookfield, WI.
Ellen Nimmons, MS (School of Communication Science and Disorders) presented on FSU’s School of Communication Science and Disorders Intensive Clinical Advancement Program at the Southeastern Universities Clinical Educators annual conference at Auburn University.
Hugh Catts, Ph.D. (School of Communication Sciences and Disorders) delivered the keynote address “Revisiting the Definition of Dyslexia” at the Danish Dyslexia Association meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Enrique Urrea-Mendoza, M.D. (College of Medicine) spoke at the 6th Annual All-Community Virtual Conference on Multiple System Atrophy, organized by the Defeat MSA Alliance, delivering a lecture on advanced treatments for Multiple System Atrophy and was a featured panelist in the Q&A session for patients and researchers. Urrea-Mendoza also spoke at the first Panhandle Parkinson’s Educational Symposium, presenting “The Plastic Pandemic and Its Potential Link to Parkinson’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Conditions.”
Carrie Ann Baade, MFA (Department of Art) served as the Keynote Speaker of Beyond the Looking Glass: A Colossal Dream, the annual Florida Art Education Association Conference in St. Petersburg, FL.
Jiha Moon, MFA (Department of Art) served as the Keynote Speaker at the American Ceramic Circle Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Rebecca Giguere, MPH (College of Medicine) presented “Mystery Shopping at Free HIV Testing Clinics in Florida: Notes from the Field on Anonymous Testing Policies” at the 2025 National Sexual Health Conference.
Christopher Mulrooney, Ph.D. (College of Medicine) presented “Experiencing Mutuality: Listening Well to Each Other on the Topic of Person-Directed Living Practices” at the annual Planetree International Global Person-Centered Care Forum in Baltimore, MD.
Nicole Ennis, Ph.D. (College of Medicine) presented “An Examination of Drug-Drug Interactions in Adults Aged 50 and Older New to Medical Marijuana Use” at the 2025 Cannabis Research Conference.
EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
Camilo Loaiza Bonilla, MFA (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art) had a solo exhibition, “Raíces/Roots: Camilo Loaiza Bonilla,” featured at The University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery. She also had a companion book published by The University of Tampa Press.
Denise Bookwalte, MFA (Department of Art) exhibited her collaborative work with partner Tricia Treacy at the New York Art Book Fair in New York City.
Katie Kehoe, MFA (Department of Art) exhibited her work in the group exhibition: “Imaginary Worlds: Invented Spaces and Places” at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons, MD.
Mona Bozorgi, MFA (Department of Art) had her work featured in “from within, so together” with Tokie Rome-Taylor at Swan Coach House in Atlanta and “Fibration III: Anxiety and Hope” at L’Space Gallery in New York.
Marty Fielding, MFA (Department of Art) exhibited his work in ‘Conveying’ at the Schaller Gallery in Baroda, Michigan, and in a solo show, ‘Intentional Acts’, opening at the Plough Gallery in Tifton, GA.
Jiha Moon, MFA (Department of Art), exhibited her work in a solo exhibition, “Purgatory Mutt,” at Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, and in “EMILY COLE: Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses” at the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill, NY.
Ilana Goldman, MFA (School of Dance) staged Trey McIntyre’s ballet Wild Sweet Love for Richmond Ballet’s first program of the season in Richmond, VA.
SERVICE
Mark Zeigler, M.S. (College of Business) served as a faculty member for the Fall Academy of the Florida Association of City Clerks, teaching an advanced public speaking course. He also served as a guest colloquium speaker for the faculty, staff and graduate students in FSU’s Institute for Sports Sciences and Medicine. Zeigler also moderated the Opening Nights event featuring Authors James Patterson and Patrick Leddin that celebrated the release of their new Leadership and Management book, “Disrupt Everything.”
Rob Hanna and Zaida McGinley (Learning Systems Institute) traveled to Holley-Navarre Intermediate School to work with students as part of FSU InSPIRE’s STEAM Night.
Amanda Tazaz, Ph.D. (Learning Systems Institute) hosted Hillsborough County students at Riverview Elementary for “Spooky STEAM Nights” to support K-5 math learning goals.
Jonathan Christensen Caballero, MFA (Department of Art) was announced as a juror for the annual Artaxis Fellowships.
Jen Atkins, Ph.D. (School of Dance) has been appointed the new co-executive editor of Dance Research Journal.
Brandon Bowden, Ed.D. (Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs) was selected to serve on the 2026 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Associate Vice President Symposium Committee.
Lucinda J. Graven, Ph.D., APRN, FAHA, FAAN (College of Nursing) served as a panelist on “Sex Differences in Heart Failure: Ask the Experts” at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America.
Kristen Guynes, Ph.D. and Casey Guynes, Ph.D. (School of Communication Science and Disorders) hosted a community gathering at Wakulla Springs State Park for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing through SCSD’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing/American Sign Language Educational Outreach Program.
Denise Gonzalez, Ed.D. (College of Medicine) was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Community of Practice for Medical Admissions Reform, a collaborative effort to improve equity and effectiveness in medical school admissions. She is the only representative from a Florida medical school.
Katie Berry, Ph.D. (Florida Institute for Child Welfare) participated on the conference panel “Lived Experts Leading the Way: Co-Creating Care for Child Welfare-Involved Youth” at the Annual Commonwealth of Virginia CSA Conference at Virginia Tech in Roanoke, VA.
Charles Fleischer, M.D. (College of Medicine) served as co-chair on behalf of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Global Health Advisory Group at the 2025 Global Health Summit, presenting and leading sessions that advanced discussions on health equity and improving care in resource-limited settings.
Allison Wing, Ph.D. (Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science), was elected to the Members Nominating Committee, one of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s governance committees.
Kevin Curry, MFA (Department of Art) was selected as a member of the Board of Directors for the Southeastern College Art Conference. During SECAC’s conference in Cincinnati, OH, Curry’s work, “Sausages,” was exhibited at SITE1212.
NOTABLE
Lakesha Brown, M.S. (Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement) completed the 2025 Spring National TRIO Alumni Association Engagement Ambassador Cohort II Training, a professional development initiative of the Council for Opportunity in Education.
Kaylee Webb, M.S. (Career Center), provided career guidance through one-on-one advising sessions to help students prepare for professional opportunities in the sports industry at the 2025 Sport Management Conference at FSU. She also obtained the Adult Mental Health First Aid certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Additionally, she completed the Law School Admissions Council, a month-long program to assist professionals who advise pre-law students.
Stephen McDowell, Ph.D. and Jaejin Lee, Ph.D. (School of Communication) met with the president of Kyungpook National University (KNU) to discuss areas of collaboration and sign a memorandum of understanding between KNU and FSU.
Rachel Bailey, Ph.D. (School of Communication) became an associate editor at the Journal of Media Psychology.
Eric Holmes, Ph.D. and Gary Ostrander, Ph.D. (College of Medicine) were issued a patent for their work with the drug Niclosamide in conjunction with specific enhancers to treat viral infections, such as the human coronavirus.
Malaika Samples, Ed.D., MPA, Kyle Cook, MS and Kristina Finch, MS (Florida Institute for Child Welfare) launched FSU’s first Child Advocacy Studies Badging Program, enrolling its inaugural student cohort in Fall 2025. They are partnering with the Zero Abuse Project and Florida higher education institutions to expand CAST statewide.
Jamie Ho, MFA (Department of Art) completed a residency at the Bemis Center in Omaha, NE.
Lilian Garcia-Roig, MFA (Department of Art) completed the Surf Point Residency in York, ME.
Daniel Smith, MME (School of Dance) is a 2025 quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award.