The pandemic could not divert USF鈥檚 top faculty researchers from making big discoveries that shape our understanding of the past, present and future.
TAMPA, Fla. 鈥� One USF researcher brings dinosaurs to life through augmented reality while a colleague explores the origins of life through planetary chemistry. Another faculty member鈥檚 research sounded early alarms about people turning to alcohol amid the stress and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, while her colleague is the co-founder of the new Center for Justice Research & Policy at USF. And in USF鈥檚 Department of Physics, a professor鈥檚 discovery holds the potential to revolutionize the Internet of Things.
These are just a few of the faculty research achievements newly recognized with USF鈥檚 Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 interruptions to campus life in 2020, this year鈥檚 awards recognize 22 faculty members鈥攖he largest group to date鈥攆or their achievements that defied the disruption caused by the last year鈥檚 shutdown.
鈥淭he OB体育官网鈥檚 reputation as a top urban-based research university is fueled by our innovative faculty and researchers,鈥� said USF President Rhea Law. 鈥淚 congratulate each of the outstanding awardees for such a productive year in their work to change lives and shape the future.鈥�
The largest internal recognition of its kind at USF, the annual nominations are submitted by deans, department chairs, center and institute
directors, and associate deans of research. The nominations are reviewed by members
of the USF Research Council. Each faculty member receives $2,000 with the award and
recognition at an event later in the fall.
, PhD, FAAAS, FASTMH
Distinguished USF Health Professor and Distinguished University Professor, Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research and USF Genomics Program
College of Public Health
is an international expert in malaria research. His research focuses on host鈥恜arasite interactions and improving the understanding of infection and pathogenesis in malaria. His group is actively engaged in vaccine and drug discovery projects. In 2020, he received a National Institutes of Health grant , the most prevalent type of malaria outside of the African continent. The project builds upon his group鈥檚 successful development of a greatly improved liver culture system for the early infective stages of human malaria parasites.
As the lead investigator on the grant, Dr. Adams brought together an international
consortium from six institutions to prepare a vaccine for clinical trial. He also
the lead investigator for an NIH 2020 exploratory grant to collaborate with researchers
in Thailand to evaluate the pharmacogenomics of an antimalarial drug.
Ryan Carney, PhD, MPH, MBA
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Carney , one in paleontology and one in epidemiology. In 2020, he was PI of a newly-awarded NSF proposal for more than $900,000 to fight mosquito-borne diseases worldwide using artificial
intelligence. A first- and senior-authored paleobiology publication in on the iconic received substantial international recognition, including from , and ranked in the 99th percentile in global coverage by Altimetric. A second paper
describing the , which is crucial to disease-control efforts, has already been cited multiple times.
His collaborative research in 2020 resulted in two new invention disclosures with
plans for multiple patents. Dr. Carney's dinosaur research was featured in , , and three international outreach activities with total viewership of 150,000.
, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering
College of Engineering
Dr. Charkhgard is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Management
Systems Engineering and the founder and director of the . Dr. Charkhgard published nine journal articles in 2020 in highly-ranked journals
in operations research. Additionally, he has six journal articles currently under
review which were submitted last year. Dr. Charkhgard is the co-PI on a working to prevent and control harmful algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee by optimizing
the implementation of technologies and practices. Also in 2020, Dr. Charkhgard graduated
two PhD students, applied for a U.S. Patent for his methodological invention on radiotherapy
treatment planning, and submitted a scientific journal article about his invention
to , which was published this year.
, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology
Morsani College of Medicine
Dr. Davis is an He pioneered the use of three-dimensional collagen matrices as a platform for the
study of blood vessels in the lab. More recently, his research has shed light on how aberrant cell signaling can result
in abnormal blood vessels. Healthy communication, or molecular signaling, inside and
outside capillaries appears to play a critical role in promoting healthy tissues such
as the heart, lungs and liver. Many diseases arise from abnormalities in blood vessels
that fail to communicate properly with tissues. Dr. Davis has 151 publications that
have been cited 762 times in 2020 alone. He published six peer-reviewed manuscripts
in 2020 鈥� four as author and two as co-author 鈥� all in outstanding journals. In 2020,
Dr. Davis was the PI on three high-level NIH grants.
