Faculty Highlights

On December 4, Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Kwasi Ampene’s book Engaging Modernity: Asante In the Twenty-First Century (Maize Books 2016) was presented to Former President of Ghana John Mahama by the Asante King, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. On December 8, John Mahama was elected Ghana’s new president. A video of the presentation of Ampene's book is available here at the 52-minute mark.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Anjuli Fahlberg was awarded a distinguished scholar award from The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation to support her project entitled “How States of Exception Impact Lived Experiences of Violence in Gang Territories: A Comparison of El Salvador and Honduras.”

Professor and White Family Chair in Biology Sergei M. Mirkin and his team at the Mirkin Lab published two major papers: "Recurrent DNA nicks drive massive expansions of (GAA)n repeats" in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. and "Stabilization of expandable DNA repeats by the replication factor Mcm10 promotes cell viability" in Nature Communications.

Associate Professor of Psychology Nathan Ward co-authored a paper with several collaborators, including 2nd year graduate student in psychology Julie DiCarlo who is the first author. Entitled "Distinct Constructs Underlie Patient-Reported and Performance-Rated Outcomes after Stroke," the paper was published in the journal Annals of Neurology and examines the relationship between patient-reported outcome measures and performance-based measures in stroke survivors with arm motor impairments.

Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology Michael Levin was included in Vox's 2024 Future Perfect 50 list, celebrating thinkers, innovators, and changemakers who are working to make the future a better place. Levin was recognized in the "Expanding the Mind" category for his research understanding intelligence and memory and questioning what kinds of creatures deserve moral concern. Vox writer Oshan Jarow describes the impact of Levin's work saying: "If mind and intelligence are spectrums that will run across all sorts of hybrid beings in the coming years, [Levin's] unconventional work invites us to expand the horizons of our compassion accordingly."

Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, assistant professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development, participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Boston City Council. The discussion focused on the significance of community spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and their impact on public health. Salinas-Quiroz's segment begins at 52:11.

Associate Professor of Biology Erik Dopman was awarded a National Science Foundation grant. This funding will allow Dopman and his team to analyze the role of selection, population processes, and genetic architecture for the build up of distinct barriers to gene exchange in the European corn borer moth system. This research aims to contribute to an understanding of speciation as well as to practical applications in agricultural sustainability, environmental health, and educational outreach.

Northwestern University’s Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (CCSS) has awarded the 2024-2025 Vladimir N. Ipatieff Lectureship in Catalysis to John Wade Professor of Chemistry Charles Sykes. The prestigious lectureship was established by CCSS to enhance the educational experience of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at Northwestern. Sykes is an internationally recognized expert in surface science and catalysis and will bring his unique insights into the field to this new teaching role.

Associate Professor of Music Frank Lehman was named the winner of the Society for Music Theory’s (SMT) Public-Facing Scholarship Award for his interactive article in the New York Times entitled "How To Write Music for Rolling Boulders." The Public-Facing Scholarship Award is given to publications that advance the public’s knowledge and appreciation of music theory.

Professor of the Practice of Biology Frank Samuel David co-authored a paper on drug pricing, pharma innovation, and the Inflation Reduction Act in the JAMA Oncology journal. It was highlighted in the "Cost Curve" newsletter, which is focused on the economics of the pharma industry.

Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science and Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development Richard M. Lerner was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame. 4‑H is a nationwide youth development organization, empowering nearly six million young people with leadership skills. The National 4-H Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made an extraordinary impact on 4-H and the lives of its youth members.

Assistant Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development Fernando Salinas-Quiroz was spotlighted by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). The field's most prestigious organization, SRCD has over 5,500 members across more than 60 countries. Salinas-Quiroz answered questions about their passions, career trajectory, and work with the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression (SOGIE) Caucus.

John McCann Assistant Professor of Music Jeremy Eichler received the 2024 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award from the Phi Beta Kappa Society for his book Time’s Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance (Knopf 2023). The Ralph Waldo Emerson Award recognizes "scholarly studies that contribute significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.”

A research study published by Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Keren Ladin and Professor in the Clinical and Translational Science Program Daniel Weiner was highlighted by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Entitled "Does a Decision Aid Help Older Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease Choose Treatment?," the study aims to help clinics and other healthcare institutions in supporting older adults with chronic kidney disease and their care partners to make better-informed decisions about their care.

Associate Professor of Economics Laura Gee was profiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis for her work studying philanthropy and gender differences in the labor market.

Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology Michael Levin has launched a new blog. Entitled “Forms of Life, Forms of Mind,” it weaves Professor Levin’s thoughts on the science and philosophy of embodied minds; the lives that can be; and the more personal, broader complements of his laboratory research on the biophysical mechanisms of embodied intelligence.

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Justin Hollander, A’96, was interviewed and his research was cited in the national magazine Outside in the article "Can Car-free Living Make You Happier?" The article describes Culdesac, AZ, the first car-free city built from scratch, and references Hollander’s research using biometrics, which demonstrate that the benefits of car-free cities are real and measurable.

Associate Professor of History and Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Kerri Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family (Norton 2022), was selected as a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize from the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. The book provides a counternarrative to the mythology surrounding the revered abolitionist Grimke sisters and reclaims the forgotten Black members of their family.

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning Justin Hollander and Fletcher School Professor Karen Jacobsen were awarded a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under their Program for Local and Urban Sustainability (PLUS) to continue their ongoing collaboration with Makerere University on urban development/pollution challenges in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda. Numerous Tufts students have been a part of this work and three graduate students, Elijah Mensah, G24, Kyle Hammond A25, G26, and Sonya Sternlieb, G23, travelled to Uganda last year.

Associate Professor of Political Science Oxana Shevel was elected President of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). The Slavic Studies Association in its various incarnations has been the leading international scholarly organization devoted to the region since 1948.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Meredith Mclain published a peer-reviewed article in Political Research Quarterly. Entitled "The Traceability of Presidential Policymaking in the Face of Congressional Sanctioning," the paper examines an original dataset of executive orders, published memoranda, and unpublished memoranda issued between 1981 and 2020. It demonstrates how presidents can overcome legislative checks by altering the traceability of their unilateral directives.