Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research 2017

Senior Faculty Award
– R. Ariel Gomez, MD, Professor of Pediatrics
– Hui Li, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology

Team Science Research Award
– Victor E. Laubach, PhD, Professor of Surgery
– Irving L. Kron, MD, Professor of Surgery
– Christine L. Lau, MD, Professor of Surgery
– Ashish K. Sharma, MBBS, Assistant Professor of Surgery
– David K. Glover, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine
– Kevin R. Lynch, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology
– Dongfeng Pan, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology & Medical Imaging

Congratulations, all!

“Mazhar Adli is one of UVA’s rising stars who enriches the entire research community with his new technologies, research excellence, approachable manner, and belief in team based research.” – Colleague

“I can say without hesitation that he is rapidly becoming one of the top researchers in his field. In his short independent career, he has already influenced the work of many within and well beyond the boundaries of our institution.” – Colleague

“Mazhar’s strength emerges from his deep belief in the importance of new technologies to propel research forward. He is quick to both embrace new technologies and also develops new technologies himself.” – Colleague

“Dr. Adli is one of those scientists with multiple capabilities. In addition to his unique ability to map epigenomes and pioneering the Nano-ChIP-Seq technology, Dr. Adli is now publishing an impressive series of papers on novel CRISPR-based genome and epigenome technologies that have broad scientific impact.” – Colleague

“Mazhar believes in the power of team science. He is an outstanding colleague who is always willing to collaborate, share his new techniques, or just give solid advice. Because of his ability to seamlessly employ the latest technologies, he has made himself an indispensable piece of 17 collaborative projects at UVA with faculty from 10 different departments.” – Colleague

“Ariel is an outstanding, world-renowned investigator and leader in the field of hypertension. His seminal studies on the morphogenesis of the kidney and, in particular, the identity and lineage of the renin-expressing cell, have helped clarify the role of the renin-angiotensin system not only in hypertension but more broadly in diseases of the kidney, the heart, and beyond. Through his imaginative studies, Ariel has provided key insights on the importance of cell lineage and fate in normal physiology and pathophysiology of disease.” – Colleague

“He has been an outstanding leader, and outstanding researcher, and a source of pride for the University of Virginia, internationally.” – Colleague

“Altogether, Ariel’s work has developed the concept that cell fate is the root of disease processes including fibrosis, inflammation, abnormal growth and development, and metabolic abnormalities that underlie and accompany cardiovascular disease, hypertensive vascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. He has shown that understanding cell fate has critical implications for tissue repair, regenerative and stem cell medicine.” – Colleague

“A distinguishing characteristic of Ariel’s work is the depth of inquiry. Ariel consistently pursues his previous data and employs highly innovative molecular techniques to achieve definitive understanding of embryonic original and lineage of renal renin secreting cells.” – Colleague

“In seven years at University of Virginia, he has had a rapid launch; he has established himself as a leader in a young field by developing new insights into the activity of cis- and trans-spliced RNAs in normal biology, development, and cancer biology. He uses diverse and innovative analytical techniques, and he has been aggressive about forming productive collaborations to accelerate work involving bioinformatics analyses and human tissue correlates.” – Colleague

“He has risen rapidly through the academic ranks on the strength of his innovative work, productivity, and peer recognition. Because his discoveries are so new and so different, I am sure the impact of his recent work will expand even more in the near future as it shapes the research efforts of others in his fields.” – Colleague

“Hui is one of the most innovative researchers at UVA with a great track record of ground-breaking research, high-impact publication, and peer-recognition by numerous awards and grants. His career at UVA has been centered on showing how this newly described gene regulatory process is involved in organogenesis (myogenesis) and in normal physiology (endometrial menstrual cycle). The implications for cancer have been profound.” – Colleague

“Dr. Li is an outstanding, independent, and innovative scientist and an excellent lecturer. These qualities, together with his scientific enthusiasm, deep understanding of scientific problems, and achievements prove him as an excellent academic investigator.” – Colleague

“This multi-Departmental, multi-disciplinary group has not only performed high-level basic science research which ultimately will be translatable into humans, but they have also bought significant national prominence to our institution. Ultimately the goal of all good science is to improve our understanding of the human condition, and then find a way to improve our existence. This talented group has worked seamlessly and tirelessly for the betterment of science and in turn, mankind.” – Colleague

“These faculty have made great strides in the solutions to lung injury from ischemia-reperfusion occurring in the first days of post-lung transplantation. Their work has led to the transplant team’s ability to use more marginal potential donor lungs, which is an additional major contribution, since organ availability is a major limiting factor in lung transplantation.” – Colleague

“Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury is a key process that underlies many of the complications of lung transplantation. With their team approach, Drs. Kron, Laubach, Lau, Sharma, Glover, Pan, and Lynch have made important contributions to our understanding of the underlying biology. Most importantly, they have also discovered novel targets for therapies to treat this potentially devastating injury to the lungs. Their research group has been collaborative and spans the spectrum from basic to translational research.” – Colleague

“The relevance of their work to advancing the diagnosis and care of lung transplant recipients has been widely supported and recognized. They have truly established their group as a leader in this field with significant productivity and an effective multi-disciplinary approach.” – Colleague