Eleven USF faculty being recognized with research achievement and innovation excellence awards

The University of South Florida will celebrate the accomplishments of eleven faculty
members on Tuesday, April 15 with nine Outstanding Research Achievement Awards and
two Excellence in Innovation Awards. Their contributions span a variety of fields
in artificial intelligence, disease prevention, family-school partnerships, oceanographic
disturbances and semiconductor production.

“I congratulate all of the award winners,” said USF Research & Innovation Vice President
Sylvia Wilson Thomas, PhD. “Their dedication, passion and groundbreaking contributions
are not only advancing knowledge but also increasing the impact of research and innovation
at USF.”  

The Outstanding Research Achievement Award recognizes faculty who demonstrate exceptional
achievement in research and creative activities, as well as the potential to engage
in future high-impact contributions. The Excellence in Innovation Award commemorates
remarkable advancement in translational research and innovation, and its transfer
to practice, industrial partnerships and commercialization. Each awardee will be recognized
for their accomplishments at the USF awards ceremony on April 15, 2025.

Excellence in Innovation Award Recipients

• Ryan Carney, PhD, MPH, MBA
  Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, College of Arts & Sciences
  Dr. Carney has multidisciplinary innovations in public health, paleontology, and pedagogy:
  patented AI technologies to fight mosquito-borne diseases globally, digital techniques
  to study flying dinosaurs, training the next generation of innovators using VR/AR.
  
  
• John Licato, PhD
  Associate Professor in the Bellini College for Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity
  & Computing
  Dr. Licato is actively pioneering the translation of state-of-the-art AI research
  into practical technologies that will encourage safe and secure AI use.

Outstanding Research Achievement Award Recipients

• Ganesh Halade, PhD
  Associate Professor in the USF Health Heart Institute, Morsani College of Medicine
  Dr. Halade’s pioneering work in inflammation-resolution biology connects lipid profiling
  in heart failure, cancer, and lifestyle factors, enhancing the understanding of chronic
  inflammation dynamics in human health and disease.
• Chuanmin Hu, PhD
  Professor in the Department of Physical Oceanography, College of Marine Science
  Dr. Hu’s innovative research on harmful algal blooms, oil spills, and global changes
  has made significant contributions to the fields of ocean optics and optical remote
  sensing.
  
  
• Stacy-Ann January, PhD
  Associate Professor in the College of Education
  Dr. January has made distinguished contributions in the field of school psychology,
  particularly with advancing innovative approaches for improving decision making in
  schools and bolstering family-school partnerships to improve student and family success.
  
  
• Nataša Jonoska, PhD
  Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics,
  College of Arts & Sciences
  Dr. Jonoska’s interdisciplinary work has addressed multiple fundamental questions
  about nucleic acids interactions and has advanced our understanding of their spatial
  embeddings that affect their structure and function.
• Pei-Sung Lin, PhD
  Program Director, ITS, Traffic Operations & Safety, Center for Urban Transportation
  Research
  Dr. Lin has made exceptional contributions to transportation training and safety,
  and to advancing intelligent transportation research, infrastructure resilience, and
  innovative mobility solutions.
• Ashwin Parthasarathy, PhD
  Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering
  Dr. Parthasarathy has produced transformative research, technology development, and
  inventions that improve the portability and clinical translation of quantitative,
  noninvasive blood flow monitoring and imaging with optical instruments.
• Ioannis Spanopoulos, PhD
  Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
  Dr. Spanopoulos has distinguished achievements in Materials Chemistry, particularly
  advancements in the development of Next-generation Multifunctional Semiconductors
  for Medical, Energy and Environment-Related Applications.
• Alexander Staruschenko, PhD
  Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, USF Health Morsani College
  of Medicine
  Dr. Staruschenko, Professor and Director of the Hypertension and Kidney Research Center
  at USF, is a leading researcher in kidney and cardiovascular physiology, securing
  major grants, publishing extensively, and mentoring future scientists.
• Xingmin Sun, PhD
  Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
  Dr. Sun has made pioneering contributions to C. difficile research, securing major
  grants, publishing extensively, developing vaccines, mentoring students, and advancing
  infectious disease therapeutics through innovation, leadership, and interdisciplinary
  collaboration.