Research Institute Fellows

The Research Institute Fellows Program was launched in 2022 to honor faculty who contribute significantly to SLU’s research eminence. The criteria and process for appointing fellows were developed and refined with input from SLU’s research councils (Scholarship; Health; Science & Engineering; School of Medicine Research Planning Committee), deans, and the provost prior to the program’s launch.

Candidates are identified through databases that provide benchmarking tools for measuring and comparing research productivity and through internal peer review. SLU’s main database for benchmarking research productivity is Academic Analytics, which provides the most comprehensive data for comparing SLU faculty with their peers at other universities with a Carnegie R1 classification ("very high research activity"). Academic Analytics' Scholarly Research Index (SRI) weighs a faculty member’s articles and/or monographs, federal grants secured, presentations, awards, and journal citations in relation to the specific field of research as part of this assessment. Candidates who are considered for election as fellows have SRI scores that are at least one standard deviation above the mean of peers at R1 universities, based on the most recent data (currently 2021).

Candidate lists for each college or school are sent to their respective deans for review, and deans are also invited to nominate additional faculty based on their college or school’s specific metrics and other indicators for assessing research excellence. Once the deans return their reviewed list of faculty fellow nominations, the director of the Research Institute makes a recommendation to the provost, who makes the final determination. Using these methods, the provost, advised by the director of the Research Institute, chooses fellows annually in recognition of both their scholarly accomplishments at the very highest level of their fields and their embodiment of the University’s Jesuit research mission to innovate and serve. The group comprises outstanding researchers who reflect the breadth of the University’s research enterprise and exemplify SLU’s aspirations of rigor and impact.

The fellows program is rooted in SLU’s commitment to build an interdisciplinary community of dedicated scholars and promote a culture of rigorous intellectual exchange and collaboration across the University. Fellows receive unique opportunities to convene with colleagues across departments and disciplines to expand their understanding of different fields of inquiry, and also to discover spaces where their research questions intersect.

Fellows will have access to a variety of collaborative forums, events, and training opportunities sponsored by the Research Institute throughout the academic year. These offerings are designed to stimulate discussions and collaborations among fellows, providing extra time and space to explore innovative ideas in the streams of their research. These opportunities will be communicated via email at the beginning of each year and this web page will be updated to reflect current dates, times, and locations.

Fall 2022 Research Institute Fellows

The first cohort of Research Institute Fellows was named in August 2022:

Cameron Anglum, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education

Edwin Antony, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine

Jeffery Bishop, M.D., Ph.D,
Health Care Ethics
College of Arts and Sciences

Bidisha Chakrabarty, Ph.D.
Finance
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Denise Côté-Arsenault, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing

Helen De Cruz, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences

Benjamin de Foy, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering

Alexei Demchenko, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering

Enrico Di Cera, M.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine

Richard Di Paolo, Ph.D.
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine

Mark Dykewicz, M.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

James Edwards, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering

Flavio Esposito, Ph.D.
Computer Science
School of Science and Engineering

Ruth Evans, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences

Chad Flanders, Ph.D., J.D.
Law
School of Law

David Ford, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine

Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences

Koyal Garg, Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering

Lorri Glover, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Jenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D.
Mechanical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering

Richard Grucza, Ph.D., MPE
Family and Community Medicine
School of Medicine

Dan Haybron, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences

Verna Hendricks-Ferguson, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing

Daniel Hoft, M.D., Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

Jin Huang, Ph.D., M.S.W.
School of Social Work

Christa Jackson, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education

Devin Johnston, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences

Grant Kaplan, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

Istvan Kiss, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering

Jason Knouft, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences

Helen Lach, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing

Atria Larson, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

Krista Lentine, M.D., Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

Yi Li, Ph.D.
Nutrition and Dietetics
Doisy College of Health Sciences

Thomas Madden, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Peter Martens, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

Marvin Meyers, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering

Allison Miller, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences

Adriana Montaño, Ph.D.
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Takako Nomi, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education

Marcus Painter, Ph.D.
Finance
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Hal Parker, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Ranjit Ray, Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

Ratna Ray, Ph.D.
Pathology
School of Medicine

James Redfield, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

Gary Ritter, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education

Mark Ruff, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Vasit Sagan, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering

Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D.
Pharmacology and Physiology
School of Medicine

Ness Sandoval, Ph.D.
Sociology
College of Arts and Sciences

Jonathan Sawday, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences

Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D.
Family and Community Medicine
School of Medicine

Scott Sell, Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering

Enbal Shacham, Ph.D.
Behavioral Science and Health Education
College for Public Health and Social Justice

Silvana Siddali, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Nitish Singh, Ph.D.
International Business
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Damien Smith, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Eleonore Stump, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences

Abby Stylianou, Ph.D.
Computer Science
School of Science and Engineering

Jintong Tang, Ph.D.
Management
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

John Tavis, Ph.D.
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine

Jeffrey Teckman, M.D.
Pediatrics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
School of Medicine

Warren Treadgold, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Michael Vaughn, Ph.D.
School of Social Work

Jeremiah Weinstock, Ph.D.
Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences

Lupei Zhu, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering

Fall 2023 Research Institute Fellows

The second cohort of Research Institute Fellows was named in November 2023:

Mark J. Arnold, Ph.D.
Marketing
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Bradley Bailey, Ph.D.
Art History
College of Arts and Sciences

Michael D. Barber, S.J., Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences

Julie Birkenmaier, Ph.D., M.S.W., LCSW
Social Work
School of Social Work

Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D.
Marketing
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Michael C. Duff, J.D.
Law
School of Law

Monica Eppinger, Ph.D., J.D.
Law
School of Law

Annie Garner, Ph.D.
Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences

Claire Gilbert, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences

Kelly Gillespie, R.N., J.D., Ph.D.
Law
School of Law

Ajay Kumar Jain, M.D.
Pediatrics; Pharmacology and Physiology
School of Medicine

Brandy R. Maynard, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Social Work
School of Social Work

Leslie McClure, Ph.D.
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
College for Public Health and Social Justice

Marcia McCormick, J.D.
Law
School of Law

Matthew Nanes, Ph.D.
Political Science
College of Arts and Sciences

Steven Rogers, Ph.D.
Political Science
College of Arts and Sciences

Rubén Rosario Rodríguez, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

Bernard Rousseau, Ph.D., M.M.H.C.
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Doisy College of Health Sciences

Nil Santiáñez, Ph.D.
Languages, Literatures and Cultures
College of Arts and Sciences

Rachel Greenwald Smith, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences

Anne Stiles, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences

Cynthia Stollhans, Ph.D.
Art History
College of Arts and Sciences

Yan Sun, Ph.D.
Accounting
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Brent A. Tetri, M.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

Gregory Edward Triplett Jr., Ph.D.
Civil, Computer and Electrical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering

Phyllis Weliver, D. Phil.
English
College of Arts and Sciences