The 2024 Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards were give to 15 Pitt faculty members across three categories. The awards honor outstanding individuals whose scholarly commitments and contributions in research, teaching or public service have advanced the Pitt community or their respective fields.
Each recipient receives a letter from Chancellor Joan Gabel, a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant to support their work. Awardees will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation at 3 p.m. April 5 in Carnegie Music Hall.
Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Awards
Senior category
Alexander Deiters, chemistry professor in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, was honored for his innovation and interdisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry and biology, which aims to discover new therapeutic approaches and improve human health, particularly the microRNA and phase II metabolism.
Anne B. Newman, UPMC Chair in Geroscience and distinguished professor in the School of Public Health, was awarded for her impactful work in the epidemiology of aging and interventions to promote healthy aging through strategies like cardiovascular disease prevention. Newman is also clinical director for the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC Aging Institute and a professor of medicine and clinical and translational science.
Jennifer Whiting, distinguished professor of philosophy in the Dietrich School, was recognized for her depth and range of research in philosophy, which brings ancient philosophical thought into dialogue with modern debates on the nature of friendship and personal identity.
Junior category
Peggy Liu, Ben. L Fryrear Chair in Marketing and associate professor in the Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration, was honored for her theoretical and practical contributions to research on social and physical well-being and the intersection between the two.
Mehret Birru Talabi is an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and associate program director of the UPMC Rheumatology Fellowship. She was awarded for her contributions to the field of reproductive rheumatology, which led to the development of a new paradigm for addressing reproductive health within subspeciality medicine and in vulnerable and high-risk populations.
Christopher Wilmer, William Kepler Whiteford Faculty Fellow in the Swanson School of Engineering, was recognized for his research on porous materials, which has advanced understanding of thermal transport in these materials and played a role in the design of innovative electronic nose technology.
Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Awards
Taryn Bayles, professor and vice chair for undergraduate education in the Swanson School, was awarded for her dedication to mentoring new engineering faculty members as they strive to become exceptional instructors and securing a National Science Foundation grant to broaden participation in engineering in rural Pennsylvania counties.
Ljiljana Duraskovic, teaching professor and assistant dean of the Dietrich School, was awarded for developing an new course that examines the contemporary cultures of Eastern Europe and for her leadership as the acting academic director of Pitt’s Summer Language Institute. Duraskovic also serves as advisor for the Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian Studies minor.
Andrew Lotz, teaching professor and academic advisor in the Dietrich School, as well as assistant dean for undergraduate studies, was recognized for his role in developing the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant program in the Department of Political Science.
Marie Norman is founder and director of Pitt’s Innovative Design for Education and Assessment Lab and professor of medicine and clinical and translational science in the Department of Medicine’s Center for Research on Health Care. She was recognized for her role within the lab and for her contributions to the design and implementation of five online Institute for Clinical Research Education programs that target underrepresented minority researchers and mentors.
John Whitefoot, associate professor in the Swanson School, was recognized for developing the Facilitating Inclusive Research Experiences program and leadership on the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Student Advisory Board.
Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Awards
Thuy D. Bui, professor in the School of Medicine, was recognized for an unwavering commitment to social medicine and health justice, specifically for historically marginalized groups, which has led to a distinguished, decades-long career that has been celebrated with many awards for improving lives. Bui serves as a faculty mentor for the Refugee Health Advocacy Project and as medical director at the Birmingham Free Clinic, directs the Social Medicine Fellows Program, volunteers as Prevention Point Pittsburgh’s lab director, and facilitates student and resident rotations at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi, South Africa.
Christine R. Dahlin, biology professor at Pitt–Johnstown, was honored for endeavors to bridge the University-city divide by creating a community-based education program in public housing neighborhoods, serving as a member of Johnstown’s Unity Coalition, launching a pollinator garden at a local elementary school and writing science features for The Tribune-Democrat.
Leonora Anyango, teaching professor in the Dietrich School’s Department of English, was awarded for serving on several important efforts to address social problems, such as translating church services for East African immigrants and founding a program to pay high school fees for blind students in Kenya. Additionally, Kivuva’s seminars on composition have been praised for enhancing student’s experiences by enabling engagement with refugees and refugee organizations.
Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili is a professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She was awarded for making Pitt a place of refuge for at-risk scholars from Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan and other countries. She raised $2 million to support many of these scholars at Pitt and has hosted a dozen. She mobilized student volunteers to provide emergency asylum assistance to 6,000 Afghan citizens immediately following the fall of Kabul. Additionally, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Murtazashvili spearheaded fundraising initiatives, securing a $100,000 grant provide emergency support to Ukrainian scholars. The Center for Governance and Markets, where Murtazashvili serves as the founding director, was vital in this effort.