Category: Creative Research Medal

Jill Anderson, professor in the Odum School of Ecology and the Franklin College Department of Genetics, is recognized for a groundbreaking long-term research project investigating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of climate change in natural plant populations. For more than a decade, Anderson has led one of the world’s most ambitious field experiments, testing whether plant populations harbor sufficient genetic variation to adapt to rapidly changing environments. Using the Rocky Mountain wildflower Boechera stricta, her project integrates common garden experiments, climatic manipulations of temperature and snowpack, and quantitative genetic and genomic analyses across an elevational gradient. This work has produced insight into how climate change alters natural selection, disrupts local adaptation, and constrains evolutionary rescue. Anderson demonstrated that adaptation and gene flow are insufficient to prevent population declines under projected climates, even in widespread species. By linking evolutionary processes to demographic outcomes, her project has reshaped understanding of extinction risk and informed conservation strategies, including the potential need for assisted migration under accelerating climate change.

Sun Joo “Grace” Ahn, professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems, is recognized for the Virtual Fitness Buddy Ecosystem, a multi-year research project addressing childhood physical inactivity through immersive technology and personalized social support. The project integrates affordable wearable sensors, mobile devices, and a mixed-reality kiosk with an algorithmically driven virtual dog designed to motivate children to initiate and sustain physical activity. Grounded in behavioral science and human–computer interaction, the Ecosystem adapts to each child’s pace and needs, encouraging long-term engagement. The project emphasizes accessibility and scalability, using off-the-shelf technologies to reach diverse populations. Supported by a five-year NIH R01 grant and extended through the COVID-19 pandemic, the research demonstrates how technology-mediated social support can promote healthier behaviors in real-world settings. Through this innovative project, Ahn advances evidence-based approaches to child health aligned with principles of precision and personalized intervention. 

Nikki Shariat, associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine Poultry’s Diagnostic and Research Center, is recognized for a research project that improves the accuracy and resolution of Salmonella serotyping for public health and food safety applications. Her award-winning project involved the use of a powerful bioinformatics tool she developed, CRISPR Sero-Seq, that uniquely enables identification of multiple Salmonella serotypes, eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly traditional methods. Following national and international application in food animal production systems, the tool has made rapid impact by assisting stakeholders in characterizing Salmonella dynamics to improve public health. The project has generated high-impact publications, sustained external support, and received broad recognition as a practical and transformative contribution to foodborne illness research. Through this focused effort, Shariat’s work strengthens national and global capacity to monitor and subsequently control Salmonella, with the outcome of improved food safety and enhanced public health.

Sharina Maíllo-Pozo, associate professor in the Franklin College Department of Romance Languages, is being honored for Bridging Sonic Borders: Popular Music in Contemporary Dominican/Dominicanyork Literature, an ambitious interdisciplinary research project that redefines Dominican and Latinx cultural studies. With its centerpiece a 2025 monograph published by the University of Texas Press, Maíllo-Pozo’s research opens new pathways for understanding how culture, music, literature, and identity take shape across two islands—Hispaniola in the Caribbean and Manhattan in New York. Introducing the groundbreaking concept of “sonic literary texts,” she explores novels, poetry, music, and performance that respond to political repression, migration, and the complexities of transnational life. Praised by leaders in the field, Bridging Sonic Borders has earned national and international recognition, multiple award nominations, and meaningful impact across Latinx, Caribbean, and sound studies. Fueled by public engagement through news articles, social media events, and public talks, Maíllo-Pozo invites scholars and broader communities to reimagine conversations about immigration, diaspora, and belonging.

Amanda Spivak, professor in the Franklin College Department of Marine Sciences, has advanced scientific understanding of estuaries and wetlands and how disturbances like nutrient pollution, sea-level rise, and land-use change affect coastal resilience. Her interdisciplinary research combines ecosystem ecology with novel biogeochemical approaches to describe how molecular-scale processes can affect entire landscapes. This has yielded new insights into how natural, created, and restored coastal environments function and change over time. As co-director of the NSF-funded Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research project, Spivak draws on collaborative research from the Georgia coast to translate complex ecosystem processes into clear, evidence-based narratives that connect local environmental conditions to broader climate dynamics. She has created accessible research products that reach policymakers, coastal managers, educators, and community audiences, supporting environmental decision making with scientific knowledge. By grounding public engagement in sustained field science, Spivak’s work demonstrates how research-driven communication can inform stewardship of vulnerable coastal systems.

Creative Research Medal 2025

Justin Lavner, professor of psychology in the Franklin College Department of Psychology, led a landmark study investigating the impact of a responsive parenting intervention on health outcomes among first-time Black mothers and their infants. The study, conducted in collaboration with UGA’s Center for Family Research and Augusta University Medical Center, examined how structured home visits in the early postpartum period influenced infant sleep, maternal well-being, and child health. Lavner’s findings, published in JAMA Network Open and other high-impact journals, showed that the intervention increased infants’ nighttime sleep by 40 minutes and 24-hour sleep duration by 73 minutes—critical improvements given longstanding sleep disparities. Additional research linked the intervention to healthier infant weight trajectories, enhanced maternal sleep, and reduced maternal depressive symptoms. Lavner has helped secure over $12 million in grant funding and published nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles. His work highlights the importance of culturally tailored parenting interventions in addressing health inequities and promoting family well-being.

Creative Research Medal 2025

Elizabeth Brisbois, associate professor and Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the College of Engineering, is recognized for her pioneering work on light-based nitric oxide (NO) release technology for medical devices. Her research team developed a wearable fiber optic device that uses photoactive NO donor chemistry to deliver controlled antimicrobial NO therapy. This breakthrough has significant potential to prevent infections in catheters and wound dressings, addressing a major clinical challenge in healthcare by reducing complications and improving patient outcomes. Her findings, featured on the cover of the Journal of Controlled Release, led to a $2 million NIH R01 grant to develop and advance to preclinical testing. Brisbois has secured over $12 million in research funding, has more than 20 issued or pending patents, and co-founded Nytricx Inc. to commercialize biomedical technologies. A Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors, she has also received multiple national awards recognizing her impact on biomaterials research and translational medicine.

Creative Research Medal 2025

Krista Capps, associate professor in the Odum School of Ecology and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, has led groundbreaking research on global carbon cycling in rivers. As part of a landmark study published in Science, Capps and colleagues conducted an experiment across 514 streams on six continents to measure organic matter decomposition. The team used a standardized assay to assess microbial activity, generating the first global-scale model of riverine carbon breakdown and identifying key environmental drivers. This research showed that accelerated decomposition rates were linked to regions dominated by human activities, such as urbanization and agriculture, potentially altering aquatic food webs and increasing carbon release into the atmosphere. Capps and co-authors used machine learning to develop a model explaining 70% of the variance in prior decomposition rates and created a predictive tool for environmental forecasting. A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, she continues to advance freshwater ecology with globally impactful research on ecosystem resilience.

Creative Research Medal 2025

Rumya Putcha, associate professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, explores the cultural politics of Indian dance in transnational contexts. Her book, “The Dancer’s Voice: Performance and Womanhood in Transnational India” (Duke University Press, 2023), examines how South Indian classical dance shapes narratives of caste, race, and migration. Combining ethnographic research and historical analysis, Putcha demonstrates how the figure of the Indian dancing woman reinforces social hierarchies while also serving as a site of resistance. The book has received widespread acclaim for its interdisciplinary approach, engaging ethnomusicology, performance studies, and postcolonial theory. It has been reviewed in leading academic journals and was recognized with the 2024 de la Torre Bueno First Book Award from the Dance Studies Association and the 2025 Bernard S. Cohn First Book Award from the Association for Asian Studies. Through this work, Putcha offers a critical rethinking of how performers cultivate citizenship in India and its diasporas.

Creative Research Medal 2025

Timothy Yang, associate professor in the Franklin College Department of History, explores the intersection of business, medicine, and empire in the making of modern East Asia and Japan. His book, “A Medicated Empire: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Modern Japan” (Cornell University Press, 2021), is a micro-history of how a multi-national drug company, Hoshi Pharmaceuticals, expanded alongside Japan’s imperial ambitions, using state connections to dominate colonial markets. Through extensive archival research, Yang reveals how the company capitalized on imperial policies, marketing medicines in colonies while adhering to domestic narcotic bans, shaping both commercial and medical landscapes across the world. Widely praised for its innovative approach, the book won the Hagley Book Prize for best book in business history and has received glowing reviews in leading academic journals. Yang’s work bridges the history of science, economic history, and colonial studies. As director of UGA’s Center for Asian Studies, he continues to advance interdisciplinary scholarship across Asia and beyond.