2014-2015 Career Development Professorship Awardees

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Each year, Boston University has the pleasure of recognizing a handful of talented junior educators emerging as future leaders within their respective fields through the award of both Peter Paul and Innovation Career Development Professorships.

Made possible through the generous support of BU Trustee Peter Paul, Peter Paul Career Development Professorships are presented to promising young faculty who have been at BU for no more than two years and have held no prior professorships. Innovation Career Development Professorships, meanwhile, are endowed with proceeds from our Office of Technology Development to support Assistant Professors whose translational research is likely to lead to future licensed technology.

Both awards highlight the caliber, potential, and continued vitality of Boston University’s diverse faculty and include a three-year, non-renewable stipend designed to support scholarly or creative work, as well as a portion of the recipients’ salaries. Nominations are submitted by academic deans from across the University, and awardees are selected by the Office of the Provost.

This year’s Peter Paul Career Development Professorship recipients have been cited for their extraordinary accomplishments in their areas of study, their passion for the creation and transmission of knowledge, and their efforts to enhance the student experience. This year’s Innovation Career Professorship recipient has been recognized for his outstanding research track record, the interdisciplinary and highly translational nature of his work, and his exciting vision for future exploration. I am delighted to announce that this year’s Peter Paul and Innovation Career Development Professors are:

Peter Paul Career Development Professorship

Jacob Bor
Assistant Professor of Global Health, School of Public Health
Jacob Bor’s research applies the analytical tools of economics to the study of population health, focusing on the effects of HIV treatment and prevention on patients, households, communities and social policy in southern Africa. He is a graduate of Harvard College and received his doctorate and Master’s in Global Health and Population from Harvard School of Public Health.

Rachel Flynn
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine
Rachel Flynn’s research investigates chromosomal abnormalities and their contribution to premature aging and cancer, gaining the mechanistic insight necessary to identify the causes and ultimate treatment of human disease. She is a graduate of St. Michael’s College, received her doctorate in Biomedical Sciences at University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed her postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

Ernest Gonzales
Assistant Professor of Human Behavior, School of Social Work
Using national level data and sociological statistical modeling, Ernest Gonzales studies the impact of working during retirement years and its effect on economic disparities among older adults in the United States. He received his doctorate in Social Work from Washington University (St. Louis), his Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University, and his Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College.

Innovation Career Development Professorship

Tim Gardner
Assistant Professor of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Tim Gardner’s translational research in systems neuroscience bridges concepts of biology and physics to produce technology for recording neural activity in awake and behaving animals. The recipient of a Burroughs Welcome Fund Career Award and a Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research, he received dual doctorates in Physics and Biology from Rockefeller University and his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Princeton University. He completed his postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Please join me in congratulating these talented educators for this achievement, and in wishing them the best of luck with their teaching and research in the years ahead.

2014-2015 Career Development Professorship Awardees – 9.8.14

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