Findings Staff Report | April 14, 2020
The Office of Research is proud to present its Core Values Award to three distinguished members of our research faculty. Individuals to whom the OoR wants to give a great big, “Thank you!”
Each year, faculty that are nominated for this award have demonstrated respectfulness, positivity and overall professionalism in their interactions with OoR staff.
We know research and research administration has its challenges, and this award was created to celebrate those faculty members that go above and beyond when working with our office and others in the UC community and beyond.
Without further ado, take a minute and meet the awardees: from the College of Medicine, Dr. Joseph Broderick; from the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Kelly Cohen and from the Division of Experience-Based Learning and Career Education Megan K. Lamkin.
Dr. Joseph Broderick
Q: What is your current role at UC?
A: I am professor of neurology and rehabilitation medicine and director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute. I am also the contact PI [principal investigator] for the National Coordinating Center for NIH StrokeNet. Dr. Pooja Khatri is the other PI for the National Coordinating Center at UC.
Q: What’s something interesting about your work at UC that people don’t generally know or understand?
A: We coordinate and manage all of the Phase II and Phase III stroke trials funded by the National Institute of Neurologic Diseases and Stroke. This activity puts us at the center of stroke research in the U.S. and world-wide.
Q: You were given this award because of your professionalism and positivity. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, do you have any words of advice or encouragement to share with the world in this challenging time?
A: The pandemic has had enormous impact on clinical research across the country and currently has halted all recruitment into our StrokeNet stroke trials. However, this is an opportunity to re-evaluate how we do research going forward—with a much larger focus on telemedicine and newer information technology to enroll and monitor patients. The pandemic will have lasting effect on how all clinical research is done throughout the world. And I know that the pandemic will also invigorate research into infectious disease and public health given the tremendous impact of the COVID-19 virus.
Kelly Cohen, Ph.D.
Q: What is your current role at UC?
A: I am the Brian H. Rowe endowed chair in aerospace engineering and interim head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics. Also, co-director of the UAV MASTER Lab and director of the MOST-AERO Lab. I conduct research in the area of intelligent systems, UAVs [Unmanned Arial Vehicles] and optimization.
Q: What’s something interesting about your work at UC that people don’t generally know or understand?
A: In addition to my work in the area of UAVs and aerospace engineering, I conducted a sabbatical in 2014 at the College of Medicine where I utilized artificial intelligence-based algorithms for predictive modeling for personalizing medical treatment in the areas of psychiatry and sports medicine. The work helped personalize treatment for individuals with bi-polar and post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as brain concussions.
Q: You were given this award because of your professionalism and positivity. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, do you have any words of advice or encouragement to share with the world in this challenging time?
A: Given our transition to remote teaching, we have to go that extra mile to provide our students with a most meaningful learning experience. Furthermore, we need to be more attentive, humane and flexible in our interactions with our students, staff, faculty and advocate for them as we address all the needs of both our research and educational mission.
Megan K. Lamkin, Ph.D.
Q: What is your current role at UC?
A: Assistant professor and program director of Undergraduate Research. Our mission is supporting a university-wide culture of undergraduate research where students and faculty of all disciplines co-create productive, mutually satisfying research relationships.
Q: What’s something interesting about your work at UC that people don’t generally know or understand?
A: All of our programs and initiatives are focused on recruiting, advancing and recognizing student researchers and supporting the faculty who make their achievements possible. We do this in many ways, including most recently developing a discipline-inclusive “Digital Futures Research Co-op Program” in collaboration with UC’s Digital Scholarship Center. It will launch in the fall with a one-credit course to prepare 20 students for a paid research experience that involves using the center's machine learning platform as a research tool. Over time, I hope to develop multiple Research Co-op Programs that accommodate hundreds of students annually.
Q: You were given this award because of your professionalism and positivity. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, do you have any words of advice or encouragement to share with the world in this challenging time?
A: I think it’s normal to fluctuate in the degree to which we feel “professional” or “positive.” I think the important thing now is to be human—and with that to be appreciative and forgiving of ourselves and each another.