The 2023 Researcher of the Year awards celebrate excellence in discovery and impact

Research from the University of Illinois at Chicago addresses today’s most meaningful topics, from health inequality and the history of immigration to electromagnetic technologies and the atomic structure of matter. The UIC Research and Scholarship Annual Awards, presented by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, honor the exceptional work of faculty members who are at the forefront of their fields in the sciences and humanities.

This year’s group of Rising Stars and Distinguished Scholars at the start of their careers have demonstrated outstanding career achievements in five categories. The Inventor of the Year is awarded each year by the Office of Technology Management to a faculty member or team who has contributed to the development of intellectual property that has had a significant impact on their field and society. And this year, two new categories have been added honoring faculty mentorship and postdoctoral research.

The winners were celebrated at a ceremony April 17 at the Field Museum of Natural History. Here is the complete list of this year’s recipients, with links to profiles on each faculty member’s work and impact.

Clinical Sciences
Rising Star: Natasha Crooks – How can we better protect the sexual and reproductive health of Black girls and women?
Leading researcher: Ardith Doorenbos – Are there proven alternatives to medication to combat pain?

Basic life sciences
Rising Star: Andrew Riley – Can Plants Offer New Medicines for Pain and Addiction?
Leading researcher: John Nitiss – How can yeast and genetics reveal how cancer drugs work?

Natural sciences and technology
Rising Star: Pai-Yen Chen — How can new wireless technologies improve healthcare, security and energy?
Leading researcher: Robert Klie – How can we see the fundamental building blocks of life and matter?

Social Sciences
Rising Star: Nicole Nguyen – How has US national security policy affected daily life?
Leading researcher: Claire Laurier Decoteau – How can crises help us better understand community health inequities?

Humanities, art, design and architecture
Rising star: Adam Goodman – How has the history of American immigration shaped our modern world
Leading scholar: Christina Pugh — How can poetry capture lived experience?

Inventor of the year
Deepak Shukla – Can new drugs prevent blindness and other damage from herpes virus infections?

Postdoctoral researcher of the year
Zeenat Farooq — What are the cellular connections between diabetes and dementia?

Faculty Mentor of the Year
Todd Lee — Helping students map out their professional futures