We recognize and celebrate the research, scholarly, and service contributions of University faculty members to their fields. Recent award recipients include:

• Mark Bocko, the Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences, was named the Rochester Engineering Society’s 2022 Engineer of the Year.
• Kara Bren, the Richard S. Eisenberg Professor in Chemistry, has been elected a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has also been named a recipient of the 2023 Chemical Pioneer Award by the American Institute of Chemists.
• Patrick Davies, a professor of psychology, has been awarded the 2023 Bowlby-Ainsworth Award by the New York Attachment Consortium and the Center for Mental Health Promotion.
• David Hursh, a professor in teaching and curriculum at the Warner School of Education and Human Development, was presented with the 2023 Paulo Freire Legacy Award, given by the American Educational Research Association.
• William Jones, the Charles Frederick Houghton Professor of Chemistry, was formally inducted as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Jennifer Kyker, an associate professor of ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music and an associate professor in the Arthur Satz Department of Music, won the 2023 Frances Densmore Prize from the American Musical Instrument Society.
• Jessica Shang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and a scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, was named a finalist for the Rochester Engineering Society’s 2022 Young Engineer of the Year.
• Karen DeAngelis, an associate professor of educational leadership, Brian Brent, the Earl B. Taylor Professor, and doctoral student Caiqun Xu at the Warner School of Education and Human Development are winners of the 2023 National Education Finance Academy’s Journal of Education Finance Article of the Year Award.
• Martin Zand, the senior associate dean for clinical research and codirector of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has been elected to the board of directors for the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.

Researchers have discovered a new biomarker for Parkinson’s disease. The assay, which targets a protein found in the nervous system called alpha synuclein, can detect the disease in both people with Parkinson’s and individuals not yet diagnosed with or exhibiting symptoms of the disease, but who are at a high risk of developing it.

The discovery emerged from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a decade-long longitudinal study led by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). More than 1,400 participants, both with and without Parkinson’s disease (PD), participated in the PPMI study. The researchers—including Karl Kieburtz, a neurology professor at URMC—report their finding in the journal Lancet Neurology.

Irene Richard, a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, was involved in the development and planning of the PPMI study in her past role as senior medical advisor to MJFF. Richard continued her work with the organization as a member of the scientific advisory committee and was the principal investigator for the Rochester site of the PPMI study.

“This new assay enables the detection of abnormal alpha synuclein during a patient’s life—and years before the clinical features of the PD appear,” says Richard in an interview about the research.

Read more about the importance of early diagnosis.

(Getty Images photo) 

Shedding unwanted pounds can be especially difficult for Deaf sign language users who experience barriers to mainstream weight loss programs and the social support they offer. While those programs may feel isolating or out of reach, results from a Medical Center clinical trial published in Obesity show that a specialized weight loss program designed for Deaf people by Deaf people helped participants lose weight.

Over six months, Deaf sign language users who participated in the program, called Deaf Weight Wise, lost an average of 12.5 pounds, and 62 percent of participants lost at least five percent of their baseline weight, a level deemed “clinically meaningful.” On the other hand, Deaf sign language users in the control group only lost an average of 5 pounds during the same period and only 18 percent experienced clinically meaningful weight loss.

“Having a Deaf-to-Deaf approach, in which the information is culturally and linguistically available to participants, helped because it created a new community of awareness of health issues and taking steps to improve health,” says study author Lori DeWindt, a senior health project coordinator who is Deaf and has been a part of Deaf Weight Wise from its inception.

Learn more about the “unique” program.

Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Wegmans Hall 1400

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a transformative technology, one that touches nearly every aspect of daily life. The University’s strong foundation in AI is due in part to researchers like Henry A. Kautz, who retired last year after more than 15 years with the Department of Computer Science. To celebrate Kautz’s career while also exploring the future of AI technology, the department and the Goergen Institute for Data Science are jointly hosting a set of accessible, enjoyable talks on artificial intelligence, highlighting the higher-level aspects of machine cognition. The agenda reflects Kautz’s many years of groundbreaking research on practical algorithms for solving worst-case intractable problems in logical and probabilistic reasoning; automated planning; models for inferring human behavior from sensor data; pervasive health care applications of AI; and social media analytics. The talks are open to the public, with free registration up to a capacity limit either in person or on Zoom. See the schedule and register.

Tuesday, May 23, noon–1 p.m.
UR Medicine Memory Care Program, Conference Rooms 552/553

Interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s disease and current research opportunities? Join Anton Porsteinsson, director of the University of Rochester Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research, and Education Program (AD-CARE), for an informative in-person presentation about Alzheimer’s disease, research developments, and prevention research opportunities. Registration is required as space is limited. Masks are required. To RSVP, please call the AD-CARE program at (585) 602-5200 or email ADCARE@URMC.Rochester.edu.