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Grant Dawson and Amie Brint, pictured with their mentors Lu Huang, Ph.D., and Ruud P.M. Dings, Ph.D., were chosen for Graduate School Outstanding Achievement Awards. Image by Nathan Tidwell

Graduate School Students, Faculty Receive Accolades at Spring Awards Ceremony

May 2, 2025 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate School recognized top-achieving students and faculty at its Spring Awards on April 17.

The awards were held in the I. Dodd Wilson Education Building in conjunction with Student Research Day, which was rescheduled from February due to inclement weather.

“Through a lot of coordination across multiple groups we were able to combine the awards for Student Research Day with our Graduate School Spring Awards Reception,” said Graduate School Dean Sean Taverna, Ph.D. “Our graduate students and their mentors have enjoyed another amazing year of research, and I’m glad we have this opportunity to celebrate their dedication and accomplishments.”

Amie Brint, Grant Dawson, Justin Pressley and Shahed Sufian received Outstanding Achievement Awards. Brint was chosen for a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) Mentored Research Supplement. Dawson and Pressley were awarded UAMS Training in Systems Pharmacology and Toxicology (T-SPaT) Fellowships. Shahed Sufian received a G. Richard Smith Fellowship in Health Service and Policy Research from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI).

The NIH/NCI Mentored Research Supplement supports researchers in cancer control, cancer prevention and population sciences. The UAMS T-SpaT program is for students pursuing dissertation research in pharmacological sciences at UAMS and is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Pharmacological Sciences Training Program. The G. Richard Smith Fellowship, named in honor of ACHI’s founding director and former dean of the UAMS College of Medicine, supports health services and policy researchers.

“I’m so grateful,” said Brint. “My mentor could not be more amazing and supportive, especially with connecting me with the clinical aspect of my research.”

“I’m very happy to receive this award,” Dawson said. “I’m thankful for the great mentorship of Dr. [Lu] Huang, and I’m excited to use the skills the T-SpaT Fellowship will give me to further my research.”

Brint is in the M.D./Ph.D. program. Dawson is in the Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (GPIBS) — Microbiology & Immunology track, while Pressley is in the GPIBS — Pharmacology, Toxicology, & Experimental Therapeutics track. Sufian is in the Health Systems and Services Research program.

Excellence in Mentoring Awards went to:

• Ruud P.M. Dings, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, for mentoring Brint.
• Bill Fantegrossi, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, for mentoring Pressley.
• Lu Huang, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology & Immunology, for mentoring Dawson.
• Mick Tilford, Ph.D., professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, for mentoring Sufian.

Additional student achievements:

• Lokesh Akana (GPIBS — Biochemistry and Molecular Biology): Graduate Student Association Exemplary Volunteer Award
• Daniel Armstrong (Pharmaceutical Sciences): Aventis Pharmaceutical Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry
• Meghan Crimmins (GPIBS — Cell Biology & Physiology): International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) Conference Award (December 2024); ISRHML Trainee Interest Group Governing Committee Membership Chair (March 2024)
• Jennifer Gan Kemp (Implementation Science): 2025 New Leaders Council Arkansas Fellow
• Jovan Grujičić (GPIBS — Pharmacology, Toxicology and Experimental Therapeutics): 2024 Marine Biology Laboratory Summer Program in Neurobiology: Mechanisms & Advanced Approaches
  

  Hayley Sabol was one of the Achievement Award recipients.Image by Nathan Tidwell

• Rachel Hale (Health Promotion and Prevention Research): UAMS Translational Research Institute Community Engaged Student/Trainee of the Year Award (December 2024)
• Md Enamul Hoq (Biomedical Informatics): AI in Imaging Scientist Internship at the Mayo Clinic (February 2025)
• Heather Hunter (Nursing Science): University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Outstanding Alumni Award for 2024
• Catherine Kirkpatrick (GPIBS — Pathobiology): Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Travel Award
• Laura Osborn (GPIBS — Pharmacology, Toxicology and Experimental Therapeutics): Travel award to present research at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting in Orlando, Florida
• Taiquitha Robins (Biomedical Informatics): Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists Travel Award; Stanford Postdoctoral Recruitment Initiative in Sciences and Medicine Travel Award; UAMS 3MT Semifinalist
• Kayleigh Rodriguez (GPIBS — Neuroscience): United States Association for the Study of Pain Annual Meeting Travel Award
• Hayley Sabol (GPIBS — Cell Biology and Physiology): American Association for Cancer Research John Kincade Scholarship Fund Scholar-in-Training Award
• Mahima Saini (Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy): Novo Nordisk, Inc., Internship
• Saloni Sood (Pharmaceutical Sciences): Second Prize in Poster Presentation in Drug Discovery and Development Colloquium/MALTO 2024
• Bushra Zaman (GPIBS — Neuroscience): Qais Farjo, M.D., Memorial Travel Grant, Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology

Serving as a mentor is a new experience for Ryan Porter, Ph.D., who received an award for his work.

“Luke Childress [GPIBS — Cell Biology and Physiology] is the first Ph.D. student I have had the privilege to mentor,” said Porter, an assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine. “He passed his dissertation defense with flying colors and helping him achieve his career goals has been the most important accomplishment of my career.”

Several additional faculty members received Mentor Awards:

• Aline Andres, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, for mentoring Meghan Crimmins (GPIBS — Cell Biology and Physiology)
• Giulia Baldini, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for mentoring Haven Griffin (GPIBS — Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
  

  Taren Swindle, Ph.D., received a Mentor Award.Image by Nathan Tidwell

• Carol Cornell, Ph.D., professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, for mentoring Audrey Martinez (Health Promotion and Prevention Research)
• Vladimir Lupashin, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, for mentoring Farhana Taher Sumya (GPIBS — Cell Biology and Physiology)
• Alexandra Marshall, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, for mentoring Lachan Siebenmorgen (Health Promotion and Prevention Research)
• Maria Schuller De Almeida, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, for mentoring Md Mohsin Ali (GPIBS — Cell Biology & Physiology)
• Taren Swindle, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, for mentoring Audrey Martinez (Health Promotion and Prevention Research)
• Tiffany Weinkopff, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology, for mentoring Lucy Fry (GPIBS — Microbiology and Immunology)