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Acclaim
Acclaim: Recent honors for Emory faculty and staff

Emory faculty and staff are routinely recognized for their work locally, nationally and internationally. The following is a sampling of recent accolades, ranging from book awards and fellowship designations to honors from professional societies and even other nations.

Honors highlighted in this column:


Best books by African American women include Anderson, Jones

Carol Anderson and Tayari Jones were included in the definitive literary canon of the best 100 books ever written by African American women: “White Rage” by Anderson and “An American Marriage” by Jones were recognized.

Anderson is Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies and chair of African American Studies. Jones is Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing in Emory’s Creative Writing Program. 

The list was released by ZORA, a publication by and about women of color, and included several other women with Emory connections: Natasha Trethewey, Isabel Wilkerson and Pearl Cleage.


Brown receives National Book Critics Circle award, USA Fellowship

Jericho Brown’s “The Tradition” is among five finalists in the poetry category for a 2019 National Book Critics Circle award. He also has been awarded a USA Fellowship from United States Artists. Brown is the Winship Distinguished Research Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University and director of the Creative Writing Program.

The National Book Critics Circle awards are given each March and honor literature published in the United States in six categories (autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction and poetry). They are the only national literary awards chosen by critics themselves.

United States Artists was founded in 2006 to support artists and cultural practitioners in all disciplines and at every state of their careers. The USA Fellowship, which come with a $50,000 unrestricted award, is the organization’s flagship program and is central to its mission of believing in artists and their essential role in our society.


Kim tapped for Emerging Faculty Program in cardiology

Jonathan Kim was recently selected as one of only 25 faculty around the country to participate in the annual American College of Cardiology's Emerging Faculty Program.

Kim is chief of sports cardiology and an assistant professor of medicine in the cardiology department at Emory. 

The ACC’s Emerging Faculty program is aimed at identifying talented, expert clinicians who will develop into key members of the ACC faculty and leadership. Kim was appointed to the ACC Sports and Exercise Council in 2018 and has been involved with its annual Care of the Athletic Heart Conference. For the last five years, he also has participated as faculty in ACC’s yearly scientific sessions related to sports cardiology.


Kinlaw elected as Hastings Center fellow

Kathy Kinlaw has been elected a Fellow of the Hastings Center. Kinlaw is associate director of the Emory University Center for Ethics and director of the center’s Program in Health, Science and Ethics. In addition, she is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine and director of the Healthcare Ethics Consortium.

The Hastings Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit bioethics research institution that addresses fundamental ethical and social issues in health, health care, science and technology. Hastings Center Fellows are individuals whose work has informed scholarship and public understanding of complex ethical issues in those areas.


National Jewish Book Awards honor Lipstadt

The Jewish Book Council awarded Deborah Lipstadt with the Jewish Education and Identity Award in Memory of Dorothy Kripke for her book “Antisemitism: Here and Now.” Lipstadt is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, Tam Institute for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religion. 

The National Jewish Book Awards were established in 1950 to recognize outstanding works of Jewish literature. It is the longest-running awards program of its kind. See a complete list of the 2019 award recipients.


Miller receives V. Sethi Sagar Mental Health Research Award

Andrew Miller was recently awarded the V. Sethi Sagar Mental Health Research Award by the North Carolina Psychiatric Association.

Miller is the William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as the department’s vice chair for research. He also serves as director of the Behavioral Immunology Program and co-leader of cancer prevention and control at Winship Cancer Institute. 

The North Carolina Psychiatric Association’s V. Sethi Sagar Mental Health Research Award honors a scientist for significant contributions to basic research in the neurosciences, psychology or pharmacology at a molecular, cellular or behavioral level.


Oyesiku honored as Surgeon-in-Chief of Egbaland

Nelson Oyesiku was recently decorated as Baa ‘Segun-Alabe (Surgeon-in-Chief) of Egbaland in Abeokuta, the capital of Nigeria’s Ogun State. In 2019, Oyesiku was voted president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.   

Oyesiku is the Al Lerner Chair and Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, as well as the program director of the neurosurgery residency program. He also is co-director of the Emory Pituitary Center.

The decoration of Baa ‘Segun-Alabe (Surgeon-in-Chief) of Egbaland is an honor for a life of service to humanity. The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies promotes global improvement in neurosurgical care, representing more than 30,000 neurosurgeons worldwide.


Arthritis Foundation gives Award of Excellence to Refai

Daniel Refai recently received the 2019 Hugh C. McLeod III MD Award of Excellence from the Arthritis Foundation. 

Refai is associate professor of neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery, as well as the director of spinal oncology at the Emory Spine Center and co-director of the Emory clinical fellowship in spinal surgery. 

The Hugh C. McLeod Award recognizes Refai’s commitment and passion that furthers the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to improve lives through leadership in the prevention, control and cure of arthritis and related diseases.


Schuchard wins award for scholarly work

Ronald Schuchard was announced as a winner of the thirteenth Modern Language Association Prize for a Scholarly Edition. Schuchard is Goodrich C. White Professor of English Emeritus at Emory and general editor of “The Complete Prose of T. S. Eliot.”  He was recognized for “The War Years, 1940-1946,” volumes 5 and 6 of “The Complete Prose of T. S. Eliot: The Critical Edition.”

The Modern Language Association of America works to strengthen the study and teaching of languages and literature. Founded in 1883, the MLA provides opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy. For a full list of this year's winners, read the MLA Prize press release.


India presents Sheth with Padma Bhushan honor

Jagdish Sheth received the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor, for literature and education. Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business at Emory’s Goizueta Business School.

The award came as part of India’s celebration of its 71st Republic Day, when they honored Indians abroad who have made exemplary contributions on a global scale and made the country of their birth proud. The Padma Bhushan is the equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the U.S. To see a full list of awardees, read the Ministry of Home Affairs announcement.


Walker is named a top education scholar

Vanessa Siddle Walker was named one of the top 200 education scholars who move ideas from academic journals into the national conversation, according to Education Week blogger Frederick M. Hess’s 2020 “Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.” Hess used nine metrics to calculate how much university-based academics contributed to public discussions of education.

Walker is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of African American Educational Studies in Emory’s Department of African American Studies.


American Chemical Society recognizes Wuest

Bill Wuest was named the 2020 David W. Robertson Awardee from the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society. He is GRA distinguished investigator and associate professor in Emory’s chemistry department.

The award recognizes those who have had a primary role in the discovery of a novel therapeutic agent(s), target(s), theoretical concept(s) in medicinal chemistry or drug discovery, and/or made a significant scientific discovery that enhances the field of medicinal chemistry.


Emory Vaccine Center receives Georgia Bio Golden Helix award

Emory Vaccine Center recently won the Georgia Bio Golden Helix award. The recognition was in the Deals of the Year category, with the Center cited for working to develop a universal influenza vaccine with the National Institutes for Health.

The Golden Helix Awards celebrate the contributions and achievements of Georgia legislative, academic, corporate and other organizational leaders working to advance the growth of the life sciences industry and foster strategic partnerships that can create a healthier world. Georgia Bio gives the awards annually in multiple categories.

The award ceremony will be held on March 13 at Factory Atlanta. Learn more and register.


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