Noteworthy Achievements

Rowan University employees regularly make noteworthy contributions that advance the institution's commitment to excellence. Please take a moment to recognize their achievements. 

PROFessionals of the Month
The PROFessionals of the Month program celebrates exemplary Rowan University employees, as nominated each month by their colleagues across the University community. To read honorees’ profiles, visit PROFessionals of the Month.

August 2025 - Laura LaPalomento, managing administrative assistant, University Communication, Division of Marketing & Communication.

July 2025 - Of the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. James Martin, assistant professor in the Department of Medical Education & Scholarship and Mercedes Byrd, problem-based learning librarian in the Health Sciences Library.

June 2025 - Robert DiMenna, program manager, Division of Information Resources and Technology. 

May 2025 - Denise Oncay, administrative assistant, Campus Recreation team.

April 2025 - Kristen Hicks, assistant director of budget and finance, College of Science and Mathematics. 

March 2025 - Dr. Kelley Bethoney, teaching assistant professor, Biological Sciences.

February 2025 - Dr. Archana Kumari, assistant professor, Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. 

Publications & Grants (June - August 2025)
Each month, faculty and staff throughout the University contribute to Rowan’s academic excellence by publishing scholarly work and securing research grants. Below are summaries submitted by the employee or their colleagues. To nominate someone for recognition, please email a short description to Laura LaPalomento in University Communication, lapalomentolm@rowan.edu.

Elizabeth Cerceo, CMSRU, published the study Environmental Health Investments: A Minimal Part of Nonprofit Hospital Community-Building Expenses in Public Health Management & Practice and Integrating Planetary Health Into Residencies: A Vital Step for Medical Education in Academic Medicine.

Ane Johnson and Monica Kerrigan, Educational Leadership, Administration and Research, published The Power of Praxis, Public Scholarship and the Potential of EdD Dissertations in Impacting Education.

Eena Lin , Mohammed Jawaad Hussain , Krystal Hunter , Elizabeth Cerceo, CMSRU, published Addressing climate change concerns in pediatric health care settings: exploring parental and physician perspectives in Environmental International.

John Shjarback, Law & Justice Studies, published the book “Chasing Change in Camden: Police Reform in One of America's Most Violent Cities” and published the article How Trump has reversed his own first-term police reforms on The Hill.com.

Emil Steiner, Sports Communication & Media, published the article, AI Demand-Shaping And The Frictionless Rub Of Solipsistic Efficiency in Forbes.

Carol C. Thompson, College of Education, Benjamin Saracco, Rowan Library, Anika Pruthi, CMSRU student and Elizabeth Cerceo, CMSRU, published the study Alpha-Gal Syndrome: Often hidden, under-recognized, and in need of attention—a rapid review, in the International Journal of General Medicine. 

Beth Wassell, Content Area Teacher Education, published A teacher educator's return to P-12 world language teaching: Transforming practices, perspectives, and identities in Foreign Language Annals.

Kristin Bertsch, Family Medicine, received $366,345 (Total funding to date: $1,785,388) from Health Resources and Services Administration to support Model State‐Supported Area Health Education Centers.

Lisa Bodenheimer, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, received $43,470 from NJ Division of Aging Services (Prime sponsor: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living) to support the study “Alzheimer's Disease Program Initiative.”

Juan Manuel Cruz Bohorquez, ExEEd, received $62,598 from the National Science Foundation to support the study “Collaborative research: Applying systems dynamics to explore faculty motivation in integrating sustainability concepts into undergraduate engineering curriculum.” 

Daniel Chandler, Neuroscience, received $25,000 from Osteopathic Heritage Foundation to support the study “Stress as an accelerating factor for brain and behavior changes in a rodent model of Alzheimer's Disease.”

Yong Chen, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, received 2024 Increment Amount: $141,710 (Total funding to date: $416,221) from the National Science Foundation to support the study “CAREER: Statistical models and parallel-computing methods for analyzing sparse and large single-cell chromatin interaction datasets” and $200,000 from NSF to support the study “Collaborative research: Quantum algorithms for high-performance analysis of single-cell omics data and explainable drug discovery” and $143,030 (Total funding to date: $559,251) from National Science Foundation to support the study “CAREER: Statistical models and parallel-computing methods for analyzing sparse and large single-cell chromatin interaction datasets.”

Harold Connolly, Geology, received $76,601 (Total project amount funded to date: $1,450,543) from University of Arizona (Prime sponsor: NASA) to support Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). 

Dyron Corley, Academic Affairs (RowanSOM), received $28,213 from The New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education to support Rowan University - SOM PreMatric.

Kevin Dahm, Chemical Engineering, received $124,941 from National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the study “Collaborative research: Using digital narratives and data analytics to enhance ethical judgement education and assessment.”

Amanda Fakira, CMSRU Biomedical Science, received $465,179 (Total funded to date: $938,162) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Targeting PEN-GPR83 as a strategy to reduce opioid abuse liability.”

Andra Garner, Environmental Science, received $106,778 (Total funding to date: $394,695) from National Science Foundation to support the study “CAREER: Synthesizing structural uncertainty of sea-level rise projections to improve application in decision making.”

Mathieu Gendreau, Music, received $20,000 (1 year award) from the Les Paul Foundation to support the 2025 Music Technology & Music Business Camp Sponsorship (Award period: 7/1/25 – 6/30/26).

Katherine Gotham, Psychology, received $235,996 from The Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism to support the study “A novel investigation of masking behaviors and their prospective relation to depressive symptoms among neurodiverse college students.” 

Mac Haas, Mechanical Engineering, received $174,263 from NJ DOT (Prime sponsor: US DOT) to support the study “Evaluation of alternative (Non-crude oil based) diesel fuel for NJ transit locomotives and over-the-road buses.” 

Jason Heindl, Biological Sciences, received $100,000 (Funded to date: $420,000) from the National Science Foundation to support the study “CAREER: Stable transformation of STEM identity by integrating cell cycle regulation with persistent infection in Agrobacterium.”

Roberth Hesketh, Chemical Engineering, received  $349,826 from US Department of Environmental Protection Agency to support the study “Preventing pollution in chemicals used in electrical power systems and microelectronics processing” and $10,780 from ExxonMobil Corporation (ExxonMobil Product Solution) to support 2025 Summer Student Funding for ExxonMobil Pipeline Flushing Study.

Natalia Shylo Hyson, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, received  $743,661 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Evolutionary mechanisms of gastrulation and left-right patterning in amniotes.”

Mohammad Jalayer, CREATES, received $200,000 from NJ DOT (Prime sponsor: US DOT) to support “Best practices for traffic signal priority integration,” and $157,503 (Total awarded to date; $350,000) from NJ DOT (Prime sponsor: US DOT) to support the study “Identifying travel needs for south Jersey and shore customers.” Jalayer also received $40,331.66 from The College of New Jersey (Prime sponsor: NJ Department of Transportation) to support the Integration of Internal Traffic Control Plan.

Ane Johnson, Educational Leadership, Administration and Research, received $20,645 from University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. (Prime sponsor: Spencer Foundation) to support the study “Narratives of persistence: A postcolonial exploration of black African refugee postsecondary students' cultural heritage use.”

Natarajaseenivasan Kalimuthusamy, Neuroscience, received $25,000 from Osteopathic Heritage Foundation to support the study “Targeting Astrocyte-Neuron vesicular coupling as a strategy to alleviate brain aging related to cocaine addiction.”

Thomas Keck, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received $374,783 (Total funded to date: $1,138,608) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Combination drug therapy to treat pain with minimal or no abuse potential and side-effects.”

Minwook Kim, Molecular Biology, received $73,176 (Funding to date: $236,735.89 (including $17,207.89 in carryover from the previous institution) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating synovial joint development.”

Lauren Kipp, Environmental Science, received  $184,226 from National Science Foundation to support the study “Collaborative research: Constraining the role of benthic nepheloid layers in altering benthic fluxes of trace elements in the Labrador Sea.”

Archana Kumari, Neuroscience, received $616,000 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Inhibition of hedgehog signaling as a therapeutic strategy for OSCC.”

Dianne Langford, Rowan-Virtua Translational Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Dean's Office, received $627,502 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “HIV and cocaine use leads to loss of astrocyte neurotrophic support and impaired lipid homeostasis in the brain.”

Chiara Latimer, Career Advancement Services, received $40,000 (1 year award) from Lockheed Martin to support the 2025/2026 PATH Program Sponsorship (Award period: 9/1/25 – 9/30/26).

Jie Li, Electrical/Computer Engineering, received $20,000 from National Science Foundation to support the study “IUCRC Planning Grant Rowan University: Center for Grid Enhancing Technologies for Offshore Wind Transmission and Integration (GOWIND).

Gilson Lomboy, CREATES, received $199,963.21 from NJ Department of Transportation to support the “Study on prestressed concrete beam end deterioration repair techniques.”

Ping Lu, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received  $314,880 from National Science Foundation to support the study “Collaborative research: Well-designed nanofiber-encapsulated bimetallic catalysts for CO2 conversion: Addressing catalyst deactivation challenges.”

Justin Major, ExEED, received $345,548 (Total funding to date: $577,266) from National Science Foundation, to support the study “Collaborative research: How undergraduate engineering students' conceptualizations of well-being in engineering programs and careers develop and manifest.” 

Alison Mancuso, Family Medicine, received $523,510 (Total funding to date: $1,840,129) from Health Resources and Services Administration to support Health Careers Opportunity Program.

Marilyn Manley, World Languages, co-authored the chapter Quechua Innovation and Teaching Initiative (QINTI): Contributing to the landscape of Quechua L2 instruction in The Cambridge Handbook of Multilingual Education.

Diana Martinez, CMSRU Biomedical Science, received $16,666 (Total funding to date: $337,036) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “The role of astrocytes in circadian control of blood pressure in the nucleus of the solitary tract.”

Katrina McCarthy, Geography, Planning, and Sustainability, received $25,000 from NJ Office of Planning Advocacy to support the study “Geospatial web mapping support - smart growth explorer.”

Carmen McDonald, Nursing, received $504,335 (Total funding to date: $1,510,371) from Health Resources and Services Administration to support Advanced Nursing Education Workforce: The Diverse Recruitment, Equity, And Mastery (DREAM) Project.

Mahbubur Meenar, Geography, Planning, and Sustainability, received $132,810 (Total funding to date: $300,000) from National Aeronautics & Space Administration to support the study “Unearthing the urban agriculture-environment connection: Implications for practice and policies.”

Kevin Overbeck, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, received $848,000 (Total funding to date: $2,001,742) from Health Resources and Services Administration to support the New Jersey Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program.

Lily Pfeifer, Geology, received $271,558 from National Science Foundation to support the study “Collaborative Research: Silty streams and diluted seas in the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin: Probing the effects of early icehouse extremes on vertebrate paleogeobiology.

Annette Reboli, CMSRU Biomedical Science, received $2,600,000 from US Department of Health and Human Services to support the study “Value‐based medical student education training program; Expansion and regionalization of an accelerated three-year medical school curriculum for primary care.”

Kleiton Dos Santos Silva, CMSRU Biomedical Science, received $170,000 (Potential award over project: $752,150) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Optimizing autophagy to counteract aging-induced muscle deterioration in mice” and $366,345 (Total funding to date: $1,785,388) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “The role of orosomucoid1 in skeletal muscle aging during an optimized autophagy activity intervention.”

Benjamin Rood, Neuroscience, received $402,500 from National Institutes of Health (Total funding to date: $1,207,500) to support the study “Role of brain Avpr1a-expressing neurons in modulation of social behavior.” 

Stephen Scheinthal, Psychiatry, received  $102,000 (Total funding to date: $306,000) from US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support the study “Neuroplasticity-based suicide prevention program for allopathic and osteopathic medical students at Rowan University.”

Charles Schutte, Environmental Science, received $18,605 (Total funding to date: $179,901) from National Science Foundation to support the study “Collaborative research: Methane dynamics across microbe-to-landscape scales in coastal wetlands.”

Brandi Sweet, CMSRU Biomedical Science, received $100,000 from New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research to support NJCCR Predoctoral Fellowship Grant 2026: Characterization of the human voltage sensing phosphatase specificity and regulation of the AKT/MAPK pathway.

Andrea Vernengo, Chemical Engineering, received $10,000 (1 year award) from Kern Family Foundation to support the Engineering Unleashed Fellow Award.

Mei Wei, Biomedical Engineering, received $577,488 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “A novel microneedle-based, sandwiched structure for effective intraperitoneal adhesion (IA) prevention: Material fabrication and molecular level mechanism exploration.”

Brian Weiser, Molecular Biology, received $25,000 from Osteopathic Heritage Foundation to support the study “Myelination and neuroprotection mediated by the deacetylase enzyme “SIRT2”, and $33,810 (Total funding to date: $1,725,272) from National Institutes of Health to support the study “RPA-Directed DNA Repair Mechanisms.”

Bethany Young / Shay Greco GRA, Dept of Medicine, received $3,000 from American Academy of Neurology to support the study “Evaluation of sleep quality and delirium after intracerebral hemorrhage: A pilot feasibility study.”