SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities
Established in 2002, this award recognizes outstanding academic and creative achievements across a broad spectrum of scholarly and artistic fields. The award recipients are faculty members who consistently go above and beyond their teaching and professional duties to make extraordinary contributions to their respective fields.
2024-25 Honorees
Kara M. Kelly
Department of Pediatrics
Kara Kelly, MD, is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She is internationally renowned as a pediatric oncologist in Hodgkin lymphoma biologic research, particularly in the development, conduct and analysis of investigational trials that have changed practice. Two of her clinical trials for Hodgkin lymphoma, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, are considered landmark studies that have changed the way the disease is treated. One study established the efficacy of adding an antibody-drug conjugate that targets Hodgkin lymphoma to a chemotherapeutic backbone; the second is the largest classic Hodgkin lymphoma clinical trial ever conducted in the National Clinical Trials network and the first to include pediatric patients, enabling much earlier access to novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
A-Z
Michael J. LaMonte
Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health
Michael LaMonte, PhD, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health, is widely lauded for seminal contributions that have enhanced understanding of the impact of physical activity on cardiovascular health and aging. A fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine, LaMonte is a leading researcher in the Women’s Health Initiative, a large-scale, long-term study focused on the health of postmenopausal women, which started in the early 1990s. LaMonte’s creative work with physical activity measurement led to a new approach to programming one of the most commonly used activity tracking devices. LaMonte’s articles have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Archives of Internal Medicine and Circulation, among others.
Jonathan F. Lovell
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Jonathan Lovell, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He has pioneered new approaches in nanotechnology-based vaccines and delivery systems. His research spans a diverse range of areas, including light-activated drug delivery systems, cancer immunotherapy and optically responsive nanomaterials. His patented porphyrin-based nanovesicles have paved the way for novel cancer treatment modalities. Lovell holds 14 U.S. patents, showcasing his innovative approach to addressing biomedical challenges. Co-founder of POP Biotechnologies, he has seamlessly integrated academic research with entrepreneurial endeavors, ensuring his innovations lead to real-world applications. Many of the technologies developed through his company focus on drug delivery that, unlike chemotherapy treatments, limit potential harm to the body.
Dejan Stojkovic
Department of Physics
A member of the Serbian Academy of Nonlinear Sciences, Physics Professor Dejan Stojkovic, PhD, is renowned for his work at the confluence of cosmology and particle physics. Trained as a theoretical cosmologist with expertise in black hole physics, Stojkovic is one of few researchers who has enhanced both the understanding of sub-atomic scale particles and the origins and evolution of the observable universe at its largest scales. Stojkovic has published 118 papers, two monographs and two edited books, and he has served as editor of MDPI Particles and on the editorial board of Astronomy Magazine. He received the Oxford University Astor Award for a visiting scientist, Marko Jaric Award, the top award given by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and UB Exceptional Scholars: Sustained Achievement Award.
Victoria W. Wolcott
Department of History
Victoria Wolcott, PhD, is a professor of history and director of UB’s Gender Institute. A pathbreaking and influential scholar, Wolcott is a social historian who has published extensively in both scholarly and popular formats. Her areas of expertise include the Civil Rights Movement, the New Deal, gender history, urban history, utopian communities and the history of leisure. A co-principal investigator for a prestigious grant from the Mellon Foundation, Wolcott is researching, documenting and analyzing the role of community networks in providing healthcare and related services to vulnerable populations with limited resources. Recognized for her scholarly excellence, Wolcott received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 2016 and was named a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians in 2012.
Janet Z. Yang
Department of Communication
Janet Yang, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Communication. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Yang conducts groundbreaking research in risk communication, focusing on public perceptions of risk related to critical environmental and health issues, including climate change, PFAS and plastic pollution, COVID-19, Ebola, and vaccination. She has published more than 115 journal articles, delivered over 160 refereed conference presentations, and her work has been supported by over $7 million in grants. She has received numerous top paper awards, the Lewis Donohew Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication Award, the Society for Risk Analysis Chauncey Starr Award, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Hillier Krieghbaum Under 40 Award.