Stephanie McCoy Smith was promoted to director of the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to her interim appointment as director, she was the school’s associate director. A faculty member since 2016, Dr. Smith focuses her research on the impact of physical activity and sedentary behavior on children and adolescents.
Dr. Smith received her doctorate in health, physical activity, and chronic disease from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
Caroline M. Kingori is a professor and vice provost for academic affairs at Hampton University in Virginia. Before joining the Hampton faculty, Dr. Kingori spent over a decade at Ohio University, where she served as associate dean for research and faculty affairs in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, interim director of the African studies program, and program coordinator for the master of public health degree program. As a scholar, Dr. Kingori studies behavioral and social determinants of health.
Dr. Kingori earned her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and master of public health degree in behavioral health sciences from Morgan State University in Baltimore. She holds a Ph.D. in health behavior from Indiana University.
Diana Gamba has been named herbarium curator for the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico. An assistant professor of biology, she recently completed a five-year postdoctoral fellowship at Pennsylvania State University. Her research centers on local plant adaptations, particularly how species respond to environmental pressures within the ranges in which they are found, both as natives and invasives.
A native of Colombia, Dr. Gamba earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Universidad del Valle. She received her master’s degree from San Francisco State University and her Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and systematics from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Suzanne E. Judd is the inaugural director of the Center for Public Health at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She comes to her new role from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was a professor and chair of the department of health behavior. As an epidemiologist, Dr. Judd studies how dietary patterns and environmental factors contribute to racial disparities in stroke, hypertension, and kidney disease.
Dr. Judd holds a master of public health degree in epidemiology and a Ph.D. in nutrition sciences from Emory University in Atlanta.
Monica L. Baskin was appointed interim director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Baskin has been serving as the center’s deputy director and associate dean for cancer innovation in the VCU School of Medicine. She holds faculty appointments in the medical school’s division of hematology, oncology, and palliative care and in the division of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Public Health. Her research focuses on community-engaged approaches to understand and address factors related to lifestyle factors associated with cancer prevention and control.
Dr. Baskin is a graduate of Emory University, where she double-majored in psychology and sociology. She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in community counseling and counseling psychology from Georgia State University.
Janice Reis Ciacci Zanella has been named director of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She most recently served as a visiting scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as a postdoctoral fellow at Iowa State University. Her scientific career focuses on the control and eradication of emerging swine viruses and advocating for One Health. From 2014 to 2021, she was general director of Embrapa Swine and Poultry.
Dr. Ciacci Zanella earned her veterinary degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. She holds a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Candice Rai was named associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington, where she has taught since 2008. Earlier in her tenure, she served as director of the university’s program in writing and rhetoric. Dr. Rai’s most recent book is Rhetorical Climatology (Michigan State University Press, 2023).
A graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago, Dr. Rai holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Terri Rebmann has been appointed associate dean of education in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. An expert in nursing, public health, infection prevention, and global security, Dr. Rebmann most recently served as divisional dean in the School of Nursing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, she served in several leadership roles at Saint Louis University in Missouri, including director of the Institute for Biosecurity, associate dean for academic and faculty affairs in the College of Public Health and Social Justice, and special assistant to the president for COVID-19 response.
Dr. Rebmann received her bachelor of nursing degree from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Missouri, and a Ph.D. in nursing from Saint Louis University.
Laura Albert has been named the inaugural senior associate dean for faculty affairs and development in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Albert previously served as the college’s assistant dean for graduate affairs. From 2021 to 2024, she was the David H. Gustafson Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Her expertise lies in the application of operations research methodologies to important societal challenges in homeland security, public safety, critical infrastructure protection, and election resilience.
Dr. Albert holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D in industrial engineering, all from the University of Illinois.
Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi has been appointed head of the department of horticulture and landscape architecture at Purdue University in Indiana. A professor of botany and plant biology, Dr. Iyer-Pascuzzi has been a Purdue faculty member for 13 years. In her research, she aims to understand how plants and microbes communicate with each other over multiple scales and in different environments.
Dr. Iyer-Pascuzzi received her bachelor’s degree in molecular environmental biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her doctorate in plant genetics from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Amanda Schuster was named director of nursing at Illinois College. Most recently, Dr. Schuster served on the faculties of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, and Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Earlier in her career, she practiced in acute care as a surgical intensive care nurse at the University of Kansas Hospital. As an academic, Dr. Schuster has experience in strengthening curriculum, aligning programs with national standards, and supporting student success.
Dr. Schuster holds bachelor’s degrees in nursing and biology and a master’s degree in nursing from Fort Hays State University in Kansas. She earned a Ph.D. in nursing education from the University of Northern Colorado.
Jessica Graves was named an assistant professor of agriculture and director of the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies at Huntington University in Indiana. She has been teaching as an adjunct professor at the university for the past two years. Earlier, she spent more than 14 years as an academic advisor and instructor at Mississippi State University. She has also served as director of international capacity development at the M4 Institute.
Dr. Graves is a three-time graduate of Mississippi State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in animal and dairy sciences, a master’s degree in agriculture and animal nutrition, and a Ph.D. in agricultural and extension education.
Amy Shirong Lu, associate professor of communication studies and health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, has been named editor-in-chief of JMIR Serious Games. At Northeastern, Dr. Lu directs the Health Technology Lab, where she explores the psychological, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms and effects of digital interventions using games, extended reality, and apps across the developmental spectrum. She is particularly interested in narratives, mediated characters, and digital media to improve human cognition and behavior.
Dr. Lu received her bachelor’s degree in English from Peking University in Beijing, China. She earned her master’s degree in communications studies and doctorate in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio is slated to join the Princeton University faculty this summer as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. She comes to her new role from Yale University, where she has been serving as the John J. Lee Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. A robotics specialist, Dr. Kramer-Bottiglio focuses her work on the development of shapeshifting “soft robots” that mimic how animals adapt in response to changes in their tasks and environments.
Dr. Kramer-Bottiglio holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she majored in mechanical engineering. She earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in engineering science from Harvard University.
Lina Khan was named co-director of the Center for Law and the Economy at Columbia Law School, where she teaches as an associate professor. From June 2021 to January 2025, Khan was chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Before joining the Columbia faculty in 2020, she was counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. Her teaching and writing focus on antitrust law, infrastructure industries law, the anti-monopoly tradition, and law and political economy.
A graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Khan earned her juris doctorate from Yale Law School.