Aviva Abosch was named the Esernia Endowed Chair in Surgical Treatment of Adult Epilepsy and Movement Disorders at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, a clinical partner of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. Dr. Abosch is a national authority on functional neurosurgery, deep brain stimulation, and other forms of neuromodulation. She previously held leadership roles with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Colorado, and the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Abosch earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed a residency in neurological surgery at the University of California School of Medicine, a fellowship in epilepsy surgery at Montreal Neurological Hospital, and a fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.
Margarita Guillory was named the C. Allyn and Elizabeth V. Russell Professor of Religion and Culture in the United States at Boston University. She is a professor of religion and director of the university’s African American and Black diaspora studies program. An interdisciplinary scholar of African American religion, Dr. Guillory has published several books, including Africana Religion in the Digital Age (Routledge, 2024).
Dr. Guillory holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in African American studies from Emory University in Atlanta, a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Saint Thomas, and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Karen Thole has been named an Evan Pugh University Professor at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan, is slated to return to the Penn State faculty this month as the inaugural director of the university’s National Security Institute. She previously served as head of Penn State’s department of mechanical engineering from 2006 to 2021. An international leader in gas turbine technologies, Dr. Thole has significantly advanced how turbine cooling and aero-thermal performance are studied and improved.
Dr. Thole earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. She holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.