March Faculty and Staff Features 2013

Tony Gentry, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions

Gentry, director of the Assistive Technology for Cognition Laboratory at VCU, was recently featured in Today in OT's career visionaries feature, which highlighted his work in technology involving the use of Apple's iPod Touch as a vocational aid for autism.

In addition to his focus on assistive technology, Gentry also concentrates on neurological rehabilitation. He co-founded Virginia NeuroCare, a community-based day rehabilitation program for adults with brain injury.

 

 

David Wojahn, Professor, Department of English, College of Humanities and Sciences

Wojahn, creative writing and modern and contemporary poetry professor, will receive the Poets’ Prize for his book "World Tree." The Poets’ Prize is a $3,000 award donated by a committee of about 20 American poets who both serve as nominators and judges. The prize is presented annually for the best book of verse published by a living American poet two years prior to the award year. Wojahn shares this year's award with Robert Shaw.

Wojahn will receive the prize in May at the annual awards reception held at the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York. The ceremony includes readings by winners and finalists.

Wojahn is the author of six poetry collections, as well as a collection of essays on contemporary verse. His numerous awards include the Society of Midland Authors’ Book Award and George Kent Memorial Prize from Poetry Magazine. He also has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

 

Daniel L. Riddle, Ph.D., Assistant Chair, School of Allied Health Professions

Riddle, department coordinator of the Ph.D. Distance-Learning Program, was chosen by the Foundation for Physical Therapy to receive the 2013 Charles M. Magistro Distinguished Service Award. Each year the foundation selects an individual who is committed to the foundation and its advancement.

Riddle received the award for his dedicated promotion of and relationship with the foundation and his outstanding services. He has contributed time and service to the foundation’s board of trustees and assisted in the development of the foundation’s high-priority, high-impact initiative.

Riddle received his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, Certificate of Physical Therapy at University of Iowa and his Master’s in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Ph.D. in Education at VCU. Riddle, the Otto D. Payton Professor at VCU, teaches courses on musculoskeletal assessment and disablement process.

 

Laura A. McLay, Assistant Professor, Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research, College of Humanities and Sciences

McLay presented research findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on Feb. 17. She was one of three speakers discussing the “Dynamics of Disasters: Harnessing the Science of Networks to Save Lives.”

McLay presented her research topic, “The Emergency Medical and Fire Calls During Severe Weather Events,” which analyzed how fire and emergency medical service respond to medical calls during extreme weather events and how communities meet the demands using basic resources, such as ambulances and fire engines.

McLay has been an assistant professor at VCU since 2006. She has received nearly $1.2 million to fund her research projects from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security. She was given the NSF “CAREER Award” in 2011 and a “Young Investigator Award” from the Army in 2010.

 

Gary Bowlin, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering

Bowlin recently was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows. Bowlin was nominated by peers and elected by the full membership into the official College of Fellows Class of 2013 for outstanding contributions to the application of electrospinning to tissue scaffolds and medical devices, biomedical engineering education and community outreach.

Since 1991, the College of Fellows has led the way for technological growth and advancement in the fields of medical and biological engineering. It is comprised of the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers in the country, including engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, innovators and successful entrepreneurs. Fellows have helped revolutionize medicine and related fields in order to enhance and extend the lives of people all over the world. They also have successfully advocated for public policies that have enabled researchers and business-makers to further the interests of engineers, scientists and patients.

Bowlin is known for his research in electrostatic endothelial cell seeding techniques and transplantation, as well as vascular tissue engineering. Aside from teaching, he is currently working on research in nerve guides, small diameter vascular grafts and development of a small diameter bio-mimicking vascular prosthesis.

A formal induction ceremony was held during AIMBE’s 2013 Annual Event at the National Academy of Sciences Great Hall in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18.

 

John E. Nestler, M.D., William Branch Porter Professor of Medicine, Chair of Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine

Nestler received the Laureate Award this month from the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) for his distinguished service to the community and chapter.

Nestler is a distinguished scholar and internationally recognized expert on the effects of insulin on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common condition related to diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. In the 1980s, Nestler was among the first scientists in the world to suggest that insulin was an important reproductive hormone. His pioneering work to induce ovulation through the use of such insulin-sensitizing drugs as metformin has led to the common use of metformin to treat infertility in women with PCOS, as well as to address the high risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in women with PCOS.

Nestler’s research team was the first to publish findings of the combination therapy of metformin and clomiphene to promote ovulation. The important work was published in a 1998 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

He is the principal investigator on two National Institutes of Health grants, and his honors include the VCU School of Medicine Outstanding Research Achievement Award and the VCU School of Medicine Distinguished Mentor in Clinical Sciences Award. He has authored more than 100 original publications and edited three books.

Nestler, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is a former chief medical resident at MCV Hospitals. He has served as chair of the department since 2009. He was vice chair from 2003 to 2009 and was chair of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism from 1997 to 2009.

Nestler was honored with the Laureate Award at a reception during the 2013 Virginia Chapter Annual Meeting and Clinical Update held March 1-2 at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa.

 

Patricia W. Cummins, Ph.D., Professor of French and International Studies, School of World Studies

Cummins, grant project group investigator and French program coordinator, led eight faculty members to Bamako, Mali, as part of an interdisciplinary initiative that will improve the French and International Studies curriculum for undergraduate VCU students. The trip was funded by a grant awarded to Cummins and the undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Languages program.

The three-year, $450,000 grant will help students and faculty expand their knowledge of West African culture. VCU students will have the opportunity to take a wider range of French, history and social studies courses to gain insight into the country and the French language. A three-week internship will be offered to five students who will live with a Malian family and return to share their experiences with fellow classmates and professors.

Cummins teaches French, civilization, literature and several interdisciplinary courses on the European Union, intercultural communication, identity and language. She is chair of the American Association of Teachers of French Commission on College and Universities and received the Marshall Brannon Outstanding Teaching Award in 2008.