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Named positions are part of a long-standing tradition to celebrate the work of Rochester’s faculty as researchers, scholars, and teachers.

Several faculty members at the University of Rochester were appointed to named professorships during the second half of 2024. An honor designed to recognize the national stature of a professor’s work, the named positions are part of a long-standing tradition to celebrate the work of Rochester’s faculty as researchers, scholars, and teachers.

Salah Al-Zaiti, a professor of nursing, has been jointly appointed as the Independence Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing.

Al-Zaiti is a leading expert in cardiovascular disease, informatics, and machine learning. He joined the University faculty in September 2024.

The professorship was established by the Independence Foundation.

Stefanie Dunning, a professor of Black studies, has been jointly appointed as Susan B. Anthony Professor. Dunning retains her joint appointments as Professor of English and director of the Susan B. Anthony Institute.

Dunning’s scholarship explores race, gender, and sexuality in literature and culture. Her research focuses on African American literature, speculative fiction, Black ecologies, queer theory, film and visual culture, and Black feminist theory.

The professorship was established by a gift from the late Fred Jensen ’42.

Nadine Grimm, an assistant professor of linguistics, has been jointly appointed as the James P. Wilmot Distinguished Assistant Professor of Linguistics.

Grimm’s research interests include grammatical tone, language documentation and description, typology, and African languages (particularly Bantu).

The professorship was established with a gift from James P. Wilmot’s estate.

Susan Groth ’04N (PhD), a professor of nursing, has been appointed as Ruth Miller Brody and Bernard Brody Professor.

Groth’s research focuses on obesity, particularly weight gain during pregnancy, and its long-term effects on mothers and their children. Her work examines the behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors contributing to obesity, aiming to improve women’s health by understanding the development of cardiometabolic risk in the years following pregnancy.

Sponsored by the daughters of Bernard ’51M (MD) and Ruth Miller Brody ’42N, the professorship was established in 1999.

Elaine Hill, a professor of public health sciences, has been jointly appointed as Dean’s Professor. Hill retains her joint appointments as professor of obstetrics and gynecology and as professor of economics in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Hill’s research examines the intersection between health, health policy, the environment, and human capital formation.

The Dean’s Professorship recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding research accomplishments.

Cory Hunter ’06E, an assistant professor of musicology and assistant professor of music, has been jointly appointed as the James P. Wilmot Distinguished Assistant Professor of Music in the Arthur Satz Department of Music.

Hunter specializes in African American popular music, specifically Black gospel music.

The professorship was established with a gift from James P. Wilmot’s estate.

Suzannah Iadarola, an associate professor of pediatrics, has been jointly appointed as the Haggerty-Friedman Professor in Developmental/Behavioral Pediatric Research. She retains her joint appointment as associate professor of public health sciences.

Iadarola’s research focuses on supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families through community-based interventions, advocacy, and caregiver support programs.

The professorship honors the legacies of Robert Haggerty ’51M (Res.) and Stanford Friedman ’57M (MD), School of Medicine and Dentistry faculty and distinguished leaders in pediatrics.

Stephen Judge ’05M (Res.), a professor of clinical medicine, has been jointly appointed as the Ralph W. Prince Professor in Medicine.

Judge, who also retains his appointments as director of the UR Medicine Primary Care Network and associate chair of primary care medicine in the Department of Medicine, has been recognized with several teaching awards.

The professorship honors Ralph Prince ’43M (MD), who served on the School of Medicine and Dentistry faculty from 1951 until he retired in 1987. It was established by a gift from the estate of Prince’s friend and patient Mary Whipple Clark.

Qiang Lin ’06 (PhD), a professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been appointed as Dean’s Professor.

Lin is a leading expert in photonics, including micro/nano, quantum, nonlinear, and mechanical photonics.

The Dean’s Professorship recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding research accomplishments.

Bette London, a professor of English, has been jointly appointed as the Joseph Henry Gilmore Professor of English.

London’s research interests include 20th-century British literature, Victorian literature and culture, feminist theory, women’s writing, and authorship studies.

The professorship honors Joseph Gilmore, a 19th-century author, clergyman, and former head of Rochester’s Department of English.

Mitchell O’Connell, an associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics, has been jointly appointed as Dean’s Associate Professor.

O’Connell’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas13 antiviral immunity and RNA-mediated gene regulation to inform the development of RNA detection tools that could improve clinical diagnostics. Read more about O’Connell’s recent research.

The Dean’s Professorship recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding research accomplishments.

Daven Presgraves ’03 (PhD), a professor of biology, has been jointly appointed as the Shirley Cox Kearns Professor.

Presgraves studies the evolution of selfish genetic elements and how they affect speciation, sex chromosome evolution, and meiotic recombination.

The professorship honors the late Shirley Kearns, the wife of David Kearns ’52, a former chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, who died in 2011.

Michael Scott, a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, has been jointly appointed as the chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and as the Denham S. Ward M.D., Ph.D Professor.

Scott was a professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine before joining the Rochester faculty in October 2024. His research focuses on surgical outcomes research, and he has led studies in analgesia, hemodynamic monitoring, fluid therapy, and the stress response for surgery. His current focus is on the long-term effects of acute kidney injury.

Several donors established the professorship to recognize Denham Ward, professor emeritus of anesthesiology.

Andrei Seluanov, a professor of biology, has been jointly appointed as Dean’s Professor of Biology. Seluanov retains his appointment as professor of medicine, geriatrics, and aging in the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

His research interests center around understanding the mechanisms of longevity and cancer resistance.

The Dean’s Professorship recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding research accomplishments.

Albert Uy, a professor of biology, has been jointly appointed as Dean’s Professor of Biology. He retains his appointment as chair of the Department of Biology.

Uy’s research is focused on understanding the origin and maintenance of biological diversity in the tropics.

The Dean’s Professorship recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding research accomplishments.

Stewart Weaver, a professor of history, has been jointly appointed as Franklin W. and Gladys I. Clark Professor of History.

Weaver’s research interests include modern British history, Himalayan history, and environmental history. Read more about his recent work on the cultural history of modern glacial science.

The professorship was established by a gift from the late Franklin W. Clark ’33 (MA) and his wife, Gladys.