UIC researchers, scholars make strides in their fields, ranging from music to muscular dystrophy – UIC today

April 21, 2025
The excellence of UIC research is built on its community, which has expertise across all fields of science and humanities. The UIC Research and Scholarship Annual Awards, presented by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, honor the exceptional members of that ecosystem, from promising early-career faculty to nationally recognized scholars.
The 2024-25 class includes distinguished researchers and rising stars in five categories, as well as honorees for faculty mentorship, postdoctoral scholarship and — for the first time — research support.
Their fields are diverse, and their research looks forward to new discoveries and to the past for new insights. This year’s honorees harness evolution to design new materials, create the drugs that will fight the next pandemic, revive the works of women choral composers and study the impact of race and identity on math learning.
The Inventor of the Year award is given by the Office of Technology Management to a faculty member who has contributed to the development of intellectual property that significantly impacts their field and society. This year, the award went to Dr. Maria Siemionow in the College of Medicine, who has developed a cell therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a debilitating genetic disorder that mainly affects boys.
How could research thrive at UIC without the spaces, systems and materials to support it? Branko Bogicevic, senior assistant director for project management, was named the first Champion of Research Support at UIC for his work to maintain, renovate and upgrade UIC systems to meet researchers’ needs.
But the work of these researchers takes them beyond campus and far beyond Chicago. Leslie Williams in the School of Public Health said her favorite place to do research is in South Africa, where she began learning about barriers to HIV care during a study abroad as an undergraduate. Now she focuses on addressing stigma tied to HIV and substance use disorder and the barriers to health care those stigmas create.
Elizabeth Glover studies alcohol use disorder and the brain, aiming for discoveries that could lead to better treatment and prevention. She prefers a perch behind a microscope in the Psychology Department in the School of Public Health for her work. Danny Bernard Martin is exploring Black students’ experience of learning math. His favorite place for that research: anywhere those students feel comfortable, whether a classroom or a park.
Liza Calisesi Maidens looks to the past to uncover women composers from the Renaissance who have been largely overlooked. After unearthing their music, studying it and translating it, “My favorite place to see the research come to life is in the choral rehearsal room, right here on campus,” she said.
Beyond their specific interests, these Researchers of the Year have a passion for scientific inquiry and study in general. We asked them, in a time when research funding is under pressure, why does research matter? Watch their responses in the video above.
Awardees will be celebrated in an April 23 ceremony at the Field Museum of Natural History. Read about each recipient’s work and impact through the links below. 
Basic Life Sciences 
Rising Star: Elizabeth Glover, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine
Studying the brain to design better treatments for alcohol use disorder
Distinguished Researcher: Lijun Rong, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine
Developing therapies to fight the next pandemic 
Clinical Sciences 
Rising Star: Leslie Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Addressing the stigma of substance use disorder
Distinguished Researcher: Tanvi Bhatt, PhD
Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences
Predicting and preventing falls with research-based training
Natural Sciences and Engineering 
Rising Star: Andy Nguyen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Designing molecular machines inspired by nature
Distinguished Researcher: Michael Trenary, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Observing and controlling chemical reactions on metal surfaces
Social Sciences 
Rising Star: Uchechi Mitchell, PhD, MSPH
Associate Professor, Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Detecting if racial inequities make people age faster
Distinguished Scholar: Danny Bernard Martin, PhD
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education; Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Exploring what it means to learn math while Black
Humanities, Arts, Design and Architecture 
Rising Star: Liza Calisesi Maidens, DMA
Assistant Professor, School of Theatre and Music, College of Architecture, Design and the Arts
Centering underrepresented voices in classical choral music
Distinguished Scholar: Liliana Sánchez, PhD
Professor, Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Exploring how language affects comprehension and social relationships
Inventor of the Year 
2024 winner: Maria Siemionow, MD, PhD, DSc
Professor, Department of Orthopedics, College of Medicine
Slowing the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year 
2024-25 winner: Kanchan Jaswal, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine
Uncovering a key to infection in the gut microbiota
Faculty Mentor of the Year 
2024-25 winner: Noah Kaplan, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research Champion of the Year 
2024-25 winner: Branko Bogicevic
Senior Assistant Director for Project Management-Mechanical Engineering, Planning, Sustainability and Project Management, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services
Building the infrastructure for scientific advancement