The College of Health recognized several individuals for excellence in teaching, research and employment at the annual spring meeting. This year’s award winners are:
Kirk Nichols, Distinguished Teaching Award
Nichols joined the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism in 1975, teaching for a span of nearly 50 years. Last year he received the University’s Distinguished Professor Award. He uses real-world experience to great effect in the classroom, having served as a U-Explore instructor for mountaineering, rock climbing, winter camping, and backpacking, among others. He also serves as a National Outdoor Leadership School liaison within PRT. Nichols is willing to go above and beyond in the classroom, recording hundreds of hours of video footage during the pandemic for remote lectures. This continues to serve his current students who may miss class for illness and emergencies or who might benefit from additional explanation and understanding.
Ryan Burns, PhD, Distinguished Teaching Award
Ryan Burns, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. He teaches graduate research methods, design, and analysis. Burns’ department chair says his work is “instrumental in setting up our students for success in their research efforts… [he] does an amazing job getting to know the interests and research areas for all the students so that he can provide meaningful examples for each student and individualize his interactions and feedback.” Despite the difficulty level of his courses, Burns receives stellar feedback. He has “an extraordinarily high level of commitment to student learning” t he “genuinely cares about his students”, “fosters a love of learning in his courses”, teaches in a way that is “innovative and creative”, demonstrates “excellent planning and [meticulous] organization”, and fosters a “positive and welcoming learning climate”
Micah Drummond, PhD, Distinguished Mentor Award
Drummond is currently the primary mentor for one undergraduate student, three PhD students, one medical student, one research associate, one postdoctoral fellow, three assistant professors, and one associate professor. Additionally, he has provided direct mentorship to over 16 PhD students through their dissertation supervisory committees and 6 postdoctoral fellows. His impact has resulted in his mentees receiving prestigious NIH awards via T32, F31, F32, F99-K00, and R01 mechanisms. Further, his mentees at the University of Utah have gone on to obtain PhD student positions, postdoctoral fellowships, tenure-track professorships, and industry scientific positions. In 2023, Dr. Drummond became the Director of the Rehabilitation Science PhD Program, extending his individual research mentorship to administrative levels. His exceptional mentorship resonates with students at all levels and with colleagues across their professional development.
Kota Takahashi, PhD, New Investigator Award
Since joining the Department of Health and Kinesiology in 2022, Takahashi has established an exceptional level of scholarship. His research focuses on foot and ankle biomechanics, and he has authored or co-authored 37 peer-review publications. He has also been instrumental in establishing the Advanced Rehabilitation Technology Research Studio along with collaborators from the School of Medicine and Engineering. His research is currently funded by two RO1s from the NIH, and by the Department of Defense. He has presented his research nationally and internationally. Takahashi’s nominators cited his impact on attracting top graduate students to the University of Utah along with the collaborative, inter-disciplinary nature of his work.
Paul Estabrooks, PhD, Senior Investigator Award
The Senior Investigator Award is given to an individual with ten or more years of a faculty appointment. Estabrooks joined the Department of Health and Kinesiology in 2022. Throughout his 25-year research career, Estabrooks has had consistent extramural funding for his work and has authored nearly 300 peer-review manuscripts. Since joining the University of Utah faculty, he has continued his scholarly productivity, authoring 45 peer-review publications and obtaining extramural funding totally about $9 million. His scholarship has been funded through the NIH, CDC, PCORI and a number of other foundations and agencies. Finally, he has established himself as a committed mentor to students and junior faculty in the College.
Sean Tatum, PhD, Graduate Student Researcher Award
Tatum joined Will Holland, PhD’s lab and began pursuit of a PhD in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology in 2019 after training at the University of Colorado. His dissertation research demonstrated that ceramides—which are lipotoxic lipid metabolites that accumulate during obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia—cause diastolic dysfunction in both cardiac tissue and plasma. Tatum's work resulted in both conceptual and technical advances. He successfully defended his dissertation in March and his primary paper is currently in review in Cell Metabolism. Tatum has been a truly exemplary as a pre-doctoral trainee. He has first-authored 3 publications and served as a co-author on 5 others. He has received 3 training awards including an F31 and T32 from the NIH and an American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.
Daniel Davis, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow Award
Davis joined Kota Takahashi, PhD’s lab in 2023 after completing his PhD at the Pennsylvania State University. He is working with Takahashi on NIH-funded project investigating the role of foot and ankle structures in mobility outcomes in older adults. Davis has been instrumental in getting the project established and enrolling participants. He has built strong, interdisciplinary collaborations with faculty in Orthopedic Surgery, Physical Therapy and Engineering. He and his collaborators were recently awarded a seed grant through the University’s VPR office to study foot bone motion and biomechanics during footwear use. Daniel has an impressive record of scholarship, authoring nine peer-review publications, six as first author.
Will Holland, PhD, Inclusive Excellence Award
In 2023, Holland and his colleagues Kalani Rafael and Marcus Pezzolesi developed and launched Haumana O’Pasifika, a new internship program for undergraduate or postbaccalaureate students of Pacific Islander descent. Starting from scratch, they secured funding to support eight students over the summer, providing $4K stipends for the scholars to complete an eight-week training stint within University of Utah laboratories (many from the College of Health). Holland led the effort, advertising the program; vetting applicants; developing a curriculum that included training in research skills, clinical experiences, and career development activities; and mentoring a trainee in his own lab. Remarkably, they received 20 applications from across the country for this new program, offering eight of them an enriching and engaging program that introduced them to careers in research and clinical care. Holland even hosted one of the participants—who wasn’t from Utah—within his own home, providing him free room and board for the duration of the 8-week program.
Ramiro Mora Jr., Inclusive Excellence Award
As the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Alliance (DEIA) president from May 2021 to May 2023 in the Department of Physical Therapy, Mora exemplified the Inclusive Excellence Award criteria. During his tenure, he actively collaborated with fellow students and faculty to cultivate an environment to embrace and promote a broad scope of diversity. At the college level, Mora has served on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee. He actively engaged in discussions and recommendations for improving curriculum, recruitment, and the campus climate. In his role within the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, he was able to support community outreach events by recruiting fellow students to represent the College of Health and highlight educational opportunities to students across the region. As the Department Chair noted, "Ramiro Mora embodies the spirit of diversity and inclusion."
Chad Romoser, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Romoser is a doctoral candidate in the interprofessional Rehabilitation Sciences Program and a teaching assistant in the recreational therapy program. He has been a teaching assistant since 2022. His primary responsibilities include being the instructor of record for RECTH 4300: Recreational Therapy and Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and RECTH 5300: Management in Recreational Therapy. It is noteworthy that during his first semester as a TA (Fall 2023), the course Chad was assigned to teach was transitioning from a 3.0 credit course to a 4.0 credit course. Major content revisions were required that included: use of a new textbook, adding additional content, and a new clinical education/volunteer experience. This was a tremendous undertaking for a TA, and Chad invested significant time and effort to ensure the course was updated and revised to meet the needs of the RT program. A faculty in the department states “I am always amazed at how much time and energy Chad dedicates to student success. He is apparent in his policies and holds students to a high standard while providing the support and resources to ensure all students can successfully attain the expectations.”
Tammy Sheffield, Staff and Advising Excellence
Sheffield joined the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism in 2021 and serves as the department’s administrative manager. She was essential to balancing, detangling, and overhauling the department’s finances after a realignment process, and found time to help other departments with their financial needs along the way. One letter in support of Tammy’s nomination states that, “the challenges would have stopped anyone else in their tracks, but Tammy faced them with zeal and purpose.” She created protocols based on sound accounting practices that returned the Department to solid financial footing. Faculty appreciate her attention to detail and extraordinary commitment to creating PRT into a well-oiled machine. She even helps student groups by assisting them with their budgets, ordering supplies, training them on reimbursement processes, and tracking their orders to ensure an on time delivery. Another letter of support states, “If you’ve worked with Tammy, you know that none of this is hyperbole. She is a beacon of competence, accountability, and reliability.”
Sonya Dinsdale, Staff and Advising Excellence
Dinsdale joined the College of Health as the Executive Assistant to the Dean in 2015 after several years of working in the School of Medicine. She carries the weight of many tasks on her shoulders. Information from University leadership, tasks with deadlines, events to plan and cater, questions from department chairs, faculty, and Health Sciences Academic Affairs, and any number of emails, phone calls, and zoom invites stream into the Dean’s office like cars at rush hour on a super-highway around Los Angeles. The enormity of her job is simply mind-numbing. Yet, with every task, she plans well ahead of time so it can be done correctly, completed well before the due date (she “loathes missing deadlines”), and ensures that the final product represents the best the College has to offer. As the ex Officio member of the College Advisory Committee, Sonya led the complicated task of conducting tenure line faculty reviews at the College level. She developed into this role, guided faculty in writing reports and conducting meetings, all while maintaining a climate of collegiality and mutual respect.