It is often said that teachers are the architects of the future. That is even more possible at a university, where faculty members can inspire students to pursue careers they never considered and mentors can embolden them to uncover new breakthroughs.
Last week, some of the University of Miami’s outstanding faculty members were honored at the 2026 Provost’s Awards for their devotion to advancing research and elevating teaching, learning, and mentorship across the institution.
Held at the Lakeside Village Expo Center, the ceremony honored nine faculty members in four categories with a small set of distinguished awards. In addition, 43 faculty members received a Provost’s Research Award, which supports a project they will conduct in the coming year.
Joel H. Samuels, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, hosted the ceremony for the first time and said he was elated to celebrate the work of faculty members who are shaping disciplines, and delivering real-world benefits in classrooms, clinics and communities.
“It’s a tremendous pleasure for me as a newcomer to the University to get to see all of the nominees for the awards and to see the extraordinary work being done across the U,” he said. “Tonight is a chance to illuminate the excellence behind your work so that it will inspire others for years to come.”
The first award category was Outstanding Scholarly or Creative Impact. This distinction honors a faculty member’s single contribution from the last three years that is already shaping its field—advancing knowledge, informing practice and influencing what comes next, Samuels said.
- Tracy Crane, an associate professor at the Miller School of Medicine and the Brigette Burke Endowed Chair for Women’s Cancer Research, was the first recipient. Dr. Stephen Nimer, director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, nominated Crane and pointed to her publication in the 2025 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, as a “field-defining contribution to oncology nutrition.” In this article, Crane and her co-authors offered evidence-based nutritional strategies for cancer patients to help improve the tolerance of cancer treatments and the completion of chemotherapy.
- Michael Touchton, professor of political science at the College of Arts and Sciences, also received the award. Touchton was honored for his 2025 book “Voice in Local Development: Participation, Empowerment, and Accountability in Kenya,” which he co-authored with Brian Wampler. The work explores semi-democratic regimes by showing how competitive elections, program design, and local actors shape accountability and governance. His nominator, professor Casey Klofstad wrote that “Touchton’s book exemplifies scholarship that bridges rigorous research and real-world impact,” about the potential benefits of collaborative governance.
The Interdisciplinary Excellence in Team Teaching or Scholarship award honors faculty whose collaborative work integrates diverse perspectives to address global or societal challenges through boundary-crossing approaches, Samuels added.
- Daniel Messinger, professor of psychology and director of the child division; Chaoming Song, associate professor of physics; and Lynn Perry, professor of psychology, all from the College of Arts and Sciences, were recognized for work they have done together to quantify inclusion, engagement, and interaction in early childhood classrooms. “The team’s research offers clear pathways to improving educational practice for children with autism, hearing loss, and other developmental challenges,” wrote psychology professor and department chair Phil McCabe, who nominated the group.
- Hassan Ali, an associate professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School of Medicine and director of the drug discovery core at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, was also honored. Ali’s work includes developing potential therapeutic treatments for conditions including spinal cord injury, kidney disease, and cancer. He is known by his colleagues as a scientific “multi-instrumentalist” who can move fluidly from chemistry to computation to biology. Hassan has built integrated, cross-disciplinary teams and exemplifies the University’s mission to translate discovery into impact, Samuels added.
- Frank Penedo, a professor with joint appointments in psychology and medicine and a senior leader at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, was also honored. Penedo’s work asks not only what improves quality of life for people living with and beyond cancer, but how health care professionals can embed those evidence-based approaches into real-world clinical systems—so that supportive care is not an add-on, but a standard, Samuels said. Penedo uses an interdisciplinary approach to research and integrates biopsychosocial models with implementation science and precision health approaches, offering frameworks for researchers and clinicians to follow.
The James M. Tien Early Career Award and Grant, recognizes a faculty member whose early career contributions show exceptional growth and impact at the University of Miami and beyond.
- Tyler Bartholomew, associate professor of public health sciences at the Miller School of Medicine, received this honor. Bartholomew is an emerging national leader in implementation science and health systems research focused on improving prevention and care for HIV, viral hepatitis, and substance use disorders—especially for people who use drugs and other structurally marginalized populations, Samuels said. He developed and evaluated a program for opt‑out HIV and hepatitis testing in syringe services programs. This structural intervention was recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the first evidence‑informed HIV testing strategy for people who inject drugs in that setting.
And the Luis Glaser Mentorship Award recognizes exceptional commitment to mentoring students and fostering their academic, professional, and personal development.
- Kerry Burnstein, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the Miller School of Medicine, received this award. Faculty colleagues describe Burnstein’s mentoring as both rigorous and deeply human: she sets high standards, builds independence, and helps trainees translate effort into tangible milestones like publications, fellowships, and successful transitions to the next stage, Samuels said. Over her career, she has mentored 18 doctoral students and seven postdoctoral fellows, with many of her trainees advancing to leadership roles in cancer research, education, and academic medicine.
Later in the program, 43 faculty members received a Provost’s Research Award, which offers seed funding for faculty to explore new lines of inquiry or accelerate work already underway, said Alberto Caban-Martinez, interim vice provost for research and scholarship.
“This year’s recipients represent a wide range of disciplines, reflecting the University’s commitment to growing a top-tier research enterprise through strategic early investment,” Caban-Martinez said.
See the full list of recipients of the Provost’s Research Awards.
