The rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor is accorded to faculty who have distinguished their campus and State University communities through outstanding academic contributions, including scholarly publications, national and international research presentations, research findings and the training of students.
Department of Community Health and Health Behavior
R. Lorraine Collins, PhD, is a professor of community health and health behavior and the associate dean for research in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. Since the 1980s, she has contributed foundational research on cognitive and behavioral approaches to the conceptualization, prevention and treatment of addiction, particularly involving alcohol and marijuana. A fellow of the Society of Addictions Psychology, her research focuses on adolescents and young adults. Her early work on drinking restraint greatly expanded her peers’ understanding of the phenomenon. She is widely known for adapting ecological momentary assessment methodologies to better understand the use of substances, such as alcohol and cannabis, in real time. Her research has received funding from the National Institutes of Health for nearly thirty years and has positioned her to directly impact adult-use cannabis policies.
Department of Chemistry
Luis A. Colón, PhD, A. Conger Goodyear Professor of Chemistry and the associate dean for inclusive excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences, is an internationally recognized analytical chemist. A fellow of the American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Royal Society of Chemistry, he has contributed substantially to the field of ultrahigh pressure chromatography. At a time when academic practices are being reevaluated to root out systemic bias, Colón is greatly sought out for his collaborative approach to creating equity. His mentorship of students and colleagues from underrepresented backgrounds is central to his scholarship—and, for this work, President Barack Obama presented him the 2015 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
Department of Materials Design and Innovation
Quanxi Jia, PhD, Empire Innovation Professor and National Grid Professor of Materials Research, is a world leader in multifunctional and nanostructured materials for energy and electronic device applications. He has contributed significantly to the development of high-performance superconducting coated conductors for electric power applications. He invented and pioneered polymer-assisted deposition that has paved the way for cost-effective synthesis of electronic materials. He has developed novel approaches to the integration of materials with complementary functionalities. To date, he has published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and has 50 US patents awarded. He is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Ceramic Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the National Academy of Inventors.
Department of Biostatistics
Marianthi Markatou, PhD, is a professor and associate chair of research and healthcare informatics in the Department of Biostatistics. A renowned statistician and interdisciplinary scholar, she has conducted seminal methodological research that has significantly advanced the fields of statistical robustness, mixture models, statistical distances, weighted likelihood methods and statistical machine learning. Through her rigorous methodologies, she has advanced epidemiological research on emerging safety sciences, biomedical informatics—including text mining to support patient safety—and computer science, including big data analysis. Since 1990, Markatou’s research has been continuously supported by external funding agencies. Honored time and again for her accomplishments, she is an elected a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and a member of the International Statistical Institute.
Department of Chemistry
A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Janet Morrow, PhD, Larkin Chair of Chemistry, is an internationally recognized expert in bioinorganic chemistry. Her mechanistic studies on catalysts for the hydrolytic cleavage of RNA, solution studies of luminescent lanthanide complexes and MRI contrast agents based on transition metal complexes have contributed toward diagnostic and biomedical applications. Her invention of iron-based MRI contrast agents has the potential to improve diagnosis of human disease states. Morrow is associate editor of Inorganic Chemistry, the leading journal in her field. Her research contributions have been recognized with many honors, including the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, National Institutes of Health First Award, American Chemical Society Schoellkopf Medal, and National Science Foundation Special Award for Creativity.
School of Architecture and Planning
Robert Shibley, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, has advanced the fields of architecture and planning for 50 years, shaping Western New York as a model for city regions worldwide. Serving as UB’s campus architect, the founding director of the Urban Design Project, and the former director of the UB Regional Institute, he specializes in placemaking. In Shibley’s case, this includes everything from the design of quality low-energy buildings to planning integrated, economically thriving regions. He has received his discipline’s top national honors, including induction into the American Institute of Architect’s College of Fellows and the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. In 2015 he received the AIA’s Thomas Jefferson Award.
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Mark Swihart, PhD, UB Distinguished Professor, chair of chemical and biological engineering and Empire Innovation Professor in UB’s RENEW Institute, is recognized globally for developing new nanoscale materials and for devising new processes for producing them. These materials impact fields ranging from biomedical imaging to renewable energy. Consequently, the methods and materials he creates are used by researchers and industries worldwide. The co-founder of two start-up companies, Swihart is an elected fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has led multiple campus-wide initiatives, including the Strategic Strength in Integrated Nanostructured Systems and the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics. Beyond UB, he collaborates broadly, promoting interdisciplinary research approaches.
Department of Neurology
Gil I. Wolfe, MD, UB Distinguished Professor and Irvin and Rosemary Smith Profesor and Chairman of neurology, is an internationally recognized expert in neuromuscular diseases—particularly myasthenia gravis (MG)—and their therapeutic treatment. His research has been funded by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. The principal or co-investigator on more than 45 clinical trials, he served as the clinical chair of a multicenter international study that confirmed the benefits of surgical treatment (thymectomy) over medical treatment alone for patients with MG. This research has led to his publishing prolifically in high-impact journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Neurology, JAMA and Neurology. He has published over 145 peer-reviewed papers and 25 chapters.