Several UF Health Cancer Center members were honored during the annual University of Florida College of Medicine spring assembly, which celebrates exceptional faculty achievements. Awards recognize excellence in clinical care, rising stars in the medical field and lifetime achievement. Faculty who have devoted decades of their careers to the College of Medicine were also acknowledged during the event.
Congratulations to our members who received honors:
Faculty Council Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert McKenna, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Recruited to the UF College of Medicine in 1999, Robert McKenna, Ph.D., and his research lab team study how the structure of a biological molecule affects its function. His lab has explored this relationship in various proteins, DNA and viruses to produce a structural map of the biological molecule in the context of its function. This helps researchers better understand the mechanisms of how the system works, enabling them to develop strategies to treat diseases attributed to the targeted biological molecules.
McKenna is renowned for his work on adeno-associated virus, or AAV, which is harmless to the human body but considered a safe and effective vector for the delivery of gene therapy for multiple diseases. His lab is currently developing AAV capsids to be more effective gene transfer vectors.
College-level Clinical Excellence Award
Paul Crispen, M.D., Pete and Carolyn Newsome Urologic Oncology Professor and David. A Cofrin Endowed Chair of Urologic Oncology, Department of Urology
At the UF Health Cancer Center, Crispen is associate director for clinical research.
Rising Star Clinical Faculty Award
- Jason Joseph, M.D., Program director and clinical assistant professor, Department of Urology
- Aditya Shirali, M.D., Assistant professor, Department of Surgery
Service pins
UF Health Cancer Center members honored for 20 and 40 continuous years of service at the College of Medicine.
20 years
- Adriaan Bruijnzeel, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry
- Christopher Cogle, M.D., Department of Medicine
- Brian Law, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Rolf Renne, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
- Arun Srivastava, Ph.D., Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular and Cell Biology
40 years
- Nancy Mendenhall, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology
