Research Institute Fellows
Since its establishment in 2018, the SLU Research Institute has sought to build and nurture an ambitious culture of discovery and innovation at Saint Louis University. The Research Institute Fellows program recognizes, celebrates, and supports our researchers whose scholarly accomplishments embody the research eminence that SLU is dedicated to growing and promoting.
The Research Institute Fellows Program was launched in 2022 to honor faculty who contribute significantly to SLU’s research eminence. The criteria and process for appointing fellows were developed and refined with input from SLU’s research councils (Scholarship; Health; Science & Engineering; School of Medicine Research Planning Committee), deans, and the provost prior to the program’s launch.
Candidates are identified through databases that provide benchmarking tools for measuring and comparing research productivity and through internal peer review. SLU’s main database for benchmarking research productivity is Academic Analytics, which provides the most comprehensive data for comparing SLU faculty with their peers at other universities with a Carnegie R1 classification ("very high research activity"). Academic Analytics' Scholarly Research Index (SRI) weighs a faculty member’s articles and/or monographs, federal grants secured, presentations, awards, and journal citations in relation to the specific field of research as part of this assessment. Candidates who are considered for election as fellows have SRI scores that are at least one standard deviation above the mean of peers at R1 universities, based on the most recent data (currently 2021).
Candidate lists for each college or school are sent to their respective deans for review, and deans are also invited to nominate additional faculty based on their college or school’s specific metrics and other indicators for assessing research excellence. Once the deans return their reviewed list of faculty fellow nominations, the director of the Research Institute makes a recommendation to the provost, who makes the final determination. Using these methods, the provost, advised by the director of the Research Institute, chooses fellows annually in recognition of both their scholarly accomplishments at the very highest level of their fields and their embodiment of the University’s Jesuit research mission to innovate and serve. The group comprises outstanding researchers who reflect the breadth of the University’s research enterprise and exemplify SLU’s aspirations of rigor and impact.
The fellows program is rooted in SLU’s commitment to build an interdisciplinary community of dedicated scholars and promote a culture of rigorous intellectual exchange and collaboration across the University. Fellows receive unique opportunities to convene with colleagues across departments and disciplines to expand their understanding of different fields of inquiry, and also to discover spaces where their research questions intersect.
Fellows will have access to a variety of collaborative forums, events, and training opportunities sponsored by the Research Institute throughout the academic year. These offerings are designed to stimulate discussions and collaborations among fellows, providing extra time and space to explore innovative ideas in the streams of their research. These opportunities will be communicated via email at the beginning of each year and this web page will be updated to reflect current dates, times, and locations.
Fall 2022 Research Institute Fellows
The first cohort of Research Institute Fellows was named in August 2022:
Cameron Anglum, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education
Edwin Antony, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine
Jeffery Bishop, M.D., Ph.D,
Health Care Ethics
College of Arts and Sciences
Bidisha Chakrabarty, Ph.D.
Finance
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
Denise Côté-Arsenault, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Helen De Cruz, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
Benjamin de Foy, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering
Alexei Demchenko, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering
Enrico Di Cera, M.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine
Richard Di Paolo, Ph.D.
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine
Mark Dykewicz, M.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
James Edwards, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering
Flavio Esposito, Ph.D.
Computer Science
School of Science and Engineering
Ruth Evans, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences
Chad Flanders, Ph.D., J.D.
Law
School of Law
David Ford, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology
School of Medicine
Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Koyal Garg, Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering
Lorri Glover, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Jenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D.
Mechanical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering
Richard Grucza, Ph.D., MPE
Family and Community Medicine
School of Medicine
Dan Haybron, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
Verna Hendricks-Ferguson, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Daniel Hoft, M.D., Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Jin Huang, Ph.D., M.S.W.
School of Social Work
Christa Jackson, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education
Devin Johnston, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences
Grant Kaplan, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Istvan Kiss, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering
Jason Knouft, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Helen Lach, Ph.D., RN
Nursing
Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Atria Larson, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Krista Lentine, M.D., Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Yi Li, Ph.D.
Nutrition and Dietetics
Doisy College of Health Sciences
Thomas Madden, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Peter Martens, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Marvin Meyers, Ph.D.
Chemistry
School of Science and Engineering
Allison Miller, Ph.D.
Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Adriana Montaño, Ph.D.
Pediatrics
School of Medicine
Takako Nomi, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education
Marcus Painter, Ph.D.
Finance
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
Hal Parker, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Ranjit Ray, Ph.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Ratna Ray, Ph.D.
Pathology
School of Medicine
James Redfield, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Gary Ritter, Ph.D.
Education
School of Education
Mark Ruff, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Vasit Sagan, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering
Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D.
Pharmacology and Physiology
School of Medicine
Ness Sandoval, Ph.D.
Sociology
College of Arts and Sciences
Jonathan Sawday, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences
Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D.
Family and Community Medicine
School of Medicine
Scott Sell, Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering
Enbal Shacham, Ph.D.
Behavioral Science and Health Education
College for Public Health and Social Justice
Silvana Siddali, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Nitish Singh, Ph.D.
International Business
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
Damien Smith, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Eleonore Stump, Ph.D.
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
Abby Stylianou, Ph.D.
Computer Science
School of Science and Engineering
Jintong Tang, Ph.D.
Management
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
John Tavis, Ph.D.
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine
Jeffrey Teckman, M.D.
Pediatrics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
School of Medicine
Warren Treadgold, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Michael Vaughn, Ph.D.
School of Social Work
Jeremiah Weinstock, Ph.D.
Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Lupei Zhu, Ph.D.
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
School of Science and Engineering
Fall 2023 Research Institute Fellows
The second cohort of Research Institute Fellows was named in November 2023:
Bradley Bailey, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Art History
College of Arts and Sciences
Michael D. Barber, S.J., Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
Julie Birkenmaier, Ph.D., MSW
Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work
Faculty Director in Financial Capability at the Center for Social Development, Washington
University in St. Louis
Her recent publications on these topics have been published in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Affairs, the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, and Campbell Systematic Reviews. She is a co-author of “Financial Capability and Asset-Building in Vulnerable Households” (2018, Oxford University Press), and “Financial Capability and Asset Building with Diverse Populations” (2018, Routledge Press). She teaches financial capability and asset building practice, community practice, and policy practice. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and a B.A. and MSW from Saint Louis University.
Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D.
Professor and James J. Pierson Endowed Chair of Marketing, Richard A. Chaifetz School
of Business
President of the Academy of Marketing Science
Michael C. Duff, J.D.
Professor of Law
School of Law
Duff attended college in his late 20s, while simultaneously employed full-time as a union-represented airline ramp worker. He was the first Black Teamster shop-steward in the history of U.S. Airways’ 800-person ramp group in Philadelphia and was much sought after by co-workers as an effective union advocate. The first member of his family to attend law school or college, Duff went directly from the airport tarmac to the Harvard Law School in 1992, after graduating summa cum laude from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He worked part-time as a law clerk with the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents, while attending law school, and graduated from Harvard in 1995. He then went on to work for a small law firm in Maine from 1995-1997, where he represented injured workers and labor unions. Duff joined the National Labor Relations Board in 1997 and served for almost 10 years as a government labor lawyer in the Board’s offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In spring 2006, Duff was invited to apply for a professorship by the dean of the University of Wyoming College of Law and began his work as a law professor in July 2006.
Duff was appointed professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law in 2022 and teaches there in the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law. He teaches courses in torts, labor law, workers’ compensation law, and occupational safety and health. He is especially interested in the occupational segregation of employees of color, and the severe undercompensation of employees stricken by work-related occupational disease.
Throughout his academic career, Duff has focused his research on workers’ compensation law and the National Labor Relations Act. He has written on labor, employment, and personal injury issues, and has been frequently quoted on such matters in various national publications. He is the author (or co-author) of textbooks, treatises, and scholarly articles in these subjects. He is also the founder and co-editor of the Workers’ Compensation Law Professors’ Blog.
Monica Eppinger, Ph.D., J.D.
Associate Professor of Law
School of Law
Eppinger has published in the American Journal of Comparative Law, Theoretical Inquiries in Law, the Journal of Food Law and Policy, Catholic University Law Review, Georgetown Journal of Gender and Law, Ewha (South Korea) Journal of Gender and Law, HAU: a Journal of Ethnographic Theory, and the Cultural Anthropology Fieldsights series.
In her first career as a U.S. diplomat, Eppinger worked on U.S. policy toward the former Soviet space, toward West Africa, and on energy security. She holds a B.A. from Yale College, a MALD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California Berkeley, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. She is currently an associate professor of law and anthropology at Saint Louis University where she also served as co-director of the Center for International and Comparative Law from 2017-2023. She is spending the academic year 2023-2024 on research leave as a fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Society at University of California Berkeley. She is also proficient in Ukrainian and Russian.
Annie Garner, Ph.D.
Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Claire Gilbert, Ph.D.
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Kelly Gillespie, R.N., J.D., Ph.D.
Law
School of Law
Ajay Kumar Jain, M.D.
Pediatrics; Pharmacology and Physiology
School of Medicine
Brandy R. Maynard, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Social Work
School of Social Work
Leslie McClure, Ph.D.
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
College for Public Health and Social Justice
Marcia McCormick, J.D.
Law
School of Law
Matthew Nanes, Ph.D.
Political Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Steven Rogers, Ph.D.
Political Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Rubén Rosario Rodríguez, Ph.D.
Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Bernard Rousseau, Ph.D., M.M.H.C.
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Doisy College of Health Sciences
Nil Santiáñez, Ph.D.
Languages, Literatures and Cultures
College of Arts and Sciences
Rachel Greenwald Smith, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences
Anne Stiles, Ph.D.
English
College of Arts and Sciences
Cynthia Stollhans, Ph.D.
Art History
College of Arts and Sciences
Yan Sun, Ph.D.
Accounting
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
Brent A. Tetri, M.D.
Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Gregory Edward Triplett Jr., Ph.D.
Civil, Computer and Electrical Engineering
School of Science and Engineering
Phyllis Weliver, D. Phil.
English
College of Arts and Sciences