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Tufts Distinction Award Recipient

Sharon Snaggs Gendron, MSW, Director of Student Wellness for the Tufts University Health Sciences Campus, has been named one of this year’s recipients of the Tufts Distinction Awards, a university-wide honor recognizing exceptional contributions by staff and faculty. Since joining Tufts in 2015, Snaggs has played a central role in supporting student well-being through the development of wellness programming, crisis support, and community-building initiatives that help students navigate the challenges of professional school. Known for creating welcoming and inclusive spaces for students to connect, reflect, and recharge, she is widely respected for her compassionate leadership, commitment to student support, and dedication to fostering a culture of wellness across the health sciences campus.

A Leader in Heart Failure Innovation

Professor Marvin Konstam, MD, has been awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Heart Failure Collaboratory (HFC), recognizing his exceptional contributions to advancing the science and conduct of heart failure clinical trials. The HFC—a public-private consortium of leading academic investigators, regulatory agencies including the FDA, and industry partners—works to improve the ecosystem of heart failure research and accelerate the development of new therapies. Presented at the organization’s recent meeting at FDA headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, the honor highlights Dr. Konstam’s enduring leadership in fostering collaboration, shaping clinical trial innovation, and strengthening the partnerships that drive progress in heart failure care. He shares this year’s recognition with JoAnn Lindenfeld, MD, of Vanderbilt University.

Excellence in Online Teaching

Assistant Professor Jon Gass, PhD, MPH, is a 2026 recipient of the Tufts Excellence in Online Teaching Award. The Excellence in Online Teaching Awards recognize Tufts instructors who demonstrate creativity, innovation, and exceptional student engagement in online and blended learning environments. Nominated by students, recipients are honored for fostering meaningful interaction, inclusive learning communities, and impactful educational experiences that support student success.

American College of Radiology Fellow

Associate Professor Rachel Hitt, MD, MPH, has been named a Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR), one of the profession’s highest honors. The FACR designation recognizes radiologists who have demonstrated exceptional service, leadership, scholarship, and dedication to advancing the field of radiology and patient care. This distinguished achievement reflects Dr. Hitt’s outstanding contributions to our organization, our patients, and the broader radiology community. Her recognition as a Fellow highlights a sustained commitment to excellence in clinical care, education, and professional leadership, while underscoring the vital role radiology plays in improving healthcare quality, patient outcomes, and the overall patient experience.

John Leong Named Interim Chair of Immunology

John M. Leong, MD, PhD, Edith Rieva and Hyman S. Trilling Professor, has been appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Immunology, in addition to his current role as Chair of Molecular Biology and Microbiology. An accomplished physician-scientist, educator, and academic leader, Dr. Leong brings extensive experience fostering collaborative, high-performing research environments and advancing interdisciplinary partnership across the biomedical sciences. Widely respected for his commitment to scientific discovery and mentorship, he will guide the department during this transitional period while also serving as chair of the search committee for a permanent Chair of Immunology.

Leadership Appointment in Hospital Medicine

Assistant Professor Gaurav Gharti-Chhetri, MD, has been appointment as Associate Chief of Hospital Medicine at Tufts Medical Center. Since joining Tufts in 2022, Dr. Gharti-Chhetri has distinguished himself as a collaborative clinician leader, educator, and physician advisor with deep commitment to patient care, operational excellence, and medical education. In this new role, he will support divisional strategy, faculty engagement, and operational initiatives within Hospital Medicine.

New Faculty Member Joins Microbiology Department

Samantha Miranda, PhD, will join the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology as an assistant professor on July 13. Dr. Miranda earned her PhD in Chemical Biology at Harvard University, where she developed novel inhibitors targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Washington studying Pseudomonas and interspecies cell-cell communication. Recruited through Tufts’ Infection and Immunity Roadmap initiative, she will further strengthen the department’s expertise in microbial physiology and pathogenesis, contribute to CIMAR and the Tufts microbiome initiative, and collaborate with the Tufts Medicine Ophthalmology Department on research related to Pseudomonas ocular infections.

Advancing Global Transplantation at the World Health Assembly

Professor Medhat Askar, MD, PhD, represented The Transplantation Society at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, where he delivered the organization’s official statement calling for a Global Strategy on Donation and Transplantation to address the growing burden of organ failure worldwide. He highlighted key priorities, including the development of ethical donation programs, strengthened national regulatory oversight, and standardized reporting and long-term follow-up systems.

School News

Tufts Launchpad

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research invites faculty innovators to participate in the FY2027 Tufts Launchpad | Accelerator (TLA) Program, which supports the advancement of Tufts-developed technologies toward commercialization. Through awards of up to $35,000–$50,000, along with business development guidance from the Technology Commercialization unit, the program helps researchers move promising innovations closer to real-world impact. Offered in collaboration with the Tufts Auster Center for Applied Innovation and Research, the TLA program includes an optional mentoring and proposal development phase from June 1–September 25, designed to strengthen applications through customer discovery, commercialization planning, and one-on-one advising. The call for proposals opens August 24, with submissions due September 25. Faculty with disclosed technologies are encouraged to engage early with the Technology Commercialization team and take advantage of the program’s preparatory resources to develop competitive proposals.

Research News

Rethinking the Brain’s Hidden Cells

Professor Chris Dulla, PhD, is helping to reshape scientific understanding of astrocytes—star-shaped glial cells that make up a significant portion of the brain but have long been overshadowed by neurons. In a recent Nature Neuroscience paper, Dr. Dulla and an international team of researchers highlight emerging evidence that astrocytes play critical roles in memory, mood, sleep, attention, and brain disease, while outlining key questions for future research. Their work challenges decades-old assumptions about how the brain functions and points to new opportunities for developing treatments for conditions such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.

Zucker Research Prize Recipients

Professors Susan Parsons, MD, MRP, and Mark Sarnak, MD, MS, have been named recipients of this year’s Milton O. and Natalie V. Zucker Research Prizes, which honor School of Medicine faculty members for outstanding research achievements and sustained contributions to the basic, translational, and clinical sciences. Internationally recognized for their impact in their respective fields, Dr. Sarnak has pioneered research on the intersection of cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease, while Dr. Parsons has advanced cancer outcomes research, survivorship science, and adolescent and young adult oncology. Through their scholarship, mentorship, and innovation, both have helped shape clinical practice and improve patient care.

Honoring the 2026 Natalie V. Zucker Research Award Recipients

The 2026 Natalie V. Zucker Research Awards recognize nine early-career investigators whose research is advancing innovation and discovery across the TU-TM Research Enterprise. This year’s recipients—Erin Mauney, Maria Savvidou, Amene Majidipur, Maulee Sheth, Karla de Oliveira, Cornelia Peterson, Courtney Hargreaves, Emily Mellen, and Katheryn Lefton—are leading projects that span a wide range of disciplines, including neuroscience, cancer biology, cardiovascular research, women’s health, and translational medicine. Their work reflects the creativity, collaboration, and scientific excellence driving progress across Tufts’ research community.

Building Precision Medicine That Works for Women

A new paper published in Science Advances by Chloe E. Bird, PhD, Director of the Center for Research on Women’s Health, Sex Differences and Population Health at Tufts Medical Center and Sara Murray Jordan Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, highlights a critical challenge in precision medicine: much of the evidence guiding today’s care does not adequately reflect the realities of women’s health.

2026 Tufts CTSI K12 Scholars Named

Two early-career faculty members have been selected as 2026 Tufts CTSI K12 Scholars following a highly competitive review process across Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Assistant Professor Brooke Krbec, DO, MS, will pursue research on A Multimodal Non-Contact Monitoring System and Integrated Data Fusion Platform for Precision Neonatal Care, while Mohammed Imran Aslam, MD, will investigate The Effect of Mechanical Support on Right Ventricular Performance and Myocyte Mechanics in Cardiogenic Shock. The two-year internal K12 career development award supports promising investigators whose work advances clinical and translational science.

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