Faculty Promotions
AHS E-News September 2021
Eight members of the AHS faculty were promoted this year.
From associate professor to full professor:
Dr. Marni Boppart of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health completed her ScD in Applied Anatomy and Physiology at Boston University in 2000. Before joining the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health in 2007, she was a research assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Illinois. Her research investigates cellular molecular mechanisms linked to skeletal muscle adaptation in response to exercise. Ultimately, she hopes to develop novel therapies and biological products that can rejuvenate muscle and promote healthy aging. Dr. Boppart is head of the Molecular Muscle Physiology Laboratory in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, an affiliate member in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and a member of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine faculty. A Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Dr. Boppart is a two-time recipient of the Arnold O. Beckman Award for Promising Research, and also received the Beckman Institute Vision and Spirit Award.
Dr. Fatima Husain of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science completed her PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston University in 1999. Before joining the Department of Speech and Hearing Science in 2008, she was a postdoctoral fellow and research fellow with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health. Her research on hearing and speech perception and associated disorders such as hearing loss and tinnitus uses a combination of computational modeling, brain imaging experiments, and behavioral experiments. In addition to evaluating existing therapies, she seeks to propose novel treatment methods. Dr. Husain is the director of the Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the American Tinnitus Association and the Neuroimaging Group of TINNET COST, the Tinnitus Network, European Cooperation in Science and Technology.
From assistant professor to associate professor:
Dr. Marie Channell of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Alabama in 2012. She went on to a postdoctoral fellowship in the MIND Institute’s Autism Research Training Program at the University of California, Davis. Prior to joining the University of Illinois faculty in 2015, she was a postdoctoral scholar with the MIND Institute. She is the director of the Intellectual Disabilities Communication Lab, where her research program focuses on characterizing how language and communication skills develop in children with Down syndrome in order to develop more effective ways of supporting their development. Her recent research includes investigations of the ability of individuals with Down syndrome to use mental state language and characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder risk in individuals with Down syndrome. In 2014, she received the Theodore Tjossem Postdoctoral Award from the Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Dr. Neha Gothe of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health joined the faculty of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, after completing her PhD in 2013 in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at Illinois. In 2017, she returned to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is the director of the Exercise Psychology Lab. Her research explores the biological, psychological, and social health benefits of different forms of physical activity and exercise, including yoga, across the lifespan. Dr. Gothe seeks to understand determinants of physical activity behavior and to promote physical activity among sedentary populations. She currently is the principal investigator on a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to compare the effects of yoga, aerobics, and stretching exercises on neurocognitive performance. This year, she received the Excellence in Service Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She previously received the Society’s Early Career Investigator Award.
Dr. Naiman Khan of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health completed his PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined Dr. Charles Hillman’s Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory at Illinois as a postdoctoral research associate, a position he held for three years before joining the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health as an assistant professor. He also is an affiliate of the Neuroscience Program and the Family Resiliency Center. His multidisciplinary research examines interactions among lifestyle behaviors, abdominal obesity, and cognitive and brain health in pediatric and adult populations from the perspectives of dietetics, body composition, and cognitive neuroscience. He uses his findings to develop effective behavioral and environmental strategies for mitigating the detrimental effects of obesity and metabolic risk on physical and mental health. The director of the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Khan received the Hydration for Health Initiative Young Researcher Award from Danone Nutricia.
Dr. Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health joined the RAND Corporation as a behavioral scientist after completing her PhD in Psychology at Columbia University in 2002. Her academic career began in 2007 when she served as an adjunct faculty member in Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Health. She also taught and did research on the Charlotte and Chapel Hill campuses of the University of North Carolina before joining Illinois. Dr. Lara-Cinisomo’s research advances understanding of factors that contribute to diminished emotional well-being and increased stress among vulnerable populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, perinatal women, children, and military-affiliated individuals. She has investigated such phenomena as perinatal and postpartum depression, mindfulness-based interventions for caregivers of veterans, and women’s mental health. She is the director of the Laboratory for Emotion and Stress Assessment. In 2020, she received the campus award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.
Dr. Laura Mattie of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science joined the Life Span Institute of the University of Kansas in 2012 as a postdoctoral fellow with the Translational Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities initiative after completing her PhD in Education and Human Development at Colorado State University. Before joining the College of Applied Health Sciences in 2015, she was a postdoctoral fellow with the Neurodevelopmental Disability Research Project in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Psychology. Dr. Mattie directs the Development in Neurogenetic Disorders Lab, where she seeks to promote positive development and well-being in infants and children with disorders such as fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome through studies of the early development of cognitive, language, and social skills. She is an affiliate of the Center for Social and Behavioral Science at Illinois. In 2017, she was selected to participate in the Lessons for Success program of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Dr. Laura Rice of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. She served one year as an assistant professor at Pittsburgh before joining Carle Foundation Hospital as a physical therapist. In 2013, she joined the faculty at Illinois. Dr. Rice directs the Disability Participation and Quality of Life Research Lab, where she works to enhance the quality of life and community involvement of individuals with disabilities. She investigates fall prevention among wheelchair users with spinal cord injury, and is assessing a fall prevention program for wheelchair and scooter users with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Rice is the interim director of the Master of Public Health and the Master of Health Administration degree programs. She received the Distinguished Lecture Award from the Therapy Leadership Council of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals.