Newsroom’s Faculty Bulletin Board is a biweekly roundup highlighting awards, honors and notable achievements by UCLA faculty members. Consider it a snapshot of the many ways Bruin scholars and researchers are advancing knowledge, shaping their fields and powering progress on campus and around the world. See previous issues of the board.
Anne Rimoin appointed associate dean of global health at UCLA Fielding
Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, has been appointed as associate dean of global health, effective Aug. 1. The Fielding School alumna is an internationally recognized epidemiologist and global health leader whose work addresses emerging infectious diseases and global health security, particularly at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health. In her new role, Rimoin will lead the development and implementation of UCLA Fielding’s global health strategy.
Dr. E. Dale Abel awarded Jamaica’s Order of Distinction, Commander Class
Dr. E. Dale Abel, chair and executive medical director of the UCLA department of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been awarded the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander by the government of Jamaica, one of the nation's highest honors. Abel was recognized for his outstanding contributions to medicine, specifically in the field of endocrinology. The award, announced as part of Jamaica's 2026 National Honors and Awards, will be formally conferred in October during the country’s National Heroes Day celebrations.
Victoria Barber and doctoral student Cooper Crabtree receive Keck bridge funding award
Victoria Barber, assistant professor in the departments of chemistry and biochemistry and atmospheric and oceanic sciences, has been named a Keck Scholar, and doctoral student Cooper Crabtree has been named a Keck Fellow. Together, they are spearheading a Keck Foundation-funded project charting a path toward better understanding atmospheric oxidation. As Barber sees it, understanding the chemical reactions that shape air quality and climate are among the most pressing scientific challenges of our time. “It’s really, really hard to do environmental research under the current federal paradigm,” Barber said. “By stepping in and providing stable and flexible funding to explore this new idea, the Keck Foundation is making a huge difference to my research program.”
Healthy Campus Initiatives Center receives grant for community health storytelling
Behind every statistic about health in Los Angeles is a person and a story. The UCLA Semel Healthy Campus Initiatives Center has received a new $2 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that will help UCLA researchers and community organizations bring those stories and data together with the goal of improving health and well-being across the region. The grant and partnership will elevate the critical work of established organizations in Los Angeles through powerful storytelling and rigorous research, and respond to the realities of the current environment by elevating the impact and work of UCLA’s community health partners.
Arpana Church receives $4 million NIH grant to study probiotic treatment for obesity
UCLA Health’s Arpana Church has received a $4 million federal grant to test whether a specific probiotic blend can influence the communication network linking the gut, its microbiome, and the brain in adults with obesity, with the goal of understanding how these changes may influence food cravings and eating behaviors. Rather than focusing only on whether probiotics improve clinical outcomes, the five-year project will investigate how probiotics may work and which individuals are most likely to benefit. Outcomes could inform more personalized approaches to obesity prevention and treatment.
Mansoureh Eghbali receives $2.1 million grant to study pregnancy-related heart injury
Mansoureh Eghbali, professor in the department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at UCLA, has received a four-year R01 grant of over $2.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the role of the miR98 molecule, which acts like a tiny cellular switch, and how it could protect against the unique type of damage caused by a heart attack during pregnancy. With this funding, Eghbali and her collaborators will build on a previous animal model to further define the relationship between the molecule and the organ, with the goal of informing future strategies to protect the health of pregnant women with cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Utpal Sandesara to lead global health minor
Dr. Utpal Sandesara, assistant professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been appointed chair of the International Institute’s global health minor — the second-largest undergraduate minor offered at the university. The medical anthropologist has been a faculty member with the program since 2023. Sandesara teaches multiple global health courses, and his current research includes a community-engaged project to standardize evidence-based practices for hypertension patients as well as a longitudinal ethnographic study of informal caregiving for people with liver disease.
UCLA Health, partners get $2.4 million to improve advance care planning
UCLA Health and UCSF will receive funding to expand an intervention that has proven successful in promoting Advance Care Planning documentation for seriously ill primary care patients. UCLA’s Dr. Neil Wenger and Dr. Anne Walling, professors of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, will lead the project. Funding was made possible by the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, which awarded $2.4 million to be allotted over three years. The system is already up and running at clinics within UCLA Health and UCSF.
Danielle Schmitt receives Impact Award from the Parkinson's Foundation
Danielle Schmitt, assistant professor of biochemistry, is one of 12 researchers selected to receive an Impact Award from the Parkinson’s Foundation. Her proposal, “Functional Imaging of PINK1 Activity Dynamics,” was selected through a highly competitive review process and will receive $200,000 in research funding. Schmitt studies how the cell coordinates activity to function efficiently. Her research focuses on developing new tools that allow scientists to watch these processes as they happen, providing a better understanding of how cells communicate, use energy and respond to changes.
Dr. Kymora Scotland honored with Endourological Society Arthur Award
Dr. Kymora B. Scotland has been recognized by the Endourological Society’s 2026 Arthur Smith Award, an honor granted to urologists who are within 10 years of completing their residency or fellowship. The society gives the award annually to a physician “who has already achieved distinction through myriad contributions to the field of Endourology in research and teaching.” Scotland is assistant professor and director of endourology research at the Geffen School of Medicine. Her clinical expertise is in kidney stone treatment, as well as management of benign prostatic hyperplasia and upper tract urothelial carcinoma.
UCLA Fielding recognizes 7 distinguished alums as the 2026 Hall of Fame honorees
Seven distinguished graduates of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health have been named as members of the school’s Hall of Fame for 2026, recognizing their work since graduation as having a major impact on public health, both in Los Angeles and globally. The honorees include: Kyle Horne, Emerging Professional Award inductee; Julia Liou, Patricia Spees Maysent, Thu Quach and Yifang Zhu, Hall of Fame Award inductees; and Margaret A. Martin and Lisa V. Smith, Lester Breslow Lifetime Achievement Award inductees. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who embody the school’s mission and values, and whose contributions have left an enduring mark on public health.
Sarah Dundish named associate vice chancellor
Sarah Dundish, who started as associate vice chancellor for UCLA Housing & Hospitality on Aug. 5, brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in the department. She most recently served as director of administration and chief of staff, where she was a key strategic advisor and helped guide an auxiliary enterprise that generated nearly $550 million annually and supported housing and hospitality services for more than 25,000 students, faculty, staff and guests. A UCLA alumna, Dundish began her connection to Housing & Hospitality as an undergraduate employee while completing her history degree.
Gregg Fonarow honored by the Heart Failure Society of America
Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center at the Geffen School of Medicine, has received the 2026 Heart Failure Society of America Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the field’s highest honors. He has devoted his career to improving how evidence-based therapies are delivered to patients with heart failure. That commitment began at UCLA Health with the cardiac hospitalization atherosclerosis management program, where Fonarow and colleagues demonstrated that a structured hospital-based approach to initiating proven therapies before discharge could dramatically improve adherence and reduce all-cause mortality.
