Faculty and staff proposals funded, February-April 2026
Congratulations to the following Wake Forest faculty and staff members whose proposals were funded through February 2026 and April 2026.

| Name | Title | Department(s) | Funding | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard, Grey | Associate Professor | Computer Science | US Dept of Energy | Sparsitute: A Mathematical Institute for Sparse and Structured Problems in Science and Engineering |
| Ballard, Grey | Associate Professor | Computer Science | US Dept of Energy | Tensor-based Streaming Algorithms for Scientific Data Compression |
| Beavers, Daniel | Associate Professor | Health & Exercise Science / Statistical Sciences | NIH / WFUHS | Adding bone microarchitecture and strength measures to the STRONG BONES randomized trial examining risedronate use to mitigate bone loss after bariatric surgery |
| Bourdon, Abbey | Associate Professor | Mathematics and Statistics | NSF | CAREER: Exceptional Points on Modular Curves |
| Carroll, David | Professor | Physics / Nanotech & Molecular Materials | Quoherent | Critical Path for Quoherent |
| Carroll, David | Professor | Physics / Nanotech & Molecular Materials | Air Force Office of Scientific Research - AFOSR / Quoherent | Phase II SBIR: AF 20 qubits phase II |
| Csillik, Ovidiu | Assistant Professor | Environmental Program | NASA | Biomass and structural changes in tropical forests from GEDI and airborne lidar observations |
| Csillik, Ovidiu | Assistant Professor | Environmental Program | NASA | Aboveground carbon stock changes in dynamic tropical forest |
| Csillik, Ovidiu | Assistant Professor | Environmental Program | NASA | Aboveground carbon stock changes in dynamic tropical forest |
| Esstman, Sarah | Professor | Biology | NIH | Rotavirus Genome Replication and Virion Assembly |
| Falcon, Claudia | Assistant Professor | Mathematics | Mathematical Association of America | WFU Girls Talk Math |
| Fanning, Jason | Associate Professor | Health & Exercise Science | NIH / WFUHS | Physical Rehabilitation for Older Patients with Acute HFpEF - The REHAB-HFpEF Trial |
| Guleserian, Cristy | Executive Director | Program for Leadership & Character | University of Birmingham | Seed to Scale: Lessons, Strategies, and Insights for Transformative Character Education in Complex Higher Ed Systems |
| Irby, Megan | Assistant Professor | Health & Exercise Science | NIH / Lumbee Indian Tribe of NC | Building Community-Informed Research Infrastructure to Address Substance Misuse and Pain Management in the Lumbee Tribe |
| Jayawickreme, Eranda | Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology | Psychology | John Templeton Foundation / Regents of the University of California at Irvine | Addressing Risks in Online Spaces with Character Development through Micro Interventions |
| Kim-Shapiro, Dany | Harbert Family Distinguished Chair | Physics / Translational Science Center | NIH / Northwestern University | BEET root juice to reverse functional impairment in PAD: The BEET PAD Trial |
| Kim-Shapiro, Dany | Harbert Family Distinguished Chair | Physics / Translational Science Center | NIH / Northwestern University | Response to Exercise and Nitric Oxide in PAD: the RESIST PAD Trial |
| Kim-Shapiro, Dany | Harbert Family Distinguished Chair | Physics / Translational Science Center | NIH / Northwestern University | IMProving mobility After revascularization in periphereal artery disease: the IMPACT PAD Trial |
| Kishida, Kenneth | Boswell Presidential Chair in Neuroscience a | Biology | NIH / WFUHS | Computationally assisted multi-neurotransmitter detection for intracranial research |
| Kortessis, Nicholas | Assistant Professor | Biology | NSF / The Ohio State University - OSU | NSF Award Transfer to Ohio State University for James Pease and Nicholas Kortessis |
| Lamb, Kenneth | Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Human | Program for Leadership & Character | John Templeton Foundation | Meeting the Moment in Character Education: Building Communities of Impact Across Higher Education |
| Lewis, Jacinta | Research & Instruction Librarian, Engineerin | Library - ZSR | Institute for Museum and Lbrary Sciences - IMLS / State Library of North Carolina | American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference travel funds |
| Lotspeich, Sarah | Assistant Professor | Statistical Sciences | WFUHS | 1/4 CTSA UM1 Program at Wake Forest / Asma Ahmed Pilot - Yr 2 |
| Pratt, Wayne | Professor | Psychology | Psi Chi | Motivation in the Face of Loss: A Novel Operant Paradigm for Investigating |
| Pratt, Wayne | Professor | Psychology | Psi Chi | Ventral Hippocampal Acetylcholine Muscarinic Receptors in Behavioral |
| Salsbury, Freddie | Professor | Physics | NIH / WFUHS | Computational Biosciences Support |
| Schaack, Cedric | Assistant Professor | Chemistry / Functional Materials | NSF | Conjugated Allene Polymers as Conformationally and Electronically Switchable Chiral Materials |
| Townsend, Kenneth | University Professor and Executive Director | Program for Leadership & Character / School of Law | Kern Family Foundation | Leadership and Character in the Law: From Wake Forest to the World |
| Yazdani, Saami | Professor | Engineering | NIH / Miami University | Sustained regulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary hormones with tissue-engineered ovarian constructs as a treatment for osteoporosis in females |
Categories: Awards & Recognition, Research & Discovery