The Iowa Board of Regents has selected six outstanding University of Iowa faculty members to be honored for their extraordinary contributions and sustained record of excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. 

Each recipient of the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence receives a $1,500 stipend. Awardees were selected by committees appointed by shared governance in collaboration with UI administration and confirmed by the Board of Regents. 

Sandra Daack-Hirsch

Daack-Hirsch, executive associate dean and professor in the College of Nursing, is recognized internationally for her work in clinical genetics. As an investigator on 24 projects totaling $9 million, her work has been cited more than 7,400 times.  She collaborated with Cigna, a global health insurance company to expand access to critical genetic services for patients worldwide. As chair of the Iowa Center for Congenital and Inherited Disorders Advisory Committee, she developed newborn screening policies that have become a model for other states. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the University of Iowa’s James N. Murray Award. In recognition of her sustained record of excellence in service to the College, University and Profession she received the Michael J. Brody Award for Faculty Excellence in Service to the University and State of Iowa in 2019. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Tori Forbes

Forbes, professor in the Department of Chemistry and director of the UI Materials Analysis, Testing, and Fabrication (MATFab) facility, has an international reputation for her work in radiochemistry. Her research in actinide chemistry and nuclear materials has garnered more than $10 million in funding and resulted in more than 100 publications in scientific journals. In the classroom, Forbes has improved learning environments to support student success and retention and expanded program offerings in chemistry. She was instrumental in developing the university’s radiochemistry program, for which she worked with the State Hygienics Laboratory, Association of Public Health Laboratories, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a graduate certificate. Forbes also served on numerous national advisory boards and committees, such as the National Academies of Science Review Committee for supplemental low activity waste at the Hanford site and the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate Advisory Board for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Hans-Joachim Lehmler

Lehmler, associate dean for research and professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, has made world-renowned contributions to environmental health through his pioneering research on the toxicology of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other environmental contaminants. He leads a highly productive chemical toxicology laboratory and secured substantial extramural funding. Lehmler has published more than 320 peer-reviewed articles and five books, earning nearly 12,000 citations. He has demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring, advising numerous PhD students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to successful careers. Lehmler also serves as director of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center, which is nationally recognized for its focus on advancing and translating research addressing environmental health problems, and deputy director of the Iowa Superfund Research Program, which works with partners to address health problems associated with superfund chemicals.

Alison Lynch

Lynch, director of addiction medicine and clinical professor of psychiatry and family and community medicine in the Carver College of Medicine, has spearheaded efforts to address drug addiction and mental health in Iowa and beyond. Her dual training in psychiatry and family medicine allows her to provide comprehensive care, earning her recognition as an outstanding physician and advocate. She has also trained hundreds of providers in prescribing buprenorphine, a critical medication for opioid addiction treatment. As the director of the UI Addiction and Recovery Collaborative — which receives grant funding of $3 million annually — Lynch began two fellowships in addiction medicine, one for physicians and one for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, both of which are helping to grow and support a needed workforce. She has earned national recognition as a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is president-elect of the Iowa Medical Society.

Aliasger Salem

Salem, associate vice president for research and Lyle and Sharon Bighley endowed chair and professor in the College of Pharmacy, has made significant contributions to pharmaceutical sciences. His renowned expertise spans drug discovery, development, formulation, and delivery, with a focus on advancing therapies for regenerative medicine, cancer, and other diseases. Salem has written more than 270 peer-reviewed publications and has published in many prestigious scientific journals. Additionally, he has secured 11 patents and more than $80 million in grant funding. His teaching and leadership excellence are recognized through multiple awards, including the Class of 2023 Teacher of the Year, the 2020 Leadership in Research Award, and the 2020 Hancher-Finkbine Medallion. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Association for Pharmaceutical Scientists, Controlled Release Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

Tom Schnell

Schnell — the Captain Jim “Max” Gross chair in engineering, professor in industrial and systems engineering, mechanical, and electrical and computer engineering, and associate director of the Iowa Technology Institute — is a distinguished expert and experimental test pilot in aviation human factors and flight testing. He established the UI’s world-renowned Operator Performance Laboratory, a unique test flight organization with 14 aircraft. He has led more than 424 research projects, securing more than $70 million in funding, and has published over 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He also has four patents. Schnell collaborates on projects with major government agencies, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA. He has significantly advanced aviation safety and technology with his innovations, including a Synthetic Vision System that is now used in thousands of aircraft to provide pilots with superior situation awareness that has helped to reduce the probability of controlled flight into terrain accidents.