Research award winners for 2025-2026 announced

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• Author By Eric Boerngen
• February 19, 2026

Illinois State University

Illinois State University announced the winners of the Outstanding University Researcher and the Outstanding University Creative Activity awards. Also honored are the winners of the Research Initiative Awards and the Creative Activity Initiative Awards. Recipients for these awards are selected from competitive pools of candidates.

Outstanding University Researcher

The Outstanding University Researcher Award recognizes faculty members for excellence in research. Candidates for this award must be nominated by their college dean and must be previous recipients of the Outstanding College Research Award.

Daniel Lannin

A dedicated mentor, Dr. Lannin supervises numerous independent undergraduate research projects annually, fostering the next generation of psychological scientists. His teaching spans counseling, psychopathology, and motivation, and he has received recognition for teaching excellence. Dr. Lannin's scholarly contributions include authoring The Art and Science of Helping: Developing Fundamental Skills in a Multicultural Age (Routledge, 2025). He also hosts the "Psychology Life Lessons" podcast, translating psychological science for public audiences. Dr. Lannin earned his Ph.D. from Iowa State University and holds an M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary.

Andrés Vidal-Gadea

To answer these questions, Dr. Vidal-Gadea's team combines powerful animal models with human muscle cell systems to uncover biological mechanisms that are shared across species. The lab is also known for creating research tools that connect what an animal is doing (how it moves and behaves) with what its cells are doing (how muscle cells handle signals that control contraction and recovery). By building automated testing systems and imaging methods that are accessible and scalable, his group can measure subtle changes, test specific hypotheses, and screen potential treatments in a rigorous, efficient way.

Dr. Vidal-Gadea is also deeply committed to training and mentorship. Through his research group and course-based undergraduate research experiences, he has mentored a large cohort of high school, undergraduate, and graduate trainees, many of whom have advanced into STEM careers. He emphasizes hands-on learning, quantitative thinking, reproducible research practices, and clear, scientific communication.

Liangcheng Yang

Dr. Liangcheng Yang is a professor of environmental health and sustainability with joint appointments in the Department of Health Sciences and the Department of Agriculture. He earned his M.S. degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2009 and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2013. Following completion of his doctoral training, Dr. Yang conducted postdoc research at The Ohio State University for approximately 10 months before joining Illinois State University as an assistant professor in August 2014. He was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in 2020 and subsequently promoted to full professor in 2024. Dr. Yang's research program focuses on air quality, bioenergy, and waste management, with particular emphasis on nutrient recycling, community-based air quality assessment, and anaerobic digestion technologies for converting organic waste into renewable bioenergy. As of January 2026, he has secured approximately $2 million in external research funding from multiple agencies and has mentored six graduate students and 23 undergraduate students at Illinois State University. His students have received numerous recognitions, including the Bone Student Scholarship, GradBird Scholarship, Outstanding Thesis Award, Outstanding Student Researcher Award, and the "People's Choice" Award at the University Three Minute Thesis Competition. Dr. Yang's scholarly contributions include 46 peer-reviewed journal articles, four book chapters, three extension fact sheets, 38 conference presentations, and one provisional patent. His publications have been cited more than 4,100 times. In 2025, Dr. Yang was recognized as one of the Illinois Researchers to Know by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition.

Research Initiative Award

The Research Initiative Award recognizes new faculty members (within their first five years) who have initiated a promising research agenda early in their academic careers.

Katherine Bruhn

Dr. Katherine Bruhn is a scholar of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art with a geographic focus on Indonesia. Her current research looks at the work of visual artists who are part of one of Indonesia's myriad ethnic groups, the Minangkabau, with a specific interest in how, over time, these artists have engaged with and represented "nature" in their work. In this, her interest in the natural world draws on a specific term from Arabic, alam, which is translated variously as nature, universe, knowledge, and realms of perception. By looking at alam as a frame for the analysis of largely non-representational artworks, Dr. Bruhn is interested in thinking through alternative ways for imagining the environment in art.

Dr. Bruhn's interest in Indonesia began after her undergraduate studies, when she received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship that allowed her to spend nine months in a small fishing village on the coast of Sulawesi. From this point forward, she returned to Indonesia nearly annually as a teacher, student, and researcher. Her language study and research have been supported by an NSEP Boren Fellowship, Fulbright-Hays, the Social Science Research Council, the American Institute for Indonesian Studies, as well as support from her former alma maters and Illinois State University.

Dr. Bruhn received her B.A. in anthropology and art history from the University of Arizona, her M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University, and her Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has been published in journals including Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia, World Art, and Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas. She has also completed translations from Indonesian to English, including the majority of Indonesian-language texts in the two-part volume The Modern in Southeast Asian Art, published by the National Gallery Singapore.

Kyle Floyd

Dr. Kyle A. Floyd, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., is an assistant professor of microbiology in the School of Biological Sciences at Illinois State University, where he leads an active research and teaching program focused on bacterial pathogenesis and host-environment interactions. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Berry College in 2006, developing an early interest in interdisciplinary scientific inquiry and experimental research.

Dr. Floyd continued his training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, completing a Master of Science in public health in environmental toxicology in 2012. During this period, he gained extensive experience in biochemical analysis and imaging mass spectrometry, contributing to studies on protein localization and disease-associated biomarkers. He subsequently pursued doctoral training at Vanderbilt University, earning his Ph.D. in host-microbe interactions in 2017. His dissertation examined protein stratification and regulatory mechanisms within uropathogenic Escherichia coli biofilms, integrating molecular biology, proteomics, and microbial physiology.

Following his doctorate, Dr. Floyd completed postdoctoral training in microbiology at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 2017 to 2022, where he investigated surface sensing and biofilm initiation in Vibrio cholerae, the bacterial pathogen that causes cholera. This work resulted in high-impact publications in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, mBio, eLife, and PLoS Pathogens, establishing his reputation in microbial signaling and biofilm biology.

In 2022, Dr. Floyd joined Illinois State University, where he has built a nationally competitive research program supported by external and internal funding, including an NIH NIAID R15 award. His laboratory examines how environmental and host-derived cues, particularly long-chain fatty acids, regulate MSHA pili, biofilm formation, and virulence in Vibrio cholerae. Through integrated genetic, biochemical, and physiological approaches, his work advances understanding of microbial adaptation and pathogenesis while providing rigorous, research-centered training for undergraduate and graduate students.

Kris Lewis

Dr. Kris Lewis joined the English Department at Illinois State University as an assistant professor of TESOL and applied linguistics in August 2022. They hold a Ph.D. in educational linguistics and an M.S.Ed. in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), both from the University of Pennsylvania. At Illinois State, Dr. Lewis teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in TESOL, linguistics, and English grammar, and advises graduate students in TESOL and applied linguistics. They were awarded the Teaching Initiative Award by Illinois State University in 2025 to recognize outstanding teaching by a pre-tenure faculty member.

Dr. Lewis's research examines the experiences of novice second language teachers to understand how teachers develop a sense of identity-how do teachers-in-training come to think of themselves as teachers? Based on their research, they offer recommendations to teacher educators, at Illinois State and beyond, about ways to support new teachers to grapple with and make sense of their own and others' ideas about what teachers should do and be. Dr. Lewis's scholarship has been published in several leading applied linguistics and teacher education journals, including TESOL Quarterly, Teaching and Teacher Education, System, and Journal of Pragmatics.

Jin Park

Dr. Jin Park is an assistant professor of sport management in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation. Dr. Park earned his Ph.D. and master's degree in sport management from Indiana University-Bloomington. Prior to joining Illinois State University, he served on the sport management faculty at Western Illinois University.

Dr. Park's teaching expertise includes sport marketing, sport finance, sport sociology, sport sales, and research methods. His pedagogical approach, which emphasizes student-centered and experiential learning, has been highly effective in supporting sport management students' professional development and preparation for full-time employment, as evidenced by his receipt of a University Teaching Grant.

As an emerging scholar, Dr. Park has already made significant contributions to the intersectional fields of sport management, marketing, and sociology through research that bridges theory and practice. Dr. Park's research examines how personal, interpersonal, and organizational factors shape the career development of women and other minoritized groups in sport organizations and educational settings. His current work examines how women working in NCAA Division I college athletics perceive gender-based barriers and inequities in career development and advancement, as well as the strategies they use to navigate these challenges in relation to the evolving NIL landscape.

Dr. Park's research has been published in top-tier journals and presented at internationally renowned conferences. His work has earned multiple competitive internal grants, and he has actively pursued external funding to support his long-term research agenda, demonstrating sustained effort and strategic planning to advance diversity and equity in sport. Dr. Park also contributes extensively to the profession through service within the sport management and sociology communities, including student mentorship, conference program organization, and peer review of scholarly work. Collectively, Dr. Park's scholarly achievements and active engagement within the academic community position him to make meaningful and far-reaching contributions both on campus and beyond.

Steve Rahko

Dr. Steve Rahko is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University where he teaches courses on rhetoric and American public culture. He has received multiple honors for his teaching and scholarship at Indiana University Bloomington and Illinois State University.

Dr. Rahko holds three degrees (Ph.D., M.A., and B.A.) from Indiana University Bloomington. His research focuses on the challenges posed by the intersection of capitalism and race for American democracy. His work has appeared in journals such as Cultural Studies ó Critical Methodologies, Review of Communication, Communication and the Public, Howard Journal of Communications, as well as in edited volumes such as The Gig Economy: Workers and Media in the Age of Convergence (London: Routledge, 2021) Beyoncé in the World: Making Meaning with Queen Bey in Troubled Times (Wesleyan, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2021), and in The Oxford Handbook of Black Horror Film (Oxford University Press, 2024). He is coeditor (along with Byron B Craig and Patricia G. Davis) of Rupturing Rhetoric: The Politics of Race and Popular Culture since Ferguson (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2024). He enjoys traveling with his partner, chilling with his cat, and playing soccer, basketball, and indoor cycling.

Joshua Stout

Dr. Joshua H. Stout is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University. His research primarily explores the impacts of, and responses to, drug use in society. Dr. Stout's work has explored the experiences of individuals bereaved by a drug-related death, pointedly examining how this population experiences stigma and engages in various advocacy efforts. Findings from this study are published in Death Studies, OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, and the Routledge International Handbook on Drug-Related Death Bereavement. Dr. Stout is currently conducting research on the spread of disinformation about fentanyl exposure among first responders, practitioners' experiences providing services for opioid and methamphetamine users in rural Illinois, and the abusive practices of America's troubled teen industry.

Dr. Stout received a Ph.D. and an M.A. in sociology from the University of Delaware, and a B.A. in criminology and psychology from the University of Denver. Previously, he taught at Shepherd University in West Virginia. During this time, Dr. Stout was involved in multiple projects and service initiatives addressing opioid use throughout the state and worked to expand harm reduction services in the community. Over the past six years, Dr. Stout has assisted the Department of Justice with data analysis for the Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission. Since joining Illinois State, he has become an Institutional Review Board member at Chestnut Health Systems. In addition to these efforts, Dr. Stout currently serves as chair for the Social Problems Theory Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and as secretary/treasurer for the Drugs and Society Section of the American Sociological Association.

Dr. Stout plans to continue researching substance use and community responses to expand resources and services to people who use drugs and their families in Illinois.

Outstanding University Creative Activity Award

The University Outstanding Creative Activity Award recognizes experienced faculty who have established a national/international reputation for creative work in their field. Creative contributions shall include, but not be limited to, the following: painting, sculpture, film, drama, musical composition, choreography of a dance, poetry, a novel, creative non-fiction, creative media programming. This award is not designed to recognize a single major work but recognizes consistent and sustained contributions to the profession/discipline/field.

Geoffrey Duce

Dr. Geoffrey Duce is professor of piano and piano area coordinator at Illinois State. He has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, London's Wigmore Hall, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Edinburgh's Queens Hall, as well as across Europe and in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2022, he gave a solo recital debut at Ravinia.

As a concerto soloist, his appearances have included the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, the Edinburgh Philharmonic and Dundee Symphony Orchestra in the UK, and the New York Sinfonietta. He was the first artist in residence with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and recently appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3 with the Scottish Sinfonia.

His solo album of Fantasies and Rhapsodies by CPE Bach, Schubert, John McCabe, and Dohnanyi was released in 2023 on Albany Records. Also a passionate chamber musician and accompanist, his collaborative appearances include a recital with the assistant concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a performance at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., recordings for BBC Radio 3, and previous album releases with the principle double bassist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and with Illinois State colleague Dr. Justin Vickers, tenor.

He has given masterclasses for the Orquesta Filarmónica in Bogotá, Colombia, and at the University of Chicago, the University of Hawaii, the City of Edinburgh Music School, St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada, and Seattle's Academy of Music Northwest. He has also taught at the University of Taipei and Tunghai University in Taiwan and at SouthWest University in Chongqing, China, and was a juror at competitions in Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, he initially studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and Manchester University before attending the Universität der Künste Berlin as a DAAD scholar and earned his doctorate at Manhattan School of Music.

Amy Robillard

Amy E. Robillard is a professor of English who specializes in composition, rhetoric, and life writing. She has edited three books and authored three others, the most recent of which are Misogyny in English Departments and the forthcoming The Misogyny of Too Much. Her articles have appeared in several journals in rhetoric and composition, and her personal essays have appeared in a number of popular outlets and anthologies. She is a two-time Pushcart nominee and a 2019 notable in The Best American Essays. At Illinois State since 2004, she has also been the recipient the CAS Outstanding Teacher Award, The John Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching, and the University Research Initiative Award.

Creative Activity Initiative Award

The Creative Activity Initiative Award recognizes faculty who have initiated promising creative activities early in their careers. Creative contributions shall include, but not be limited to, the following: painting, sculpture, film, drama, musical composition, choreography of a dance, poetry, a novel, creative non-fiction, creative media programming.

Andrew Bruhn

Dr. Andrew Bruhn is the director of Choral Activities at Illinois State University. A versatile musician, Dr. Bruhn has worked as a professional choral conductor, educator, composer, church musician, and trumpeter.

His teaching experience spans middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. He has received multiple honors, including Golden Apple Foundation nominations, regular recognition on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's "Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" list, and both the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and University-level Illinois State University 2025 Creative Activity Initiative Awards. Under his leadership, Illinois State choirs earned 2025 Honorable Mention for The American Prize in Choral Performance (college/university division, larger program) for their performance of Mozart's Requiem.

Dr. Bruhn holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying with Andrew Megill. He earned a Master of Sacred Music from Luther Seminary and St. Olaf College, studying with Anton Armstrong and Christopher Aspaas, and a Bachelor of Music from Wheaton College.

As a trumpeter he performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, working under conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Nelson, and Gerard Schwarz. At the Interlochen Arts Camp he received the Fine Arts Award for Trumpet (2000) and was the Illinois Emerson Scholar (2003). He also attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, performed at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and National Trumpet Competition, and won the October 2004 International Trumpet Guild Young Artist Award. His primary teachers were William Scarlett, Charles Geyer, and Barbara Butler. A published composer and scholar, his music appears with major publishers, and his scholarship has been featured in Choral Journal and The Choral Scholar. He enjoys time with his wife, two daughters, and golden retriever.