College of Education
Dr. Karyn Allee, associate professor of elementary education, co-presented two research papers with doctoral students and candidates examining the tensions and possibilities of joyful, play-based learning within high-stakes accountability contexts. Dr. Allee, with doctoral students and candidates Ashley Osier, Andrew (Drew) Sutton, Marcus Wilson and Johna Wright, presented “Balancing Play and Policy: Navigating Joyful Learning in a High-Stakes Third Grade Classroom” at the 2026 Georgia Educational Research Association Conference on Jan. 30 in Macon. Dr. Allee and her doctoral collaborators presented “Balancing Play and Policy: A Case Study of Active, Playful Learning in a High-Stakes Third Grade Classroom” at the 2026 Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference on Feb. 6 in Clearwater, Florida. The collaborative projects highlight Dr. Allee’s ongoing mentorship of emerging scholars and her research on play-based pedagogy within policy-constrained elementary settings.
Dr. Angela Crevar, assistant professor of education leadership, with Dr. Jacob Kirksey, Dr. Jennifer Freeman and Braden Reed of Texas Tech University, presented “From High School to High Wages: The Role of Career Clusters for Students” at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Annual Conference in Seattle. Dr. Crevar and Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao, professor of education, presented “Advancing Pedagogical Rigor: Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Strengthen Teaching and Assessment Practices in the Dominican Republic” at the 2026 Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference.
Dr. Annemarie Kaczmarczyk, assistant professor of elementary education, and Dr. Karyn Allee, associate professor of elementary education, co-presented “Developing Metacognitive Awareness in Teacher Candidates: A Study of Curriculum and Planning in an MAT Program” at the 2026 Georgia Educational Research Association Conference on Jan. 30 in Macon. Dr. Kaczmarczyk; Dr. Allee; Dr. Lucy Bush, professor of education; and Dr. Nancy Atchison, clinical assistant professor of elementary education, presented “Bridging Research and Practice: A Book Study Approach to Literacy Course Redesign” at the 2026 Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference on Feb. 6 in Clearwater, Florida. The research-to-practice focused studies examine teacher preparation and curriculum design.
Dr. Adam Keath, assistant professor of teacher education and head of physical education teacher education, and David Robertson, instructor of health and physical education, attended SPEAK OUT! Day, Feb. 10-11, in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Society of Health and Physical Educators America to advocate and build federal support and funding for health and physical education in Georgia and across the U.S. Dr. Keath, Robertson and Jesse Tyre, a physical education teacher education major, attended the 2026 Day on Capitol Hill in Atlanta, held in partnership with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and Georgia Association of Educational Leaders on Feb. 17, to advocate and build support and funding for teacher education in Georgia.
Dr. Sybil Keesbury Martin, professor of education, and Dr. Vicki Luther, professor of education, presented “Embedding Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Undergraduate Teacher Education” at the 2026 Georgia Educational Research Association Conference in Macon on Jan. 30. They also presented “Seven Years Strong: Sustaining Equity-Driven School-University Partnerships Between Mercer University and Springdale Elementary” at the National Association for School-University Partnerships Conference in Crystal City, Virginia, on Feb. 13.
Dr. Leah Panther, assistant professor of literacy education, and Dr. Lucy Gitonga, assistant professor of special education, with doctoral students Merlong Taylor, Latise McCord and Rosi Sanchez; community members Kristie Smith and Ebonie Cleaves; and 12 high school youth researchers presented “Every Voice and Every Language: Youth Experiences Beyond English in the English Language Arts” at the Georgia Council of Teachers of English conference in Macon.
Dr. Katherine Perrotta, associate professor of middle grades and secondary education, with Kira Duke, Library of Congress Southern Region; Mike Santrock, Fulton County Schools Teaching Museum; Regina Holland, National Council for History Education; and Dr. Ariel Cornett, Georgia Southern University, presented “History in our Backyard: The Names of Places in Georgia Podcast” on the panel “Expanding Museum Education through Teaching with Primary Sources Regional Grants and Resources” at the Georgia Association of Museums conference at Kennesaw State University.
Dr. Jim Vander Putten, associate professor of higher education, had his review of the book Exile at Small-Time U: Essays from the Trenches of Embattled Academia published in the American Association of University Professors’ Academe Magazine.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr. Andy D. Digh, professor and co-chair of computer science, published the meditation “Peddler of Hope” in the book Minding Our Hearts: Devotionals on the Teaching Life for Christian Professors, edited by Dr. John Marson Dunaway, emeritus professor of French, published by Integratio Press, Feb. 8.
Dr. Stephen Lippi, assistant professor of psychology, was first author on the article “Alcohol use and binge drinking among U.S. college students by military veteran status: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study, 2021-2022” published in the Journal of American College Health.
Dr. Tyler B. Parker, assistant professor of political science, delivered the lecture “Oman Foreign Policy: Oman and U.S. — 235 Years of Friendship” at the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11.
Dr. Jacqueline Pinkowitz, assistant professor of media studies, contributed a chapter to The Legacy of Leatherface: Essays on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series, edited by Shane H. Weathers (McFarland, 2026), published in February. The chapter, “‘This disgustingly sordid piece of garbage’: The Role of the Rural Abject, Violence, and Local-Texas Production in the Discursive Responses to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” is a production history of the film’s Austin, Texas, shoot and the industrial and cultural responses it engendered. Dr. Pinkowitz also presented her work, “(Re)Constructing the Confederate (Un)Dead: Black Gothic (Re)Visions in the MONUMENTS (2025) Exhibition” at the Critical Approaches to Black Media Conference in New Orleans in February.
College of Nursing
Dr. Seongkum Heo, professor and Piedmont Healthcare Endowed Chair; Dr. Tammy Barbé, dean and professor; and Dr. JinShil Kim, Gachon University, published “Factors associated with self-management in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional, correlational study” in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.
College of Pharmacy
Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor and chair of pharmaceutical sciences, with graduate students Nethra Viswaroopan and Meheli Ghosh, co-authored the article “Emulsome-Based Nanocarrier System for Controlled 4-Phenylbutyric Acid Delivery and Mechanistic Mitigation of Arsenical-Induced Skin Injury via Foam Application” in Pharmaceutics. With graduate student Anuradha Dey, he co-authored the article “Novel treatment methods for topical pain management” in Advanced Functional Materials. Dr. Banga also received a grant for 60,000 euros from Merck KGaA to investigate “Fast-dissolving microneedles for transdermal delivery of loratadine,” and a grant for $40,000 from the Old Dominion University Research Foundation to investigate “Immediate and controlled release of oxytocin novel microarray patch for the treatment and prevention of postpartum hemorrhage.”
Dr. Clinton E. Canal, associate professor, received $150,000 in funding from Helus Pharma, in the private research category, for his project “Preclinical Neuropsychiatric Drug Discovery and Development.” He also co-authored, with graduate students Alexander J. Rogier and Richa Tyagi, “Bioisostere-Driven Discovery of SePP: A Selenium-Containing Polypharmacological Agent Relevant to Fragile X Syndrome” in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Additionally, Dr. Canal’s graduate student Richa Tyagi received a travel award to present her dissertation in a podium talk at the 2026 International Society for Research on Psychedelics conference.
Dr. Mahavir Bhupal Chougule, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, co-published “Integration of Design of Experiments for the Development and Evaluation of Sulfasalazine-Loaded Hybrid Albumin Chitosan-Based Polymeric Nanocarriers” and “Formulation and in-vitro testing of nebulized extended-release antiviral Camostat Mesylate loaded nanosuspension product for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection,” both in AAPS PharmSciTech. He was a corresponding author in both research articles. Dr. Chougule also published the book chapter “Protein and peptide delivery through respiratory pathway” in Challenges in Delivery of Therapeutic Genomics and Proteomics, second edition, edited by Shahiwala Aliasgar and Surti Naazneen, published by Elsevier. Additionally, Dr. Chougule presented “Significant Antiasthmatic Effect of Receptor-Guided Parenteral RNAi-Loaded Polymeric Nanocarriers in Murine Asthma Model” at the PharmSci 360 conference in San Antonio on Nov. 10, 2025.
Dr. Raquibul Hasan, associate professor, received $70,676 in funding from the American Heart Association for his project “Novel role of a gut microbiota-derived metabolite in angiotensin II-induced hypertension” and $70,000 for his project “Novel Dual Targeting of ET-1 Overproduction and Receptor Overstimulation in Salt-Sensitive Hypertension.” Dr. Hasan presented “Novel targeting of the endothelin system for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive disorders” at BCSIR Laboratories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Dec. 9, 2025. He was the co-author on three poster presentations with students at the 2025 Mercer University School of Medicine-College of Pharmacy Joint Research Conference on Oct. 31, 2025. The presentation with graduate students Nimi Simon won first place; Samira Sooreni and Emmanuella Ezewudo, second place; and post-doctoral student Dr. Nazia Hoque, first place.
Dr. Susan Miller, professor, co-authored “Assessment of the Academic Leadership Fellows Program on First 20 Cohorts” in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, published in January.
Dr. Nader Moniri, professor and associate dean for research, co-authored “Agonism of FFA4/GPR120 activates tyrosine hydroxylase and confers neuroprotection from 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells and in a rat 6-OHDA model of Parkinson’s disease” in Biochemical Pharmacology. He also published “The role of free-fatty acid receptors FFA1 and FFA4 in organ fibrosis” in the British Journal of Pharmacology, and he published “Agonism of FFA4/GPR120 activates tyrosine hydroxylase and confers neuroprotection from 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells and in a rat 6-OHDA model of Parkinson’s Disease” in Biochemical Pharmacology. Additionally, Dr. Moniri served as a reviewer on the most recent National Institutes of Health Chemical Biology & Probes study section.
Dr. Pamela Moye, clinical professor, and Dr. Angela Nwaesei, clinical professor, co-authored “Multimodal interprofessional education in practice: Embedding pharmacy students in collaborative hospital-based learning” in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Mohammad N. Uddin, associate professor, co-authored “Phytochemical Profiling and Computational Docking Studies Revealing the Potential Anticancer and Antioxidant Properties of Heliotropium indicum L” in Scientifica.
College of Professional Advancement
Dr. Jacqueline S. Stephen, assistant professor and director of instructional and learning design, published “Understanding Persistence: Lessons Learned from a Decade of Teaching Adult Learners in an Online First-Year Course” in Adult Learning. Drawing on 10 years of teaching experience in fully online, accelerated programs, the article examines how course design, instructor presence and institutional support shape adult learner persistence. It highlights the role of early readiness, self-regulation, relational presence and relevance in sustaining engagement and confidence among adult learners, offering practical implications for educators and program leaders designing online first-year experiences.
School of Business
Dr. Liz Adair, assistant professor of management, was selected to represent Mercer at the Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellows program symposium in May. The week-long symposium, hosted by the University of Georgia, centers on effectively integrating artificial intelligence into the classroom. Dr. Adair was one of 16 faculty members from Georgia chosen to attend.
Dr. Szabolcs Blazsek, professor of economics; with Dr. Alvaro Escribano, professor of economics at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; and Erzsebet Kristof, a research fellow in the department of meteorology, faculty of science, at ELTE University of Budapest, published “Score-driven global climate zones from 1940 to 2024: A new objective climate classification method” in Energy Economics. Additionally, Dr. Blazsek; Dr. Astrid Ayala, associate professor of management science and analytics; and Dr. Vijaya Subrahmanyam, C. Ben Harnsberger Professor of Finance, published “Score-driven Markov-switching models of scale and shape parameters: an application to the Indian stock market” in Applied Economics.
Dr. Carol Springer Sargent, associate professor of accounting, published “Innovative Assignments Change Students’ Mind about Considering Accounting as a Major” in Accounting Education.
Dr. Vijaya Subrahmanyam, the C. Ben Harnsberger Professor of Finance, was featured in the recent WalletHub article, “Best Instant Approval Credit Cards.”
Dr. Ronald Tsang, assistant professor of accounting, presented the paper “A Comparative Analysis of Information Content in Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis: Evidence from the Mandatory Cybersecurity Disclosures” at the 2026 Joint Midyear Meeting of the Accounting Information Systems and Strategic and Emerging Technologies Sections of the American Accounting Association, hosted by Brigham Young University. Dr. Tsang’s study introduces an innovative disclosure metric designed to capture information at the topical level, thereby enabling more refined textual analysis and enhancing the prediction of firm performance. Dr. Tsang also served as a discussant at the conference, providing thoughtful and constructive commentary on the paper “Restoring Trust and Legitimacy in Cryptocurrency Markets: The Case for Proof-of-Reserve Disclosure,” authored by Drs. Maex, Masli and Slavov.
School of Engineering
Dr. Sarah Bauer, assistant professor of environmental and civil engineering, and research students Ezra Nash, Zachary Rehg and Rukiyat Thompson published “Analysis of Product Distribution and Quality from the Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Food Waste Feedstocks” in Energies.
Dr. Lianjun Wu, associate professor of mechanical engineering, in partnership with collaborators from Georgia Southern University, was awarded a grant of nearly $100,000 for the project “Innovating Standards education: A Dual-University Model for Replicable Modules in Materials Processing and Machine Design.” Dr. Wu is the project’s principal investigator at Mercer University. This three-year award will support curricula development to integrate standards and standardization content into the manufacturing and mechanical engineering curriculum with a focus on materials processing and machine design for undergraduate students in their freshman through senior years.
School of Law
Sarah Gerwig, professor of law, was appointed to the Macon-Bibb County Board of Equalization and also elected to the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools Clinical Legal Education Section.
Jessica Herndon, assistant director of career services, co-authored “Using Alumni for Law Student Professional Development” for the February 2026 National Association for Law Placement Bulletin as part of the organization’s Law Student Professional Development Work Group.
Pat Longan, William Augustus Bootle Chair in Professionalism and Ethics, and Margie Alsbrook, assistant professor of law, organized the first symposium for the Journal of Southern Legal History, held at Mercer Law School on Feb. 10, in partnership with the Georgia Legal History Foundation. Speakers and attendees included more than 80 law students, three justices from the Georgia Supreme Court and numerous alumni and members of the Georgia legal community. The Journal’s first law student editorial board will be chosen this spring, and publication production will begin later this year.
Gary J. Simson, Macon Chair in Law and former dean of the School of Law, published “Our Partisan Supreme Court and an Essential First Step Toward Reclaiming What’s Been Lost” in the Journal of Law & Politics.
School of Medicine
Dr. Mohammed Abdelsaid, associate professor of pharmacology, co-authored “Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Chronic Kidney Disease: Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives,” published in Kidney Medicine. The article illustrates the growing body of evidence highlighting GLP-1 receptor agonists as important agents in kidney protection. Dr. Abdelsaid also presented his research, “Hypoxia and Ferroptosis: A Double Hit Driving Pericyte Dysfunction and Pathological Transition in Stroke” and “GLP-1 Agonist Improves VCID by Preventing Mitochondrial Dysgenesis in Diabetic Mice,” at the International Stroke Conference 2026 in New Orleans.
Dr. Andrew Benesh, assistant professor and assistant program director of the Master of Family Therapy program, was selected to serve as president of the Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Dr. David C. Bury, associate professor and director of medical practice; Dr. Kimberly Klaus, assistant professor of community medicine; and Edson Jean-Jacques, director of demographic research, presented the research poster “Artificial Intelligence as a Feedback Tool in Standardized Patient Encounters for Delivering Bad News: Comparing Performance Between Gemini and ChatGPT” at the 2026 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Conference on Medical Student Education in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Jan. 30.
Dr. Ilana Chefetz-Menaker, associate professor of pharmacology; Dr. Balint Kacsoh, professor of cell biology in the department of biomedical sciences; and undergraduate researcher Aditya Vayalapalli published “Lys-ing the Resistance: Targeting Lysosomes to Overcome Chemoresistance in Ovarian Cancer” in Current Oncology Reports. Vayalapalli, a special consideration student, spearheaded the project and played a leading role in developing the work.
Dr. D. Benjamin Christie, associate professor of surgery, Dr. Danny Vaughn, assistant professor of surgery, both attending surgeons at the Atrium Navicent Health residency in surgery, were elected to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. With nearly 90,000 members, the ACS is the dominant and largest professional surgical society in the world.
Dr. Abraham M. Enyeji, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine in community medicine, served as a peer reviewer for the Springer Nature Journal manuscript, “Exploring the Association of Poor Social Support and Loneliness with Cardiovascular Health: Insights into Myocardial Infarction and Stroke: A Cross-sectional Approach.” Being selected to review for a Springer Nature Journal reflects recognition of expertise in preventive cardiology and highlights continued scholarly leadership in advancing research on psychosocial determinants of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Tony Gryffin, associate professor of community medicine, unveiled the Tai Chi for Health information board at the new Spirit of Macon park, both funded by a generous AARP Community Challenge Grant. The sign includes visual cues, tips, a summary of the health benefits of tai chi and QR codes with links to user-friendly tai chi videos for practice at the park, home or work. The health information board was designed by Dr. Gryffin, with assistance from Jami Gaudet, public information officer for Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority, and Jeff Hobaugh, tai chi instructor.
Dr. Sarah Rotschafer, associate professor of neuroscience, was awarded a one-year, $110,000 grant titled “Assessment of Barriers to Healthcare for Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities” from the WITH Foundation. Dr. Rotschafer will work with Dr. Anne Montgomery, associate professor of community medicine; Dr. Kim Roth, associate professor of community medicine; and Dr. Jonathan Smith, Mercer Center for IDD Care medical director, to investigate how recent changes to public health insurance impact adults throughout Georgia with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). For this work, MUSM researchers will partner with Parent2Parent of Georgia and the New Disabled South.
School of Music
Calista Anne Koch, instructor of harp, will lead the Mercer Harp Ensemble and the Middle Georgia Harp Ensemble at the Atlanta Harp Festival the third weekend in March. They will be performing a variety of works arranged for harp ensemble by Koch.
School of Theology
The Rev. Dr. David G. Garber Jr., Carolyn Ward Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, presented the paper “Pulling the Strings: The Prophetic Functions of Music in Ancient Israel and Stranger Things” to the Bible and Popular Culture Section of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Boston on Nov. 24, 2025.
The Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, preached at Restore Church in Austin, Texas, Jan. 25. He also delivered the lecture “A Post-Evangelical Ethicist’s Reading of Job” as part of the Robert F. Jones Lectures at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on Jan. 27-28. Dr. Gushee also gave the “Let’s Shine” Lectures Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at First Methodist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi, and lectured on the Book of Job at the Christian Ethics Research Seminar at Christ Church (College), Oxford University, Feb. 12. Additionally, he was named a visiting fellow of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Oxford University, and he signed contracts to write two books: a collection of his sermons with Lake Drive Publishing and The Moral Teachings of the Prophets with Wipf & Stock.
Dr. Denise Massey, professor of pastoral care and counseling, served on an ordination council for Celebration Church in Hoschton, assisting the church to examine and discern a candidate’s readiness for ordination to ministry.
