Faculty and Staff Notables

1430
Statue of Jesse Mercer on the Mercer campus.

Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English, gave the talk “Mississippi Writers and World War I” Nov. 9-11 at the Modernist Studies Association conference in Columbus, Ohio. He also appeared on the GPB talk show “On Second Thought” to discuss the African-American experience in World War I.

Dr. Andy Digh, associate professor of computer science, served on the steering committee for the 2018 Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Conference held Nov. 2-3 in Roanoke, Virginia. He also served as director of the programming contest held in conjunction with the conference.

Dr. Sarah E. Gardner, Distinguished University Professor of History, presented “Rebecca Harding Davis’s Other Civil War Stories” Nov. 16-18 at the Midwest Modern Language Association Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. She also presided over the 10th annual meeting of the Society for U.S. Intellectual History in Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, Dr. Gardner was appointed to the Membership Committee of the Organization of American Historians.

Dr. Lori Johnson, professor of political science and director of the Law and Public Policy program, taught an INT 201 “Building Community” Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course at Pulaski State Prison this fall. Dr. Johnson and 13 sophomores traveled to Hawkinsville  every Friday, where they had class together with 13 women who are incarcerated in the prison. Using the new Mercer INT Reader, they explored questions about race, gender, class, sexuality and immigration as well as the criminal justice system and how to restore community after harm has occurred.

Dr. Eric Klingelhofer, professor emeritus of history, participated in a symposium commemorating the life of Sir Walter Raleigh held in St. Margaret’s Church of Westminster Abbey, where Raleigh’s body was interred after his beheading outside Parliament on Oct. 29, 1618. Dr. Klingelhofer presented a paper, titled “The Archaeology of Raleigh’s Old and New World Colonies,” which discussed his Mercer-supported excavations in Ireland and the Americas.

Dr. Paul Lewis, professor of religion, presented on his book Wisdom Calls: the Moral Story of the Hebrew Bible Nov. 4 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina.

Dr. Frank Macke, professor of communication studies, recently published an article titled “Playing Inside the Lines: The Fold, the Dispositif, and the Return Home,” in Language and Semiotic Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer 2018), pp. 120-134.  The paper was presented to the International Human Science Research Conference earlier this year. Dr. Macke also presented a paper, titled “A Communicology of Laughing and Crying: Limits of Experience and the Borders of the Human,” at the annual meeting of the Semiotic Society of America Oct. 3-7 at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. While at the conference, Dr. Macke continued his work on the Executive Committee and as director of the Kevelson Research Award. In the most recent issue of the Journal of Communication (the anchor publication of the International Communication Association), Dr. Macke’s book The Experience of Human Communication (2015) was featured in an article-length review by Professor Garnet Butchart of Duquesne University. The article examines the three leading texts on the philosophy of human communication.

Dr. Carolyn Yackel, professor of mathematics, edited a book, Figuring Fibers, that was published by the American Mathematics Society. This is her third edited volume with Sarah-Marie Belcastro, featuring chapters in which various mathematicians explain a mathematical topic and then relate that topic to a fiber art. She ends the chapter with crafting directions for creating a needlework project that helps the reader/creator better understand the mathematics. In addition to being chief editor, Dr. Yackel wrote a chapter for the book.

Dr. Justus Randolph, associate professor, served as co-author of an article, titled “Systematic review and meta-analysis of the anatomic variants of the saphenofemoral junction,” in the Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders, published Nov. 4.

Dr. Maura Schlairet, associate professor, had an article, titled “Senior NCLEX-RN Coaching Model: Development and Implementation,” accepted for publication in Nurse Educator.

Dr. Ajay Banga, professor of pharmacy, Dr. Martin D’Souza, professors of pharmacy, and Dr. J. Grady Strom Jr., vice chair and associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, had research in their laboratories recognized at this year’s annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Nov. 4-7 in Washington D.C., where four of their advisees, Ph.D. students in pharmaceutical sciences, received top abstract awards, three of whom also received travel awards.

Dr. Clint Canal, assistant professor, was named a reviewer for ACS Chemical Neuroscience, a journal published by American Chemical Society Publications.

Dr. Martin D’Souza, professor, had research in his laboratory recognized at the International Society for Vaccines Annual Congress Oct. 28-30 in Atlanta, where one of his advisees, a Ph.D. student in pharmaceutical sciences, received a best abstract and travel award. Dr. D’Souza also delivered the keynote forum speech, titled “Bio-fabrication of smart microcapsules containing insulin secreting pancreatic islet cells: Potential applications in diabetes mellitus,” at the second annual Cell Therapy, Tissue Science and Regenerative Medicine Conference Nov. 9 in Atlanta. Additionally, he delivered the keynote forum speech, titled “Novel particulate vaccine against gonorrhea,” at the 32nd International Conference on Vaccines and Vaccination Nov. 10 in Atlanta.

Dr. Diane Matesic, professor, and Dr. J. Phillip Bowen, professor, co-authored “Discovery and biological activity of computer-assisted drug designed Akt pathway inhibitors” in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Dr. Nader H. Moniri, professor and associate dean for research, Dr. Kathryn Momary, associate professor, and Dr. Timothy McMahon, clinical assistant professor of physical therapy in the College of Health Professions, published “Statin-Associated Achilles Tendon Rupture and Reproducible Bilateral Tendinopathy on Repeated Exposure” in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Dr. Samuel Peasah, assistant professor, gave an invited presentation, titled “Impact of Health Policy on Healthcare Delivery,” Nov. 1 at Samford University College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Wesley Barker, assistant professor of religious studies, presented her paper “Ethics, Politics, and Afro-Pessimism: Race, Sexual Difference, and the Promise of Non-Being” for the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting in November in Denver, Colorado.  The paper was a part of a Philosophy of Religion panel, titled “In the Wake of Afro-Pessimism: Black Flesh, Wake Work, the Hold and the Question of Sexual Difference.”

Dr. Dick Martin, professor of criminal justice and homeland security, attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police  (IACP) conference in Orlando, Florida, in October, where there were more than 14,000 national and international police agency leaders. Dr. Martin serves on the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and was appointed to a group made up of representatives of 12 different IACP committees, named the IACP Grooming and Appearance Working Group, to develop an IACP model policy for police departments. He also serves on the RAC committee to select an outstanding research project academic and agency partnership that resulted in the successful implementation tenets of the project. Charlotte-Mecklenburg was the recipient of the award.

Dr. David Purnell, professor of liberal studies, has a new book coming out next year, titled The Purpose of Eating: Creating Community Through Food. He also authored or co-authored four recent articles that were published or accepted for publication: “When friends are separated by miles: Using technology as a bridge over troubled times” in the International Review of Qualitative Research (forthcoming summer 2019); “Public parks: Third places or places eliciting moral panic?” in Qualitative Inquiry (forthcoming winter 2018); “Finding our fathers” in Qualitative Inquiry; and “#Me(n)Too: Storying a male on male sexual assault” in the Journal of Loss and Trauma: International Perspectives on Stress and Coping.

Jody Blanke, Ernest L. Baskin Jr. Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Law, represented the Academy of Legal Studies in Business as its past president at the annual Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He presented his paper, “Carpenter v. United States Begs for Action,” which was recently published by the University of Illinois Law Review. His most recent paper, “Top Ten Reasons to Be Optimistic about Privacy,” made the top 10 most downloaded paper in six different categories on Social Science Research Network.

Dr. Antonio Saravia, associate professor of economics and director of the BB&T Center for Undergraduate Research in Public Policy and Capitalism, had his paper, “Demand and Supply Motivations for Antiretroviral Drugs in Illicit Street Markets: The Case of Atlanta, Georgia,” accepted for publication in AIDS and Behavior, a Q1 rated journal. This paper was co-authored with former Mercer undergraduate student Robert Mueller.

Dr. Lane Wakefield, assistant professor of sports marketing and analytics, was accepted to present his research, “Obligatory Consumption and Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) Regarding Hedonic and Utilitarian Products,” at the American Marketing Association 2019 Winter Conference in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Behnam Kamali, Sam Nunn Eminent Scholar of Telecommunications and professor of electrical and computer engineering, published a pioneering textbook in Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications Systems (AeroMACS). This book reflects the results of his research work in the area of aeronautical communications at NASA Glenn Research Center during the past eight years. The book is the first-ever reference for engineers and technical staff involved in research, development, deployment and maintenance of AeroMACS systems, and it is equally suitable as an academic textbook for wireless communications and wireless networking courses in electrical and computer engineering and computer science programs. Chapter eight of the textbook reflects the contributions to AeroMACS technology by Dr. Kamali, where he has demonstrated that multihop relays should become an integral part of AeroMACS systems.

David Hricik, professor of law, wrote a chapter in Combining Prosecution with Other Forms of Representation in Drafting Patents for Litigation and Licensing, which is expected to publish in December. He also provided several keynote addresses: “Practicing IP Law Ethically in the Cloud” at the 23rd Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute Nov. 1 at University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas; “Technology’s Impact on Professionalism” at the 12th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute Oct. 22 at the Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta; “Ethics” at the 33rd Annual Privacy and Technology Law Institute Oct. 19 in Atlanta; “Conflicts of Interest in Patent Practice” at the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association meeting Oct. 9 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and “Conflicts of Interest in Patent Practice” at the 2018 Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association annual meeting Sept 21 in Davenport, Iowa.

Jeremy Kidd, associate professor of law, had an op-ed, “Commentary: New York must preserve access to consumer legal funding,” published Nov. 15 in Times Union. He also spoke on a panel in the first session at the George Washington School of Law Third Party Litigation Finance Conference.

Patrick Longan, William Augustus Bootle Chair in Professionalism and Ethics, was appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia to a one-year term as one of 20 special masters to hear and make recommendations on lawyer disciplinary cases.

Teri McMurtry-Chubb, professor of law, was selected for a yearlong visitorship at John Marshall Law School, during which she will teach two courses in the required four-semester Lawyering Skills curriculum, including Lawyering Skills I, as well as a seminar in Critical Race Feminism.

Dr. David Ritchie, professor of law and philosophy, participated in a panel discussion, titled “Global Ethics and Mercer’s Missions,” hosted by the Department of Philosophy.

Karen Sneddon, professor of law, presented “Voice, Strength, and No Contest Clauses” Oct. 12 for the Wisconsin Law Review and others in Madison, Wisconsin. She also presented “Effective Motion and Brief Writing” for the Workers’ Compensation Law Institute Oct. 5 in Jekyll Island.

Dr. Hamza Awad, assistant professor, authored a paper, titled “Reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: A Comprehensive review,” that was published in Annals of Translational Medicine.

Dr. Jennifer L. Barkin, associate professor of community medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, was invited to join the editorial board of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN), a flagship journal of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN).

Dr. Hemant Goyal, assistant professor of medicine, served as first author for “Cannabis in liver disorders: a friend or a foe?” published in the September issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  Dr. Goyal also served as first author for “B-Natriuretic Peptide in Prognosis of Patients With or Without Heart Failure: Impact of Different Assays,” a letter to the editor published in the September issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology. He also served as a senior author for the following papers: “Sclerosing mesenteritis: a comprehensive clinical review – Literature review” in the September issue of Annals of Translational Medicine; “The burden of cardiac arrhythmias in sarcoidosis: a population-based inpatient analysis- Original article” in the September issue of Annals of Translational Medicine; “Colorectal cancer screening use among insured adults: Is out-of-pocket cost a barrier to routine screening? Original article,” published in the September issue of World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Goyal served as co-author for the following: “Prevalence and burden of hepatitis D virus infection in the global population: a systematic review and meta-analysis” in the September issue of Gut and “Single-dose rotavirus vaccine at birth: is it effective or safe?,” a letter to the editor in the September issue of Lancet: Infectious Diseases.

Kim Meeks, director of the Skelton Medical Library, attended “Communication, Consensus, and Challenging Conversations – A Workshop for Academic Department Heads” Nov. 15-16 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Dr. Jinping (Jennifer) Li, associate professor of histology, and several colleagues had their review article, titled “Dkk1 involvement and its potential as a biomarker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,” accepted in the journal Clinica Chimica Acta.

Dr. David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, traveled to Australia in October to present several keynote addresses: “Competing Christian Ethics in the Public Sphere” Oct. 11 at an event sponsored by Pilgrim College; “What It Means to Be Affirming” Oct. 12 at the Brave Dinner hosted by Brave Network Melbourne and Equal Voices; and “Toward a Christian Theology That No Longer Oppresses” and “How Minds and Hearts Change” Oct. 13-14 at the Equal Voices Conference 2018. Dr. Gushee completed his one-year service as president of the American Academy of Religion on Nov. 17, when he presented the presidential address at the American Academy of Religion’s annual conference. The American Academy of Religion is the world’s largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. Dr. Gushee addressed the crowd on the topic of “In the Ruins of White Evangelicalism.”

Scott Gillies, interim dean, attended the Southern Conference LEAD “Communication, Consensus, and Challenging Conversations” workshop Nov. 15-16 at Western Carolina University.