This story has been reposted from : Faculty and Staff Achievements Fall 2025

The work of CSUN faculty and staff members is recognized in a variety of ways, including:

• Funding from outside organizations to support unique programs and cutting-edge research facilitated on campus.
• Publications of books or articles.
• Professional awards.
• Presentations at conferences.
• Appointments and elections to governing boards.

Please use this link to announce your achievements for publication in CSUN Newsroom.

Below is a list of the individuals whose work was recognized from May 2025 through December 2025.

Awards

Mechelle Best, dean of the College of Health and Human Development, received CalTravel’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Award for 2025. The award recognizes those who have strengthened and affected meaningful change in these areas in the travel and tourism industry. Best serves as chair of CalTravel’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee and co-chair of its Scholarship Committee.

David E. Boyns (Sociology) was honored by California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel with the “Mentor of the Year” award, which was presented at the Valley Community Leadership Awards, which honors community members doing important work in schools, small businesses and non-profit organizations. The awards ceremony took place Nov. 6 at The Local Peasant restaurant in Woodland Hills.

Research and Sponsored Projects

Ravinder Abrol (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $147,500 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in support of a project entitled “Structural Dynamics and Energy Landscapes of G Protein Signaling.”

Ravinder Abrol (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $71,862 from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in support of a project entitled “Targeting Brain-Metastatic Breast Tumors with HER3-Homing Bioparticles.”

Eduardo Amorim (Biology) received $361,304 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Characterizing Human-Pathogen Interactions and Natural Selection with Ancient DNA.”

Mads Peter Andersen (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $50,000 from NASA’s Ames Research Center in support of a project entitled “Mars Doppler Wind & Thermal Sounder Ozone Cell Maturation.”

Mads Anderson (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $76,500 from Chemours in support of a project entitled “Atmospheric Fate of Two Isomers of BR549.”

Alyssa Arentoft (Psychology) received $74,368 from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in support of a project entitled “Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI-4).”

Alyssa Arentoft (Psychology) received $27,120 from the University of North Texas, Health Science Center in support of a project entitled “The Health and Aging Brain Study – Health Disparities (HABS-HD).”

Wendy Ashley (Social Work) received $2,587,718 from the University of California, Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “CA Title IV-E.”

Annette Besnilian (Marilyn Magaram Center) and David Boyns (Sociology) received $70,399 from the County of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “CSUN CalFresh Healthy Living.”

Danielle Bram (Center for Geospatial Science and Technology) received $28,000 from the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District in support of a project entitled “Monitoring and Managing Headwaters and Wildfire: A Southern California Planning Pilot.”

Danielle Bram (Center for Geospatial Science and Technology) and Regan Maas (Geography and Environmental Studies) received $497,500 from the California Department of Water Resources in support of a project entitled “California EDH Project.”

Danielle Bram (Center for Geospatial Science and Technology) and Regan Maas (Geography and Environmental Studies) received $490,500 from the California Department of Water Resources in support of a project entitled “California EDH Project.”

Robert Carpenter (Biology) received $145,556 from the University of California, Santa Barbara in support of a project entitled “LTER: MCR IV: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem.”

Gary Chapman (Department of Physics and Astronomy) and Debi Prasad Choudhary (Department of Physics and Astronomy) received $103,920 from the University of Colorado in support of a project entitled “An Automated Framework for Robust Image Proxies and Data-Driven Exploration of their Relationship with Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI).”

Debi Prasad Choudhary (Physics and Astronomy) received $89,891 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in support of a project entitled “SHINE: Joule Heating as a Solar Active Region Atmosphere Heating Mechanism.”

Matthew d’Alessio (Geological Sciences) received $397,920 from Green Ninja in support of a project entitled “Science Roots: Growing Student Futures through GenAI Enhanced Project-Based Learning using Green Ninja.”

Maria-Rita D’Orsogna (Mathematics) received $39,647 from the United States Army in support of a project entitled “Identifying drivers of discontent, advancing social cohesion, and promoting resilient decision-making through modeling and data analysis.”

Peter Edmunds (Biology) received $145,556 from the University of California, Santa Barbara in support of a project entitled “LTER: MCR IV: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem.”

Rafi Efrat (The Bookstein Institute) received $80,000 from the United States Department of Treasury in support of a project entitled “The Bookstein Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.”

Erin Eiholzer (The Aquatic Center at Castaic Lake) and Nathan Martan received $42,000 from the California Division of Boating and Waterways in support of a project entitled “Aquatic Center Grant FY 2024-25.”

Michael Eller (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $133,122 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “CAREER: Evaluating Molecular Homogeneity in Three Nanometric Dimensions Using Nano-Projectile Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry.”

Brian Foley (Department of Special Education) received $90,000 from the Los Angeles Unified School District in support of a project entitled “Teacher Residency Expansion Grant.”

Brian Foley (Department of Special Education) received $139,500 from the Los Angeles Unified School District in support of a project entitled “Teacher Residency Expansion Grant.”

Brian Foley (Special Education) received $108,000 from the Los Angeles Unified School District in support of a project entitled “Teacher Residency Expansion Grant.”

Myriam Forster (Health Sciences) received $331,875 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Supporting Student Health and Resilience.”

Myriam Forster (Health Sciences) received $40,000 from the University of Texas, Austin in support of a project entitled “Cultural Stress, Stress Response, and Substance Use Among Hispanic Adolescents.”

Rachel Friedman-Narr (Special Education) and Flavia Fleischer (Deaf Studies) received $247,906 from the United States Department of Education in support of a project entitled “Project PRISM-Ed (Preparing a Pipeline for Recruitment and Retention of Social Justice and Equity-Minded Deaf Educators).”

Mario Giraldo (Geography and Environmental Studies) received $79,478 from NASA in support of a project entitled “Collaboration in Big Data Analysis and Open Science Studying OceanFronts, Salinity and Climate Systems in Coastal North America.”

Shu-Sha Guan (Child and Adolescent Development), Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado (Psychology), Carrie Saetermoe (Psychology), and Cindy Malone (Biology) received $452,923 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures (EMBARC).”

Cedric Hackett (DuBois-Hamer Institute) received $15,000 from the Los Angeles Unified School District in support of a project entitled “2026-BSAP-Chatsworth.”

Xiyi Hang (Autonomy Research Center for STEAHM) and Bingbing Li (Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management) received $118,242 from NASA in support of a project entitled “Efficient Deep Learning for Space Computers.”

Amy Hanreddy (Special Education) received $430,134 from the U.S. Department of Education in support of a project entitled “BRIDGE California TPSID Grant: Consortium with San Francisco State University.”

Dena Herman-Mendez (Family and Consumer Sciences) received $77,437 from Gold Coast Health Plan in support of a project entitled “Every Family, Every Farm.”

Nhut Ho (Autonomy Research Center for STEAHM), Amiel Hartman (Mechanical Engineering), Xunfei Jiang (Computer Science), and Kacie Blackman (Health Sciences) received $62,807 from the Administration for Community Living in support of a project entitled “Development of semi-autonomous wheelchair and socially-aware robot health aid to encourage community participation for persons with low mobility.”

Claire Kravette (Religious Studies) received $27,011 from Washington University in St. Louis in support of a project entitled “The Persistence of Wild Religious Traditions: How the Handling of Misfortune Influences the Dynamics of Folk Religions.”

Janet Kubler (Biology) and Steven Dudgeon (Biology) received $963,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in support of a project entitled “2024 Earmark: CSUN Regenerative Aquaculture Hub.”

Jodi Letkiewicz (Finance, Financial Planning, and Insurance) received $49,500 from the California State University Office of the Chancellor in support of a project entitled “Financial Wellness Clinic: Advancing Student Success in the CSU.”

Allen Lipscomb (Social Work) received $438,375 from the San Jose State University Research Foundation in support of a project entitled “HCAI Public Behavioral Health MSW Training and Fellowship Program.”

Jason Lo (Mathematics) received $195,275 from the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research in support of a project entitled “Reasoning in Autonomous Systems Via Wiring Diagrams.”

Regan Maas (Center for Geospatial Science and Technology) received $49,920 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in support of a project entitled “Dengue Risk Mapping Project.”

Debra Berry Malmberg (Psychology), Zhen Chai (Special Education), and Vickie Yu (Communication Disorders and Sciences) received $249,996 from the U.S. Department of Education in support of a project entitled “The Bridge Project: Transdisciplinary Preparation of Culturally Responsive Early Childhood Special Educators, Behavior Interventionists, and Speech and Language Pathologists to Serve Young Children with Disabilities.”

Jonathan Martinez (Psychology) received $181,250 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Co-Developing a Psychoeducational Mental Health Toolkit for Underserved Families to Navigate the Mental Health System.”

Thomas Minehan (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $8,000 from Organic Syntheses in support of a project entitled “Oxidative C-H Bond Functionalization of Ynol Ethers: Rapid Access to Complex Cyclic Compounds.”

Thomas Minehan (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $345,248 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “Exploring the Utility of Antiparallel Triplex-Forming CNA Dimers as Sequence-Specific DNA Major Groove Binding Agents.”

Mohammad Rasoul Narimani (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Tohid Sardarmehni (Mechanical Engineering) received $599,943 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “CISE Crosscutting Small: CPS: Enhancing the Security and Resilience of Cyber-Physical Power Systems Against Sophisticated Cyber-Attacks.”

Ali Pakzad (Mathematics) received $250,000 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “LEAPS: Applied Data Assimilation.”

Henrik Palasani-Minassians (Tseng College, Dean’s Office) received $125,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “CSU5 ReLAY Institute P3 Facilitator – 19-0167.”

Julie Pearce (University Counseling Services) received $4,000 from LEAD California in support of a project entitled “Domestic Violence Awareness Week.”

Jennifer Pemberton (Strength United) and Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $1,613,310 from the California Victim Compensation Board in support of a project entitled “Trauma Recovery Center Grant.”

Bethany Rainisch (Health Sciences) received $374,967 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in support of a project entitled “MATAspire: Mental Health Awareness Tailored App for Substance Prevention and Integrated Resilience Education.”

Deqing Ren (Physics and Astronomy) received $53,441 from the Mount Cuba Astronomical Foundation, in support of a project entitled “Development of an Adaptive Optics System for the Solar Off-Limb Prominence Diffraction Limited Imaging.”

Cristina Rubino (Management) and Loren Naidoo (Management) received $250,000 from the Community Investment For Families in support of a project entitled “FamilySource System Program Evaluation.”

Christoph Schaal (Mechanical Engineering) received $40,000 from the Aerospace Corporation in support of a project entitled “Maturing the Design of an Experimental Payload for In-Space Inspection of Joints.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $310,200 from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in support of a project entitled “Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, Intervention and Treatment (CAPIT) – San Fernando Valley.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $654,206 from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in support of a project entitled “Family Preservation – Van Nuys.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $520,671 from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in support of a project entitled “Family Preservation – West San Fernando Valley.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $544,109 from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in support of a project entitled “Family Preservation – Santa Clarita.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $120,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Response Abuse Team (DART) – Foothill.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $171,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Response Abuse Team (DART) – Mission.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $120,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Response Abuse Team (DART) – Van Nuys.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $120,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Response Abuse Team (DART) – West Valley.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $120,000 from the City of Los Angeles in support of a project entitled “Domestic Response Abuse Team (DART) – North Hollywood.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $681,870 from the California Office of Emergency Services in support of a project entitled “CalOES RAPE CRISIS PROGRAM VN16.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $360,237 from the California Office of Emergency Services in support of a project entitled “CalOES RAPE CRISIS PROGRAM NW16.”

Merilla Scott (Strength United) received $1,512,000 from Rising Communities in support of a project entitled “Community Public Health Teams.”

Dong-Ning Sheng (Physics and Astronomy) received $164,699 from the United States Department of Energy in support of a project entitled “Global Quantum Phase Diagram and Topological Superconductivity in Strongly Interacting Systems.”

Danielle Spratt (Community Engagement) received $2,500 from LEAD California in support of a project entitled “CSUN Community Engagement 9/11 Days of Service.”

Samantha Toews (Special Education) and Fatmana Deniz (Special Education) received $249,769 from the United States Department of Education in support of a project entitled “Reconceptualizing Educator preparation to Empower All students through Culturally sustaining and High leverage Inclusive Teaching.”

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Health Sciences) received $20,905 from the University of Southern California in support of a project entitled “Maintenance and Enrichment of the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Cohort.”

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Health Sciences) received $178,590 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Allostatic Load in Latino Youth (ALLY) Study: The Role of Discrimination and Environmental Racism.”

Claudia Toledo-Corral (Health Sciences) received $142,031 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Postdoctoral Training Supplement for R16GM146675.” 

John Valdovinos (Electrical and Computer Engineering) received $60,877 from the National Science Foundation in support of a project entitled “Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Implementation: Medium: Cybertraining for Democratizing the Use of Digital Twin Technologies in Robotics.”

John Valdovinos (Electrical and Computer Engineering) received $5,900 from Medtronic MiniMed in support of a project entitled “Finite Element Model of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensor (CGM) and Experimental Methods for Characterizing CGM Electrodes.”

Cheryl Van Buskirk (Biology) received $147,500 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Exploring the Function and Shedding of a Potential C. Elegans Neuregulin.”

Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado (Psychology) received $181,250 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Investigating Cultural Mismatch and its Associations to Health and Academic Outcomes Among Latinx Students During the Transition to College: The Moderating Role of Education Context and Resilience.”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) received $266,682 from Heluna Health in support of a project entitled “Community Navigator Program.”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) received $414,374 from the North Los Angeles County Regional Center in support of a project entitled “Family Resource Center (Early Start).”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) received $452,582 from the California Department of Education in support of a project entitled “2025-26 Family Empowerment Centers.”

Ivor Weiner (Special Education) received $139,986 from the North Los Angeles County Regional Center in support of a project entitled “Van Nuys Family Resource Center and Library.”

Jenn Wolfe (Secondary Education) received $35,506 from the University of California, Regents in support of a project entitled “CSUN Writing Project.”

Hui Xie (Recreation and Tourism Management) received $144,999 from the United States Forest Service in support of a project entitled “Urban Transit to Trails: Evaluating Impacts of Implementing the Mt. Wilson Express Shuttle.”

Hui Xie (Recreation and Tourism Management) received $181,250 from the National Institutes of Health in support of a project entitled “Senior Centers and Older Adults’ Health Outcomes.”

MariaElena Zavala (Biology), Ray Hong (Biology), and Cheryl Hogue (Biology) received $661,818 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in support of a project entitled “U-RISE Training the Next Generation of Basic Biomedical Researchers: A Holistic Approach.”