Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., UVM Professor of Pathology and 2018-19 University Scholar. (Photo: Medical Communications)

The University of Vermont Graduate College honored the 2018-2019 University Scholars on April 24 at an Induction Ceremony held in the Waterman building's Memorial Lounge. UVM Larner College of Medicine Professor of Pathology Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., joined Sean Field, Ph.D., professor of history and Junru Wu, Ph.D., professor of physics, were the three new University Scholars recognized at the event.

The University Scholars program recognizes distinguished UVM faculty members for sustained excellence in research, creative and scholarly activities. The Scholars are selected by a faculty panel based upon nominations submitted by UVM colleagues.

Janssen-Heininger is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of redox biology, particularly as it applies to lung disease. She joined UVM as a postdoctoral associate in 1993, was appointed assistant professor in 1997 and rose through the ranks to full professor in 2008. She is currently associate chair for research in the Department of Pathology. She has published 137 papers in the top journals in her field, including 14 papers in the past two years alone. She is a prolific speaker at national and international scientific meetings and has been involved in scientific society leadership at the international level for many years, notably for the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine and the American Thoracic Society. She is an associate editor for the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, one of the top scientific journals in her field. Janssen-Heininger has forged a research alliance between UVM and the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands that has resulted in numerous scientific collaborations between investigators at both institutions. She has received sixteen R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As a reflection of this remarkable success, in 2017 she was received the inaugural R35 Outstanding Investigator Award from the NIH. This extremely prestigious award recognized her as one of the most consistently productive and meritorious biomedical investigators in the entire country. She also excels at mentorship and has supervised 45 graduate students and postdoctoral associates. She received the 2017 Research Mentor Award from the Dean of the Larner College of Medicine. Janssen-Heininger's University Scholar designation recognizes her as an outstanding member of the UVM faculty whose dedication, professionalism and talent has taken her to the top of her field.

Learn more about the UVM Graduate College's University Scholars program.