SUNY honors two with Distinguished Faculty rank

Julio Licinio, MD, PhD, and Margaret Turk, MD, have been named by the SUNY Board of Trustees to SUNY Distinguished Faculty ranks in acknowledgement of their teaching, research and service. They join 16 other faculty members from SUNY campuses across the state in receiving this faculty designation.

“As witnessed by their massive accomplishments and groundbreaking research in their academic areas, each individual is passionate about their field of expertise, and shares that energy with their students,” said SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. “We are pleased to congratulate this most recent class of distinguished faculty.”

“The SUNY faculty being honored today with the distinguished ranking are leaders in innovation, research, environmental and cultural studies, and serve as a strong and constant reminder of the quality higher education students receive at our campuses,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “On behalf of all our faculty, staff and students, I congratulate these individuals on this honorable distinction.”

“We congratulate Drs. Licinio and Turk on their honor as SUNY Distinguished Faculty,” said Mantosh Dewan, MD, interim president of Upstate Medical University. “This honor salutes their great accomplishment in science and service and showcases the outstanding faculty members we have at Upstate Medical University.”

Julio Licinio, MD, PhD, received the rank of Distinguished Professor

The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon individuals who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within a chosen field. This distinction is attained through significant contributions to the research literature or through artistic performance or achievement in the case of the arts. The candidate’s work is of such character that the individual’s presence elevates the standards of scholarship of colleagues both within and beyond these persons’ academic fields.

Julio Licinio, MD, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in translational and clinical research in psychiatry and neuroendocrinology, including depression and obesity. He has established, led, and obtained competitive funding for numerous major national and international research and clinical projects and programs in these areas for over 25 years at Yale, NIH, UCLA, the University of Miami, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, and SUNY Upstate Medical University.

He has obtained over $20 million in competitive grant funding from sponsors throughout the world; his work has resulted in over 300 publications and been cited over 27,000 times. He is founding and Chief Editor of three Springer Nature journals: Molecular Psychiatry, Translational Psychiatry, and The Pharmacogenomics Journal. In the last six years, he has published collaboratively with 190 colleagues from 54 institutions located in 19 countries, evidence of the strength and productivity of his strong and unique international partnerships in psychiatric research. Licinio has received many national and international awards for his exceptional achievements.

As dean of the College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University, Licinio has shared an exciting vision for education, clinical care, and research growth and has recruited additional outstanding scientists, clinicians and leaders to join the faculty in making that vision a reality.

Margaret Turk, MD, received the rank of Distinguished Service Professor

The Distinguished Service Professorship honors and recognizes extraordinary service. This distinction honors and recognizes individuals for extraordinary service not only at the campus and the State University, but also at the community, regional, state, national and international levels.

Turk has dedicated her career to improving the health and wellbeing of people with disability. An academician and clinical expert in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, Turk currently serves as her department’s vice chair and quality officer, director of Pediatric Rehabilitation, associate director of University Hospital’s Rehabilitation Units, director for Clinical Research, and director for Student Education.

She has chaired both the Medical College Assembly and the Faculty Organization and currently chairs the College of Medicine Appointment and Promotions Committee. Turk has participated in and/or led multiple initiatives at the regional, state and national level to enhance care for patients with disability, including work with the New York State Department of Health, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (serving as its first woman chairman), American Board of Medical Specialties, Association of Academic Physiatrists, Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Institute of Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, and World Health Organization.

She is founding co-editor of the Disability and Health Journal, a high impact journal in the field, has edited several books, authored 25 book chapters/monographs and over 40 journal articles, and has been recognized with multiple regional, national and international awards for her work.

SUNY has honored 33 Upstate faculty with Distinguished faculty ranks. Last year, Paula Trief, PhD, was honored as a Distinguished Service Professor.