Five UC College of Medicine faculty honored at 2026 All-University Faculty Awards celebration

W. Sean Davidson, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Experimental Pathology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has received the Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific Research — the university's highest honor for faculty professional achievement in science. Davidson has built an internationally recognized research program at UC since 1998, focusing on the molecular structure and function of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and their role in metabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Davidson's laboratory has pioneered methods to understand HDL not as a single entity, but as a diverse family of particles — each carrying distinct proteins and lipids that serve a wide range of biological functions. His team developed cross-linking chemistry combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry to reveal the molecular architecture of HDL apolipoproteins, advancing the field's understanding of how these particles work and how they may be targeted therapeutically. He has published 175 original research papers and review articles, holds two U.S. patents related to therapeutic applications of apolipoprotein A-IV in diabetes, and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with at least two R01-equivalent grants since the lab's founding. He co-founded biotech startups ApoFore Corporation and HDL Apomics, translating his research into diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Beyond the lab, Davidson has been a dedicated teacher and mentor. He has been named "Teacher of the Year" four times in the pathobiology graduate program, received the Richard Akeson Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, and most recently earned the Graduate Student Mentor Award in 2025 — UC's institutional recognition for exceptional commitment to student development. He has mentored 10 PhD graduates, all of whom remain active in science. He serves as associate editor of the Journal of Lipid Research and has chaired multiple NIH study sections during a career spanning more than two decades of grant review service.

Davidson shared, "Science is a tough business. We work hard to share our best ideas knowing full well that they will be scrutinized and critiqued at every turn. That process is essential and the main reason science works so well, but it can wear on a person over a career. This is why I so appreciate being selected to receive this year's Rieveschl Scientific Research Award. This 'punch on the shoulder' from my colleagues at UC far outweighs years of frustration dealing with Reviewer No. 2. Having spent my entire career at UC, I am truly grateful for the institution and colleagues who have supported me along the way."

David A. Gerber, MD, the Christian R. Holmes professor and chair with tenure in the Department of Surgery and chief of surgical services at UC Health, has received the Faculty Entrepreneurship Award for his two decades of trailblazing work at the intersection of academic medicine and biotechnology commercialization.

A surgeon-scientist with expertise in solid organ transplantation, liver cancer and minimally invasive surgery, Gerber has dedicated his career to moving discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside. He has received more than 25 basic science grants, served as principal investigator or co-investigator of more than 40 industry-sponsored clinical trials, published more than 200 peer-reviewed works and received two patents. He currently serves as chief medical officer of BMI OrganBank, a company developing ex-vivo organ perfusion and preservation technologies, and advises multiple life sciences ventures including Glycan Therapeutics, Gradient Medical and Excelerate Health Ventures.

Gerber has also worked to embed entrepreneurial thinking into academic culture. While a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — where he previously served as the George F. Sheldon distinguished professor — he designed and implemented a course on entrepreneurship in life sciences and was a founding member of the UNC Healthcare Innovation Council. A retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Medical Corps, Gerber is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Surgical Association and the Southern Surgical Association. In 2026, he was appointed to the editorial board of JAMA Surgery and elected to membership in the James IVth Association of Surgeons.

Gerber shared, "I am both honored and speechless with respect to receiving this honor from the University of Cincinnati. Throughout the last two decades, I have found it professionally fulfilling to actively work at bridging the gap between discovery and the patient. My experiences helped me realize that I had an entrepreneur's passion, and I have taken this energy to continue to champion these academic-commercialization efforts while simultaneously introducing entrepreneurship into the academic culture."

Christy K. Holland, PhD, holder of the Hanna endowed chair of cardiology and interim director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research, has been named a Distinguished Research Professor in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) — the highest level of recognition for research achievement at the University of Cincinnati.

Holland's research program, housed in the Image-guided Ultrasound Therapeutics Laboratories within the UC Center for Cardiovascular Research, focuses on therapeutic and diagnostic applications of biomedical ultrasound. Her work spans sonothrombolysis, ultrasound-mediated drug and bioactive gas delivery and high-amplitude pulsed ultrasound therapies, with the overarching goal of moving innovative technologies from discovery to patient care. During more than 20 years at UC, she has secured more than $17 million in NIH research funding, authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and 12 book chapters and holds 11 U.S. and international patents.

Holland's scholarly influence reaches across the globe. She has delivered 136 invited lectures and plenary talks at international conferences and has mentored PhD students at institutions across Europe, Australia, Asia and North America. She served as editor-in-chief of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology from 2006 to 2021 and as president of the Acoustical Society of America from 2015 to 2017. She is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. In 2024, she received both the William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Test of Time Award. Holland holds joint appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering and co-authored the Whitaker Foundation grant that created UC's Biomedical Engineering programs.

Holland shared, "Being recognized as a Distinguished Research Professor (STEMM) is deeply meaningful to me because this award affirms the collective impact of my work at the intersection of cardiovascular medicine, biomedical engineering, translational science and image-guided ultrasound therapeutics. This honor reflects decades of collaboration with exceptional trainees, colleagues and clinical partners, and reinforces my commitment to advancing innovative technologies from discovery to patient care. I am especially proud that this recognition highlights both scientific impact and sustained mentorship."

Andrew R. Thompson, PhD, professor in the Department of Medical Education, has been honored with the Mrs. A.B. "Dolly" Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching — one of the university's most prestigious recognitions for instructional achievement, awarded based on nominations from students and alumni.

Since joining the faculty in 2015, Thompson has been deeply committed to the education of both medical and undergraduate students. He serves as course director for the musculoskeletal-integumentary course within the MD program, as well as for the undergraduate medical sciences program's human gross anatomy and clinical neuroanatomy courses. His dedication to student success is consistently reflected in student-elected teaching awards he has received across both medical and baccalaureate programs.

Thompson's commitment to his students extends into his research agenda, which focuses on the intersection of student learning and assessment. He actively involves students in research, fostering collaborative mentorship that has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications and student awards. Beyond the classroom, he has led programmatic innovation through the development of new learning initiatives within the College of Medicine and created a novel undergraduate certificate in clinical anatomy.

Thompson shared, "My position at UCCoM provides a unique opportunity to work with learners at both the undergraduate and medical school levels. This award is especially meaningful because the nomination came from former undergraduate students whom I have watched grow into future physicians. Knowing that I may have played even a small role in their journey is both rewarding and humbling."

Mark L. Baccei, PhD, professor with tenure in the Department of Anesthesiology and associate director of research, was inducted into the Fellows of the Graduate College — an honor recognizing faculty who have made a significant and sustained impact on the graduate educational environment, their field of scholarship and their broader communities.

Baccei is a nationally recognized neuroscientist whose laboratory investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying pediatric pain. His research has earned him the prestigious Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a highly competitive grant recognizing scientists whose careers show exceptional promise. He has served as director of the UC neuroscience graduate program and co-directed the UC postbaccalaureate research education program in biomedical sciences, playing a pivotal role in shaping graduate and early-career researchers at the university. He was a member of the Scientific Program Committee for the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain annual meeting and is an active member of the Society for Neuroscience and the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Baccei shared, "I am deeply grateful to be recognized as a Fellow of the Graduate College. The Fellows have each made a tremendous impact on the educational environment at UC, their fields of scholarship and their communities, and I am truly honored to be a member of the group. In my own research, I have been very fortunate to interact with incredibly talented students, postdoctoral fellows, staff and faculty whose collaborative approach to science has made UC a wonderful place to work and learn."