GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARD

Shannon Macauley, PhD, Associate Professor, Physiology and Pharmacology

This award is presented to the faculty member whom the Graduate Student Association has selected as having done the most to promote excellence in graduate education this past year.

Shannon L. Macauley, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, is the 2023 recipient of the Graduate Student Association Faculty Excellence Award. Macauley's commitment to graduate student mentorship, teaching and research scholarship exemplifies the Graduate School’s core values, and the University’s mission of Pro Humanitate. Macauley has been described as the kind of mentor who “is incredibly committed to the well-being of her students, post-docs and undergraduate students. She is kind and thoughtful, prioritizing the success and well-being of her students above her own.” In addition to her incredible commitment to teaching and mentoring, Macauley has been an active citizen at Wake Forest. She has served as a committee member for more than 20 initiatives over the past 5 years, encompassing a wide array of areas. When speaking of her commitment to mentorship and University scholarship, one of her nominators wrote: “Dr. Macauley actively works to make sure that she gives each of us the tools we need to be successful, both in the lab and outside of it.” Another nominator wrote: “Not only does Dr. Macauley ensure that her students are successful within the lab, she also strives for her students’ success after graduate school.” Once again, congratulations to Shannon Macauley, the 2022-2023 Faculty Excellence Award recipient!

GORDON A . MELSON OUTSTANDING DOCTORAL STUDENT AWARD

Brittany Nicole Liebenow, Neuroscience Program

This student has been identified as being outstanding in research, productivity and quality. Although the award is for excellence in the student’s research program in general, special emphasis in selecting the recipient is given to the dissertation in terms of originality, importance and potential influence on the student’s field. Other factors, which are considered in conferring this award, are academic record, activity in the discipline, as well as university and departmental citizenship. The award’s monetary prize is made possible through gifts from alumni and friends to the Gordon A. Melson Outstanding Doctoral Student Award Fund of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Brittany Liebenow, a PhD graduate of the neuroscience program, is the recipient of the Gordon A. Melson Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for 2023. Brittany has made outstanding contributions to the field of human addiction neuroscience, as detailed in her nomination letters. She is noted for her pioneering work measuring dopamine release in humans with an addiction disorder, supported in part by a prestigious NIH National Research Service Award. This work has resulted in multiple first-authored publications and award-winning conference presentations. Her service to Wake Forest University, the Graduate School and the School of Medicine is also impressive, including her role as a founding member of the Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) Medical Student Committee (where she coordinated the WINS Mentorship Program) and her appointment as student representative of the MD/PhD program. Her record of achievement speaks to her leadership and mentoring qualities, embodying the Wake Forest spirit of Pro Humanitate and exemplifying the highest standards expected of Melson award recipients.