Faculty members May Mansy, Ph.D., Ana Maria Porras, Ph.D., and Brittany Taylor, Ph.D., have been selected as Pruitt Family Endowed Faculty Term Fellows in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.
The fellowships recognize rising junior faculty in UF BME who demonstrate excellence in teaching, mentorship and research. Candidates are evaluated based on teaching performance, mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students, and national recognition through publications, awards and externally funded research.
“The selection committee had the difficult task of choosing only three fellows from an outstanding pool of applicants,” said Cherie Stabler, Ph.D., professor and chair of the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. “These faculty members exemplify the innovation, dedication and impact that define UF BME.”
Mansy, an instructional assistant professor and director of peer learning and mentoring, has founded and led several student-focused initiatives within the department, including the BME Learning Assistant Program and BMEntor Program, which together have supported more than 3,500 students. She has taught more than 1,000 undergraduate students while implementing innovative, pedagogy-driven instructional practices and consistently maintaining 5.0 teaching evaluations. Her work has also advanced the scholarship of teaching and learning in biomedical engineering education. She has received the UF BME Faculty Teaching Award, the HWCOE Teacher of the Year Award and the UF BME Faculty Service Award.
Porras, an assistant professor in UF BME, leads a research program exploring how microbes interact with the human extracellular matrix and contribute to disease. Since joining UF in 2021, her lab has secured more than $2.4 million in federal funding, including an NIH MIRA Award and NSF CAREER Award. Her work has also been recognized nationally through honors including the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science and multiple Rising Star awards.
Taylor, an assistant professor and principal investigator of the Taylor Lab, has established a nationally recognized research program focused on orthopaedic regenerative engineering and tendon healing. Since arriving at UF in 2021, her work has resulted in 16 peer-reviewed publications, provisional patents and funding from organizations including the National Institutes of Health, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Alliance for Regenerative Rehabilitation and Training. She also recently received the K12 Career Development Award, supported through the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award, and the UF BME Faculty Teaching Excellence Award.
The Pruitt Family Endowed Faculty Term Fellowships reflect UF BME’s continued investment in supporting faculty advancing biomedical engineering research, education and student success.