Professor Bryan Ballif, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Ballif’s scholarly output is impressive, with 112 peer-reviewed publications (H- index=49 and >17 000 citations). He has made highly significant and clinically relevant discoveries of novel proteins that are determinants of four lesser-known blood types; this work led to the publication of seminal papers on blood type determination in Nature Genetics, EMBO Molecular Medicine and Blood. He is a sought-after expert in mass spectrometry methods and has been instrumental in getting the proteomics facility up and running. He established proteomic analysis as an important core service to the University of Vermont biomedical research enterprise and leadership for regional accessibility to proteomics through the IDEA program. Dr. Ballif has been continuously funded by NSF, NIH, DOD and private foundations. He reviews for a multitude of high-profile and well-respected journals. He has served as a grant reviewer for NSF and for funding agencies in Canada and the Netherlands, which speaks to his international stature. He’s trained 15 graduate students and more than 70 undergraduates. His service and dedication to students extends well beyond his own laboratory: He has served on 75 graduate committees and more than 80 Honors theses. He has helped (with Dr. Jim Vigoreaux) develop and host regional and internal educational programs for support of underserved groups including support for research opportunities to students from Puerto Rico (2011-2017). In addition to being an internationally recognized scholar, Prof. Ballif has been an exemplary university citizen, serving on multiple committees at the University, College and Departmental level. He’s also been a highly sought after collaborator for several colleagues at UVM who have relied on his unique expertise in mass spectrometry to further their research programs. In summary, Bryan Ballif is an outstanding scholar with an impeccable track record of productivity, a dedicated professor and mentor who deeply cares about not only his own trainees but all students at the university, and a collaborative and selfless colleague for many.

Professor V. Ernesto Méndez, Department of Agriculture, Landscape and Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 

Dr. Méndez’s scholarly output is impressive, with 7 seven important books on Agroecology and participatory approaches and ecosystem-based livelihoods.  He has published 64 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals like Nature Food. His work is used in classrooms around the world (H- index=41 and >8244 citations). Dr. Ernesto Méndez is internationally recognized as a leading scholar of Agroecology and one of the world’s most distinguished contemporary researchers in this field, in both transdisciplinary and community-engaged scholarship. His work is anchored in participatory action research, and he models his approach toward improving societal impact, as well as just and equitable research practices. His work is grounded in the needs of the United States, Latin America and the African continent and includes food security, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and economic wellbeing. His letters of support note his impactful mentorship of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students through his teaching and research and promoted the next generation of scientists in this field. Dr. Méndez served as interim chair of CALS Plant and Soil Science (now Agriculture, Landscape, Environment) 2019-2021 when he became the inaugural VPR Fellow and began UVM’s successful Institute for Agroecology, the first such institute within a land grant university. He also co-directs Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative 2010-present, serves as faculty director of graduate study agroecology (2016-present). He was important in the environmental program cluster hire (4 faculty) in 2014-15 and has served in the UVM president’s advisory council, and the steering committee for Food Systems initiative. For his work with community engagement, he received the WK Kellogg foundation award. In 2025, he and McKnight Foundation received the UVM Foundations Transformative Partnerships Award. His research has been sustained via multiple grants, gifts, and contracts including from the USDA, the McKnight Foundation, UVM Food systems research center, as well as a UVM Spire grant in 2012. His letters of support add to his significant scholarly contributions by emphasizing his intellect, commitment, integrity and deep humanity.

Professor Stacey Sigmon, Department of Psychiatry, Larner College of Medicine

Dr. Sigmon specializes in behavioral pharmacology, substance use and addictive disorders. Dr. Sigmon has over 120 peer-reviewed publications (H-index =36, and >4,000 citations). She publishes high quality journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and multiple JAMA journals. She has trained 7 graduate students and 9 postdocs. She has received multiple NIH awards R01, R03, and R34, and is a co-I on a P50 grants. She is co-investigator on a T32 training grant on behavioral pharmacology and clinical research. She has done extensive service to the American Psychological Association and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence; she is an elected fellow of CPDD and current director. She has served as reviewer of numerous scientific journals; She has served as reviewer on multiple NIH study sections. Dr. Sigmon’s work has had a powerful impact on the State of Vermont: For over 15 years, Dr. Sigmon has served as the director of Vermont’s first and largest opioid treatment clinic, the Chittenden Clinic; she has overseen 60 staff members, who have cared for more than 1,000 patients. The UVM center on rural addiction, or CORA, is one of three national Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders. Dr. Sigmon and the UVM CORA have had a deep impact on the rest of the country, as CORA has supported >35,000 rural healthcare providers in 50 states and provided >930 continuing medical education (CME) credits. Her scholarship on substance use and addictive disorders extends far beyond UVM’s academic walls, improving the lives of hundreds of patients and their families.

Professor Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Department of Psychological Science, College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Cepeda-Benito is an internationally recognized psychological scientist whose scholarship spans basic and translational research in addiction science and health behavior, psychopharmacology and behavioral medicine, public health, and cross-cultural assessment. Across a sustained record of highly acclaimed work, he has advanced foundational theory and measurement, built evidence that informs clinical practice, and translated behavioral science into public-health relevance across diverse populations. His contributions include influential experimental and human laboratory studies on craving, nicotine dependence, and smoking cessation; meta-analytic work that continues to shape understanding of treatment outcomes (including sex differences in long-term cessation); and high- impact collaborative epidemiological research on tobacco use among vulnerable populations. In eating disorders, body image, and food cravings, he co-developed and validated widely adopted Food Craving Questionnaires (Trait and State), tools now used by researchers and clinicians internationally. His leadership in cross-cultural psychological assessment has established rigorous approaches to measurement equivalence across English- and Spanish-speaking populations, complemented by sustained editorial service on flagship journals and participation on U.S. and international grant review panels. This body of work is reflected in an extensive publication record (83 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 book chapters, and 3 co-authored books), strong citation impact (h-index 39; more than 6,500 citations), and over $6M in external funding as PI or co-PI from U.S. federal agencies and international programs. His international eminence is evidenced by prestigious visiting and named professorships in Spain, recognition as a Fulbright Scholar (Chile), and the research networks he has built across countries and disciplines to address addiction, stigma, and public health. He has chaired 12 M.S. theses and 16 Ph.D. dissertations, including three at UVM, and he has published extensively with students and mentees. His mentorship—recognized through multiple teaching and mentoring awards, including a national Award of Excellence in Mentorship from the National Hispanic Science Network—has supported trainees from a wide range of backgrounds and positioned them for successful academic and professional careers. Dr. Cepeda-Benito has strengthened the climate for research, scholarship, and creative activity through visionary academic leadership and institution-building. As Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (2012–2015), he advanced scholarship across the humanities, social sciences, creative arts, and basic sciences; promoted cross-campus, transdisciplinary initiatives; and led planning for new undergraduate and graduate degree programs. He also established an internship office and significantly expanded high-quality undergraduate internship opportunities, helping students connect classroom learning to research, creative practice, and professional pathways—an enduring contribution to UVM’s scholarly mission.