- Burnett School College of Medicine Communique Faculty News
College of Medicine faculty members Drs. Karl Chai and Marcy Verduin were among 47 honorees at UCF’s third Authors Celebration March 1. The event, held every two years, recognizes faculty who have published books from novels and poetry to textbooks and manuals for their respective fields.
Dr. Verduin, associate dean of students and professor of psychiatry, was honored for her work as co-editor of the 12th edition of Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry. The book was first published in 1972 and has been a staple for medical students, residents and practicing psychiatrists.
When the original authors retired, Dr. Verduin and Dr. Robert Boland, a psychiatrist at the Baylor College of Medicine, were invited to become the next editors for the 12th edition.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to take the lead in continuing a book tradition that is so well-established and well-known in psychiatry,” she said.
Drs. Verduin and Boland have since released a smaller book called Kaplan & Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, and are finalizing, as editors-in-chief, a larger, more detailed textbook called Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry.
Dr. Chai, an associate professor of molecular biology at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, was honored for his textbook Interpretive Molecular Biology.
“The title of the book was inspired by all of the most inquisitive students who had taken this course with me,” Dr. Chai said. “This, my first attempt at a textbook in molecular biology, and it represents an opportunity for me to bring all my 24 years of interacting with some of the most talented students to new students.”
The Offices of Research and Faculty Excellence sponsored the author event, which included UCF President Alexander Cartwright and Provost Michael Johnson at the Live Oak Room on the main campus. Authors represent seven colleges and UCF Libraries.
This year’s honorees also include:
- Amanda Wilkerson, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Amie Newins, College of Sciences
- Barbara Andraka-Christou, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Beatriz Reyes-Foster, College of Sciences
- Bridget Rubenking, College of Sciences
- Claire Connolly Knox, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Cynthia Mejia, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
- David James Poissant, College of Arts and Humanities
- Debbie Hahs-Vaughn, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Elsie L. Olan, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Enrique Andres Puig, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Euripides Montagne, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Fevzi Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
- Güneş Murat Tezcur, College of Sciences
- Scott Carter, College of Sciences
- Jacopo A. Baggio, College of Sciences
- James C. Clark, College of Arts and Humanities
- John Sacher, College of Arts and Humanities; College of Undergraduate Studies
- Jonathan Beever, College of Arts and Humanities
- Julia Listengarten, College of Arts and Humanities
- Kimberly Voss, College of Sciences
- Lee E. Ross, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Luis Rabelo, College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Martha Garcia, College of Arts and Humanities
- Michael Strawser, College of Arts and Humanities
- Michele Gill, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Naim Kapucu, College of Community Innovation and Education
- Peggy L. Nuhn, UCF Libraries
- Rani Vajravelu, College of Sciences
- Robert Littlefield, College of Sciences
- Sara Duff, UCF Libraries
- Shannon K. Carter, College of Sciences
- Timothy Sellnow, College of Sciences
- Tina Herman Buck, UCF Libraries
- Anna Valdes, College of Health Professions and Sciences
- Bendegul Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
- Cheryl Briggs, College of Arts and Humanities
- Cynthia M. Kisby, UCF Libraries
- Enrique Guerra-Pujol, College of Business
- Eric Merriam, College of Community Innovation and Education; College of Sciences
- Jonathan Matusitz, College of Sciences
- Julie Feuerstein, College of Health Professions and Sciences
- Mindi Anderson, College of Nursing
- Mindy Shoss, College of Sciences
- Sarah Bush, College of Community Innovation and Education