Two Touro Nevada Faculty Members Honored with Prestigious TCUS Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence
Two of Touro University Nevada’s faculty were honored for their exceptional work with the Touro College and University System Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence.
The Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence is typically reserved for a handful of faculty members from across the Touro University System. Dr. Aurelio Lorico, Professor in the Department of Basic Sciences, and Dr. Rebecca Edgeworth, Assistant Professor in the School of Physician Assistant Studies, were each presented with the prestigious award.
“The Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence is presented to a select few faculty across the entire Touro system. Receiving the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence is a distinguished honor, and I could not be more proud of Dr. Lorico and Dr. Edgeworth for their accomplishments,” said Dr. Andrew Priest, Campus President and Provost, Touro University Nevada.
Dr. Lorico received his award in the Excellence in Scholarship/Research category. In 2021, he helped the university secure its first grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), a $275,000 grant to help pursue more effective forms of cancer treatment.
“I see this award as recognition of the work that my team has carried out at TUN for the past four years,” he said. “Our efforts have been facilitated by the illuminated approach of our administrative leadership. This has allowed the expansion of basic and translational research and the development of international collaborations. Working together, we have discovered new pathogenetic mechanisms for cancer and viral diseases that have resulted in the synthesis of drugs with activity against cancer metastasis, AIDS, and potentially other viral diseases.”
Dr. Edgeworth received her award in the Excellence in Service category. Since joining the School of Physician Assistant Studies as a full-time faculty member in 2019, Dr. Edgeworth has been instrumental in expanding the university’s partnerships for the mobile healthcare clinic.
Dr. Edgeworth was also one of the first faculty members assisting students on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to her leadership, Touro students have administered more than 11,000 COVID-19 vaccines across the Las Vegas Valley.
In addition to being honored with the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence, Dr. Edgeworth was also recently honored with an award for her work with Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, which provides care to uninsured and underinsured members of the community.
“I’m honored to be recognized by TCUS for the work I do in the community. It has been my pleasure to connect my two passions, clinical teaching and community outreach,” she said. “I feel our clinical students benefit immensely by working with underserved and vulnerable patient populations in our community. The experiences the students engage in help to shape the compassionate and effective providers they will become, but also connect them to our Las Vegas community, which is in desperate need of more skilled health professionals. Touro University Nevada has always had a strong commitment to helping our community, and I’m extremely proud of the work we do.”
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