2019 UIC Distinguished Professors

The UIC Distinguished Professorship recognizes scholarship, creativity and leadership. Faculty members are nominated by their peers and are selected by a committee that includes others who have received the honor.

This year’s distinguished professors are:

Guido Pauli, professor of pharmacognosy in the College of Pharmacy

Pauli’s research interests include the metabolomic analysis of natural health products and discovering anti-tuberculosis drugs. In 2015, he helped land a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for the UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research. As the director, he spearheads research that investigates botanical dietary supplements with a focus on women’s health. For the Institute for Tuberculosis Research, Pauli serves as the associate director and oversees the discovery of new anti-tuberculosis drugs. He received the UIC University Scholar award in 2014, holds three patents, including one for a potential anti-tuberculosis drug, and has over 210 publications.

Nava Segev, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics in the College of Medicine

Segev’s research encompasses the movement of important material throughout living cells. Her pioneering research established how Ypt1/Rab1, a founding member of a large protein family, plays a crucial role in moving material inside yeast and human cells, respectively. This work contributed to understanding diseases impaired in this trafficking system, such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Segev’s research has been funded by NIH for the past 24 years, and she received the UIC University Scholar award in 2016. She served as editor for two books that focus on moving material within cells and has organized the last two FASEB conferences on this issue.   

Zaijie (Jim) Wang, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy

Wang’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind chronic pain and drug addiction and discovering pharmacological treatments for them. In 2018, he received the prestigious Outstanding Investigator Award from NIH for $4.6 million to expand his research of chronic pain in patients with sickle cell disease. Wang is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, has received UIC’s University Scholar award in 2016, and was UIC’s Researcher of the Year in 2018.