The annual Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement have been awarded to five promising faculty members who exemplify groundbreaking and innovative research.
Carolina alumnus Phillip Hettleman (1921) and his wife Ruth established their prestigious named award in 1986 to recognize the achievements of outstanding junior faculty. The recipients of the $8,000 prize will be recognized at an upcoming Faculty Council Meeting. They will also deliver a presentation on their research during UNC Research Week, happening October 19-23.
“The most consequential investments in science are made before the outcomes are certain, when the questions are hardest and the potential is greatest. As the future of the research enterprise, early-career faculty exemplify this potential,” said Penny Gordon-Larsen, Vice Chancellor for Research. “This year’s Hettleman Prize recipients are pursuing the questions that will shape scientific understanding and human health for decades, from how planets form in young solar systems to how RNA regulates gene expression to how communities adapt to extreme weather. Carolina’s commitment to recognizing and supporting our emerging talent reflects our passion for discovery.”
This year’s Hettleman Prize awardees are: Carmina Valle, Gillings School of Global Public Health; Daniel Dominguez, School of Medicine; Andrew Mann, College of Arts and Sciences; Miyuki Hino, College of Arts and Sciences and Carolina Population Center; and Andrea Knittel, School of Medicine. Read below to learn about their research.
Carmina Valle, Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Research: Carmina Valle, a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, brings together behavioral science, health communication, and technology to design programs that help individuals adopt healthier habits before and after cancer treatment. Across her studies, she aims to create scalable, data-driven interventions that leverage wearable and mobile technologies to reach large populations while remaining personalized and responsive.
Valle was among the first researchers to test social media-based interventions for cancer survivors, demonstrating how platforms like Facebook could be used to promote physical activity and social support in young adult cancer survivors. Building on this early work, she has led large-scale clinical trials using mobile health technologies to deliver personalized interventions. Her research also explores emerging approaches that use algorithms and AI to deliver tailored health messages at the moments they are most likely to be effective.
Impact: Valle’s work is advancing cancer prevention and survivorship care by demonstrating how digital tools can deliver scalable and cost-efficient health interventions. Her research has shaped effective practices for using social media, mobile health technologies, and personalized messaging to improve health behaviors, reduce cancer risk, and enhance quality of life among cancer survivors. By translating behavioral science into practical, widely deployable solutions, her work is helping address major public health challenges and expanding access to impactful interventions across populations.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Hettleman Award,” Valle said. “This recognition reflects the extraordinary mentors and faculty with whom I have had the privilege of collaborating, the dedication and contributions of staff and students, and the generosity of cancer survivors who partner with us in research and inspire this work. I am truly grateful for the supportive community at Gillings, Lineberger, and UNC, which fosters collaboration and innovation and enables us to develop impactful, scalable solutions to improve health and well-being.”
Daniel Dominguez, Pharmacology, School of Medicine
Research: Daniel Dominguez’s research challenges long-standing assumptions about how genetic information functions in cells by focusing on the overlooked regulatory role of RNA. Rather than serving as a simple intermediary between DNA and proteins, RNA plays an active and complex role in controlling when and how genes are expressed. Dominguez studies RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), which interpret and interact with RNA, enabling cells to produce different proteins from a single gene and finely tune biological processes.
To better understand this system, Dominguez has developed approaches to systematically map how RBPs recognize and bind to RNA. His work has effectively generated a “codebook” for this molecular interaction, revealing patterns that govern gene regulation across the genome. By combining biochemical experiments, computational modeling, and studies in living systems, his research has uncovered how disruptions in RNA-protein interactions contribute to diseases like cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders, while also illuminating how these regulatory systems evolve over time.
Impact: Dominguez’s work is reshaping the field of RNA biology by providing foundational tools and concepts for decoding RNA regulation and its role in health and disease. His discoveries are widely used by other researchers to interpret disease-causing mutations and understand molecular mechanisms underlying conditions like cancer. By uncovering how RNA regulation can go wrong, his research is opening new avenues for therapeutic development and advancing a deeper understanding of fundamental biological processes.
“I am honored to receive this award, as it reflects the dedicated efforts of the students and postdocs in my group,” Dominguez said. “Their willingness to tackle difficult and complex questions and to develop innovative methods for deciphering the underlying biology has been the driving force behind our work. This recognition is also a testament to the nurturing and collaborative environment within the Department of Pharmacology and at UNC. Doing science here is fun, exciting, and motivating. Much remains to be discovered in the field of RNA biology, and I wholeheartedly believe that the most exciting discoveries still lie ahead.”
Andrew Mann, Physics and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences
Research: Andrew Mann studies how planets form and evolve in young solar systems, helping answer fundamental questions about how worlds like Earth come to be. Because planets are typically detected indirectly through their effects on the stars they orbit, much of Mann’s work begins with understanding those stars themselves. His research has helped establish widely used methods for determining the properties of low-mass stars, which are prime targets in the search for habitable planets beyond our solar system.
More recently, Mann has focused on determining the ages of stars — one of the most difficult and important challenges in studying planetary evolution. His team has made major discoveries about early planetary development, identifying some of the youngest known exoplanets and uncovering large-scale stellar structures near the Sun. His work also leverages cutting-edge observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope, to study young planetary atmospheres and trace how planets move and change over time.
Impact: Mann’s research is helping define one of the most exciting frontiers in astrophysics: understanding how planetary systems, including those that could support life, form and evolve. His discoveries have significantly expanded the known population of young exoplanets and provided critical data for next-generation space missions searching for habitable worlds. By developing tools that have been widely adopted by others in the field, and by making high-impact discoveries used by astronomers worldwide, Mann and his team are shaping the direction of exoplanet science for years to come.
“We live in a remarkable time in astronomy, as we now have the tools to catch planets in the act of forming,” Mann said. “Receiving this award highlights the growing interest in studying the origin of planets like our own. Beyond that, it reflects the work of a truly exceptional team of students and collaborators without whom none of this would be possible.”
Miyuki Hino, City and Regional Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, Carolina Population Center
Research: Miyuki Hino studies how communities experience and respond to environmental change, with a particular focus on hazards like coastal flooding, extreme heat, and wildfire. Her work connects the physical science of climate hazards with the economic, social, and policy systems that shape how those risks are distributed. Drawing on methods from geospatial analysis, economics, and environmental science, she examines how climate risks influence housing markets, migration patterns, and land-use decisions.
A major contribution of Hino’s research is her reframing of climate hazards from rare disasters to chronic, recurring events that gradually reshape communities over time. To study these patterns, she integrates diverse datasets — from environmental sensors and satellite imagery to property records and demographic data — to measure climate exposure with new precision. One revelation from her work is that “sunny day” flooding occurs more frequently than previously recognized, and that newly available climate risk information can influence property values and decision-making in housing markets.
Impact: Hino’s research is transforming how policymakers, planners, and researchers understand climate adaptation by highlighting the cumulative effects of everyday environmental stressors and the social systems that shape vulnerability. Her findings have informed national and state-level policy discussions, contributed to the U.S. National Climate Assessment, and reached broad public audiences through major media outlets. By providing actionable evidence on how climate risks unfold and how communities respond, her work is helping guide more effective and fair climate resilience strategies.
“Receiving this award is an enormous honor and a wonderful reflection of the dedication and creativity of my students, mentors, and collaborators,” Hino said. “We look forward to continuing our work to help more communities thrive in the face of climate threats.”
Andrea Knittel, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
Research: Andrea Knittel focuses on understanding and addressing the obstetric and gynecologic health of pregnant and postpartum individuals residing in carceral settings. Combining clinical insight with methodological innovation, she studies issues such as opioid use disorder during pregnancy, access to reproductive care, and the broader health consequences of incarceration.
Because traditional health data systems often overlook incarcerated populations, Knittel has developed creative approaches to generate new evidence. She has conducted detailed analyses of medical records to more accurately assess conditions like perinatal opioid use disorder, using qualitative interviews to understand patient perspectives. Her work also explores how clinical observations can lead to new research directions, such as examining the links between substance use, menopause, and reproductive health, and investigating alternatives to incarceration for pregnant individuals.
Impact: Knittel’s research is reshaping both scientific understanding and clinical practice by bringing attention to a historically understudied population and developing evidence-based approaches to improve care. Her findings have influenced how data on reproductive health in carceral settings are interpreted and have informed innovative interventions that prioritize treatment over incarceration. By integrating research, clinical care, and policy innovation, her work has the potential to improve health outcomes for individuals and their families while driving system-level changes in health and justice systems.
“Receiving this recognition is such a tremendous honor and would have been impossible without the ingenuity and insights that my patients and research participants share with me regularly as well as the wonderful collaboration, mentorship, and learning relationships I have at UNC,” Knittel said. “We cannot change what we don’t see, or don’t measure, and I look forward to continuing the work of my team shining light into an often quite dark space.”