Faculty of the Year
Fellow, Capstone Supervisor, and Instructor of the Year
Fellow of the Year
2025- 2026
Nakia Hunter, M.D.
Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
College of Medicine
Honors Faculty Fellows are individually assigned to provide personalized advising and mentoring to students. Each year, Honors College students nominate Fellows to be honored as “Fellow of the Year” for excellence in mentoring.
We are pleased to award the 2025-2026 title to Dr. Nakia Hunter, Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology in the College of Medicine, Assistant Division Chief of Obstetric Anesthesia and the Director of the Obstetric Anesthesia Fellowship Program at UI Health.
Nakia Hunter, M.D., has served as a Faculty Fellow since 2024. A board-certified anesthesiologist specializing in obstetric anesthesia, Dr. Hunter’s professional interests include simulation-based education for residents, perinatal quality improvement, and advancing maternal health equity. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine in 2014, then completed her anesthesiology residency at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Hunter then completed a fellowship in obstetric anesthesia at Prentice Women’s Hospital at Northwestern Medical Center. She has previously served as the Director of Obstetric Anesthesiology at two hospitals in metropolitan Illinois. Currently, Dr. Hunter practices at the University of Illinois Chicago (UI Health), where she is the Assistant Division Chief of Obstetric Anesthesia and the Director of the Obstetric Anesthesia Fellowship Program.
In nominating Dr. Hunter, Honors student Nikol Stoyanova Tsirkova, wrote, “In my time with her she has always included me . . . , no matter how chaotic the day gets. Dr. Hunter always finds the time to check in with me and provides me with various future opportunities like getting involved in her research or going to anesthesia conferences. Dr. Nakia Hunter should be recognized as Fellow of the Year because she is a wonderful educator, caring physician, and a fantastic person overall.”
Capstone Supervisor of the Year
2025-2026
Dr. Kamran Avanaki
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, The Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering
College of Engineering
The Capstone Supervisor of the Year award is given annually to a faculty member for their outstanding mentorship of Honors College students’ Senior Honors Capstone projects.
This year’s Capstone Supervisor of the Year is Dr Kamran Avanaki, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering. Dr. Avanaki has supervised many Honors students in undergraduate research and has served as a Faculty Fellow since 2021.
Kamran Avanaki, PhD, is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Avanaki directs the Optical & Photoacoustic Imaging Research and Analysis (OPIRA) Lab, where his group develops and translates advanced imaging systems and computational methods for applications in skin imaging, melanoma, hidradenitis suppurativa, and neonatal brain imaging. He has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals. He has received several honors for both research and teaching, including the UIC Faculty Rising Star Award (2023), UIC College of Engineering Teaching Award (2024), and UIC Teaching Recognition Program Award (2025). At Wayne State University, he received the Outstanding Faculty Award (2016, 2017, and 2019), the Research Excellence Award (2019), the Excellence in Teaching Award (2019), and the Academy of Scholars Award (2020).
The students who nominated Dr. Avanaki noted his care in their growth as students and researchers. “What makes Dr. Avanaki truly exceptional,” wrote Katelyn Lee, “is how deeply he cares about his students,” and helps them, “think through scientific questions, handle setbacks, analyze results carefully, and communicate research clearly.” Another student, Saanvi Sethi, noted, “his mentorship transformed both my project and my growth as a researcher. He combines scientific rigor with exceptional generosity, and throughout my Capstone he consistently made me feel that my ideas mattered, my progress mattered, and my success mattered.”
Instructor of the Year
2025-2026
Professor Todd Sherfinski
Lecturer, Department of English
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The Instructor of the Year award is given annually to one of the many faculty members who teach our first-year Honors Core courses as well as our Honors Seminars for upperclassmen. This year’s Instructor of the Year is Dr. Todd Sherfinski.
Professor Todd Sherfinski has taught composition and literature courses at UIC for the past 25 years. His Honors Course, HON 121 Reading is Believing: Examining the Role of Faith in Fiction, uses a variety of literary works and films to engage students in conversations about what we mean by faith; how faith impacts the lives of individuals and communities; and how understanding others’ faith and beliefs can help us understand our own.
In their nomination, Aditya Thakkar describes the class as engaging, lively and thought-provoking. They write, “Professor Sherfinski made sure each student felt heard and respected. He guided our discussions and small group conversations in a way that kept us focused and open-minded, and his feedback was encouraging and thoughtful. Overall, he showed great interest in making sure that we were learning and growing. His passion for the subject was also what made class memorable.”