Bruce M. Selya Award for Excellence in Research

The Brown University Health Board of Directors instituted the Bruce M. Selya Award for Excellence in Research in 1999 to honor Bruce Selya, who was chair of the Brown University Health Board of Directors from the creation of Brown University Health in 1994 until 1999, and senior United States circuit judge on the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals.

The award singles out those who demonstrate a “steadfast commitment to academic medicine and keen insight concerning the importance of academic programs to quality health care at Brown University Health.”

The award is intended to recognize a rising star in research, an independent investigator who has demonstrated excellence through a record of high-quality peer-reviewed publication and ability to attract research funding.

Bruce Selya Awardee for 2025

Sean Monaghan, MD, is a board-certified surgeon affiliated with Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, an assistant professor of surgery at Brown University and a member of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care and the Division of Surgical Research.

Dr. Monaghan’s research focuses on improving the care of sepsis patients with RNA sequencing data. It attempts to understand the biology of RNA splicing in critically ill trauma and surgical patients using acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a model disease.

As part of Brown University Health’s 32nd Annual Research Day on November 7, 2025, Dr. Monaghan will deliver a presentation titled, “Sepsis and Innovation.”

Past Awardees

2000: Bernadine Pinto, PhD, Department of Psychiatry

2001: Eduardo Nillni, PhD, Department of Medicine

2002: Peter Friedmann, MD, Department of Medicine

2003: Susan Cu-Uvin, MD, Departments of Medicine & Obstetrics and Gynecology

2003: Joseph Crisco III, PhD, Department of Orthopedics

2004: Gregory Jay, MD, PhD, Department of Emergency Medicine

2005: Braden Fleming, PhD, Department of Orthopedics

2006: Bharat Ramratnam, MD, Department of Medicine

2007: Laura Stroud, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

2008: Roland Merchant, MD, MPH, ScD, Department of Emergency Medicine

2009: Jeanne McCaffery, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, And Human Behavior

2010: Haiyan Xu, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine

2011: Jonathan Kurtis, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology

2012: Jennifer Friedman, MD, MPH, PhD, Department of Pediatrics

2013: Lori Scott-Sheldon, PhD, Department of Psychiatry

2014: Rami Kantor, MD, Department of Medicine

2015: Ghada Bourjeily, MD, Department of Medicine

2016: Jennifer Sanders, PhD, Department of Pediatrics

2017: Phillip Chan, MD, MS, Department of Medicine

2018: Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, Department of Emergency Medicine

2019: Lindsay Orchowski, PhD, Department of Psychiatry

2020: Nikos Tapinos, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery

2021: Stephanie Goldstein, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

2022: Tracy E. Madsen, MD, PhD, FACEP, FAHA, Department of Emergency Medicine

2023: Kirsten Langdon, PhD , Department of Psychiatry

2024: Justin Berk, MD, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics