The newest cohort of Presidential Scholars at the U are navigating frontiers in cyber law and artificial intelligence, plunging into the earth to understand the impact of humans on the environment, breaking language barriers in diabetes treatment, using mathematical equations to solve biological quandaries, and preventing heart disease and dementia. Recipients of this award are chosen for their leadership in their field and significant contribution to scholarship, education and outreach at the U.

“These scholars are among our best and brightest,” President Taylor Randall said. “Their work is critical to our efforts to inspire student success, innovate and generate discoveries and serve our state.”

The 2024 Presidential Scholars were nominated by the U’s deans and will receive $10,000 in funding, provided by an anonymous donor, each year for three years. The scholars are Matthew Tokson, associate professor in the S. J. Quinney College of Law; Tyler Faith, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Science; Michelle Litchman, associate professor in the College of Nursing; Sean Lawley, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Science; and Adam Bress, associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine.

“I am proud of these scholars and their dedication to tackling problems that affect all of us,” Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitzi Montoya said. “Their findings can help us build a brighter, healthier future.”

A new cohort of Presidential Scholars is selected every year as a means of retaining faculty who have strong scholarly recognitions, significant promise for continued achievement and are likely targets for outside recruitment.

“The Presidential Scholars embody the innovative spirit of the University of Utah,” said Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Michael Good. “Their work advances critical fields like public health, environmental sustainability, and digital privacy, while also making a tangible impact on society.”

Matthew Tokson

Matthew Tokson is one of the nation’s most prominent scholars in the field of criminal law and procedure and a renowned expert on the Fourth Amendment, which governs police searches and seizures. He is among the most cited and recognized professors at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. His work explores the realms of cyber law, Artificial Intelligence, and how centuries-old constitutional law can be applied to new technologies. As wire-tapping, GPS tracking and facial recognition software capabilities become more prolific, Tokson is exploring the boundaries of how the law can be applied to maintain the privacy of the public. “The point of the Fourth Amendment is to prevent the government from invading too much into our personal lives, and in modern times, from gathering too much of our personal information,” Tokson said. “We have the right to speak freely, but we also have a sphere of privacy where the government is not constantly moderating what you read or write because that has a chilling effect on your speech.”

Tyler Faith

Tyler Faith has always been fascinated with digging up fossils, but as a paleoecologist, rappelling into vertical caves to explore the relationship between climate change, terrestrial ecosystems and the impact of people is fairly new. He started dropping into Utah’s underworld in 2018, and now his home base is in South Africa, where the landscape is riddled with tiny holes that sometimes go nowhere, and sometimes turn into complex cave systems with insights into 7 million years of ecological history. “For me, it’s the most fun thing you can do,” Faith said. “I think that learning more about how we have affected biodiversity on our planet through time can help us conserve it and understand how to better manage it into the future.”

Michelle Litchman

Michelle Litchman’s research on diabetes, digital health and health disparities is rooted in a personal connection to what happens when health care systems fail their patients. With six deaf family members, she has seen first-hand how difficult it is for patients to receive treatment for diabetes when they are deaf. She is creating new possibilities for communication by developing signs related to diabetes that didn’t previously exist. For example, to communicate the difference between the insulin that the body makes to the insulin that one would inject into their body, you can now sign a shaking “I” handshape inside a “C” handshape, or shaking the “I”, then placing a wiggling middle finger into the palm of the other hand. Litchman collaborated with deaf individuals to create an American Sign Language glossary of 42 signs for diabetes terms, which are used in diabetes education interventions and ASL interpreter trainings. “I’m hoping that the work we do helps deaf people with diabetes understand how to manage their diabetes, helps facilitate patient-provider communication when ASL interpreters are used, and helps clinicians understand how important ASL interpreters are,” Litchman said.

Sean Lawley

To hear Sean Lawley talk about the power of math, you would think he was describing a magical tool that answers the unanswerable and predicts the future. To an extent, you’d be right. Lawley has published more than 70 papers, many with undergraduate mentees—in less than 10 years—about the power of probabilistic models and analysis to answer questions in physiology and medicine. He uses stochastic math to answer questions like, can a cryopreservation procedure delay menopause? If so, how much tissue and what age is needed to be most effective? What nutritional supplements can speed up arsenic detoxification of the body? What should you do if you miss a dose of a prescription medication? Through math, Lawley is able to answer questions that couldn’t be found in a lab or by any other means. “The equations become the laboratory from which you can explore and do experiments and solve some of these things,” Lawley said. “What I get really excited about and am passionate about is using mathematics to improve public health, to make an impact. I think mathematics is a very purposeful tool—a very big hammer.”

Adam Bress

Adam Bress is determined to improve the prevention of heart disease and dementia. As an avid long-distance runner, Bress’ dedication to this cause comes from his passion for preventative medicine. His pharmacological background informs his interest in using the right medication to hold high cholesterol and high blood pressure—the two biggest modifiable causes of heart disease and dementia—at bay. He mentors students and works with the American Heart Association to build awareness about the importance of early screening and aggressive intervention to help people live healthier, longer lives. “We’re excited to generate information to help patients, clinicians, governments and health systems develop policies to make better decisions about how to treat these two causative risk factors,” Bress said.