Recognition & Awards
Joshua Demb Selected as NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention 2026 Early Career Scientist
January 23, 2026 – The NCI announced Joshua Demb, PhD, as part of the 2026 cohort of the DCP Early Career Scientists, who demonstrate large promise in advacing cancer research.
Dr. Linda Lara-Jacobo honored for public engagement in environmental health studies
February 10, 2026 – Linda Lara-Jacobo, PhD, was awarded the 2026 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. "From an early age, I saw how deeply the border shapes people’s health, environment and opportunities,” Lara- Jacobo said. “Growing up, I learned to see the border not as a line that divides, but as a shared space where science has a responsibility to serve communities on both sides.”
10 CREATE scientists awarded Curebound Research Grants
December 10, 2025 – $2 million of grants were awarded to the following CREATE scientists: Drs. Andrew Lowy, Brent Rose, Corinne McDaniels-Davidson, Matthew Banegas, Joshua Demb, Linda Lara-Jacobo, Nicolas Lopez- Galvez, Sharon Choi, Humberto Parada, and Noe Crespo.
CREATE Investigator Linda Lara Jacobo Receives Outstanding Transborder Research & Creative Activity Award
December 6, 2024 – Linda Lara Jacobo, PhD, CREATE Early Stage Investigator and Pre-Pilot Awardee, was awarded SDSU’s Outstanding Transborder Research & Creative Activity Award for her transborder environmental health research. Dr. Lara Jacobo, who is based at SDSU’s Imperial Valley campus, is co-founder and co-director of the US-MEXICO Binational Border Research Laboratory, with locations in Imperial Valley and Mexicali.
CREATE Investigator Shiloh Williams Named 2025 NRHA Rural Health Fellow
December 5, 2024 – Shiloh Williams, PhD, MSN, RN, CREATE Early Stage Investigator and Pilot Research Project Co-Lead, has been selected as a 2025 Rural Health Fellow by the National Rural Health Association (NHRA). NRHA's Rural Health Fellows Leadership Program is a yearlong, intensive training program. The 2025 cohort of 18 fellows were selected through a competitive review process.
CREATE Core Investigator Dennis Trinidad Contributes to Surgeon General’s Report on Tobacco Disparities
November 15, 2024 – Dennis Trinidad, PhD, CREATE Outreach and Research Education Co-Investigator, is a Contributing Author to the newly-released Surgeon General’s Report: Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities. The report notes, that although cigarette smoking has declined overall in the U.S., significant disparities have persisted and even increased in smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.
Drs. Corinne McDaniels-Davidson and Parag Katira Awarded SDSU 2025 Presidential Research Fellows
October 22, 2024 – Corinne McDaniels-Davidson, PhD and Parag Katira, PhD, CREATE Investigators, were named Presidential Research Faculty Fellow, one of the highest research honors at SDSU. Presidential Fellows received $25,000 to further support their research. Dr. McDaniels-Davidson co-leads CREATE’s Outreach Core, and Dr. Katira co-leads a CREATE research project.
Joshua Demb Featured in New York Times
May 24, 2024 – Joshua Demb, PhD, CREATE Early Stage Investigator, Co-Lead Principal Investigator of the SDSU-UCSD Cancer Center Partnership, was featured in the New York Times, discussing how younger adults are missing early signs of colon cancer. Dr. Demb led a meta-analysis focused on early-onset colorectal cancer, published in JAMA Network Open.