Dr. Lee and Dr. Lukesh Awarded 2025 Award for Excellence in Research
The 2025 Award for Excellence in Research goes to two spectacular faculty members: Assistant Professor of English Dr. Derek Lee and Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. John Lukesh.
Dr. Derek Lee
Assistant Professor of English
Since joining Wake Forest in 2020, Dr. Lee has become one of our most accomplished junior faculty members. Dr. Lee’s scholarly contributions demonstrate intellectual rigor, originality, and breadth, significantly impacting multiple fields including science and technology studies, speculative fiction, Asian American literature, and comics studies.
His exceptional commitment to humanities scholarship is evident in his impressive and consistent publishing schedule, with at least one peer-reviewed article published annually in the past five years. His first book, Parascientific Revolutions: The Science and Culture of the Paranormal, forthcoming with the University of Minnesota Press, introduces his concept of “parascience” — ideas disregarded by mainstream science but explored in literature. His second monograph project, Dis-Orienting Comics: Superheroes, Mega-Villains, and Asian America, examines Asian American representation in U.S. comics from the 1930s to the present day, analyzing how graphic narratives have shaped cultural perceptions and stereotypes.
Dr. John Lukesh
Associate Professor of Chemistry
The 2025 Faculty Excellence in Research Award is also awarded to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. John Lukesh. Since joining Wake Forest in 2017 and achieving tenure in 2023, Dr. Lukesh has established a strong and novel research program studying the chemical biology of reactive sulfur and selenium species, particularly hydrogen sulfide, and their roles in normal physiology and disease. His work focuses on potential therapies for cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases.
As Chairman of the Graduate Committee, Dr. Lukesh has been instrumental in developing new lecture and laboratory courses for the medicinal chemistry concentration at Wake Downtown, and he has built a thriving research group, successfully graduating four Ph.D. students with strong publication records.
Dr. Lukesh’s own research productivity is exceptional, with 13 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters published in leading journals. Quite impressively, he has been granted three patents, with one already licensed, and his research has garnered significant external funding, including a prestigious NSF CAREER award ($625,000) and, most notably, Wake Forest’s first Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award, providing more than $1.8M over five years.
