The College of Science is pleased to celebrate Dr. Calvin Henard, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, as the recipient of UNT's 2026 Early Career Award for Research & Creativity! This award honors a faculty member within their first ten years of a full‐time appointment whose research accomplishments and/or creative endeavors have been outstanding.

 

“I am honored to receive this award and would like to thank my colleagues and the awards committee for bestowing me with such an accolade,” said Dr. Henard, who has been at UNT since 2019. “This would not have been possible without the hard-working team of amazing researchers I have the privilege to interact with in the laboratory. Thank you Jessica, Spencer, Yao-Chuan, and Daniel for being inquisitive scientists and your contributions to the lab's discoveries.”

 

Dr. Henard received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Colorado, where his doctoral research studied the role of the nutrient starvation stringent response in Salmonella's ability to co-opt and subvert host immune responses. 

His current research, supported by funding from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, focuses on understanding and improving how a unique group of bacteria (methanotrophs) consume methane. His lab in the UNT BioDiscovery Institute leverages advanced molecular and synthetic biology to develop biotechnologies.

 

As an educator, Dr. Henard strives to provide his students with the tools necessary to acquire knowledge independently and apply ideas to new situations.

 

“Biology can easily become daunting for students with the extreme breadth of information required to master the subject,” he said. “In my courses, I break down this misconception by incorporating critical thinking skills that benefit the students not only in science, but also in other courses and outside of academia.”

 

Last year, Dr. Henard was honored with an NSF CAREER Award, which included a grant of more than $800,000 in support of his work. Part of the funding was used to create a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), one of the first programs of its kind at UNT, that provides students with the unique opportunity to study both biology and engineering to gain interdisciplinary experience.

 

“Playing a part in my trainees' and students' development as budding scientists in the lab and in the classroom is the most rewarding part of my job as a researcher and educator,” said Dr. Henard.