Sonia selected to present at APHA poster session

Michelle Sonia

Michelle Sonia, 2009 graduate of the Master of Science in Public Health program in health policy and management, will present her research on early detection of breast cancer at the 137th annual American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting, Nov. 7-11, in Philadelphia, Pa. She is one of 19 students from across the U.S. selected for the honor by The Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

The APHA poster session, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, will showcase scholarship and research of students in accredited schools and programs of public health.

The School’s Office of Research partnered with Delta Omega to nominate four students from the organization’s Theta Chapter, of which UNC is a member, to compete at the national level. Other nominees from UNC include Mejs Hasan (environmental sciences and engineering), Lucia Leone (nutrition) and Regina Rutledge (maternal and child health).

Delta Omega works with the chosen students to submit abstracts, and if their research is selected, contributes to the cost of attending and presenting at the APHA conference.

“Students at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have remarkable opportunities to be part of groundbreaking research, both locally and globally,” says Christin Minter, director of the School’s Office of Research. “It’s important that our students are recognized for this work and have the chance to disseminate their discoveries. We are pleased to host our annual research exhibition as a springboard for presenting their research at the national level.”

Sonia’s research project is titled “The Cost-Effectiveness of Testing High-Risk Women for Mutations in the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 Genes: Does Early Detection Lead to Better Health and Economic Outcomes?”

Read more online about Delta Omega.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.