Epidemiology student wins Doris Duke fellowship to promote children’s well-being

May 6, 2015

Jared Parrish

Jared Parrish, MS, epidemiology doctoral student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and research assistant at UNC’s Injury Prevention Research Center, has been awarded a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-being. Parrish will receive an annual $30,000 stipend for two years to support completion of his dissertation and related research.

Up to 15 such fellowships are awarded each year to doctoral students in social work, child development, public health, medicine, public policy, epidemiology and other disciplines who are “the next generation of leaders in the field of child development and maltreatment.”

Parrish’s dissertation addresses methodological aspects of creating a large-scale prospective birth cohort study addressing predictors of child abuse and neglect in Alaskan children. In addition to his studies at the Gillings School, he is senior scientist with the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Unit in Alaska’s Division of Public Health.

“Both Alaska’s Division of Public Health and the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center aim to apply rigorous and novel epidemiologic approaches to understanding child maltreatment,” Parrish said. “The Doris Duke Fellowship will help bridge the gap between academic research and applied implementation of research findings by helping me ensure that my research contributes to the development of practical policy that benefits the children and families of Alaska.”

“I love the concept behind this fellowship,” said Steve Marshall, PhD, epidemiology professor, director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and chair of Parrish’s dissertation committee. “As with any student award, this one provides financial support and an honor for one’s résumé, but this award also provides resources, training, mentoring and peer networking. These additional tools help students maximize the policy impact of their research.”

The University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall, a research and policy center focused on improving the well-being of children, families and their communities, administers the fellowship program.