Awards and recognitions (Fall, 2010)
November 29, 2010
Visit our longer list of recognitions
FACULTY
Dr. Mark Sobsey
Sobsey invited to NASA’s first LAUNCH event
Mark Sobsey, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of environmental sciences and engineering, was one of 10 innovators chosen to participate in NASA’s inaugural LAUNCH event, held March 16-18, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Sobsey presented his proposal for simple, accessible and affordable tests to assess water quality and safety.
Dr. Pranab Sen
Sen selected for prestigious Wilks Medal
Pranab K. Sen, PhD, Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of biostatistics, was selected as the 2010 recipient of the American Statistical Association’s S.S. Wilks Medal, one of the most prestigious awards in the field. His research, published over the course of 50 years, has influenced generations of statisticians. Sen, a member of the UNC biostatistics faculty since 1967, is the first from the department to receive the medal.
Gillings Innovation Labs awarded
The School funded four new Gillings Innovation Laboratories last spring.Awardees, all assistant professors, include:
- Eric Donaldson, PhD, epidemiology;
- Rebecca Fry, PhD, environmental sciences and engineering;
- Suzanne Maman, PhD, health behavior and health education; and
- Jill Stewart, PhD, environmental sciences and engineering.
Read more about the Gillings Innovation Lab Awards.
Susan Randolph
Randolph reappointed to national board
Susan Randolph, MSN, RN, was reappointed to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). Randolph is clinical assistant professor in the Public Health Leadership Program.
Dr. James Swenberg (left), Dr. Mike Aitken (photo by Tom Fuldner)
Swenberg honored with Greenberg Award
James A. Swenberg, DVM, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of environmental sciences and engineering, received the School’s Bernard G. Greenberg Alumni Endowment Award for excellence in teaching, research and service. Director of the UNC Curriculum in Toxicology, Swenberg studies the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, with an emphasis on the role of DNA damage and repair. He has mentored more than 40 graduate students during his two decades at UNC. The award was presented at the School’s 2010 Foard Lecture in April.
Dr. Lisa LaVange
LaVange reappointed to health commission
Lisa M. LaVange, PhD, was reappointed to the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission. LaVange is Professor of the Practice of biostatistics and director of the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center. The commission works to improve North Carolinians’ health by establishing partnerships to address access, prevention, education and research issues.
Dr. Amy Herring
Dr. John Preisser
Dr. Halbo Zhou
Herring, Preisser, Zhou elected as ASA fellows
Three UNC biostatistics faculty members have been elected as fellows of the American Statistical Association. They are Amy Herring, ScD, associate professor; John Preisser Jr., PhD, research professor; and Haibo Zhou, PhD, professor.
Dr. Barry Popkin
Popkin awarded honor by Britain’s Nutrition Society
Barry Popkin, PhD, Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition, is the 2010 recipient of the United Kingdom Nutrition Society’s Rank Prize, the society’s highest honor. He accepted the award in June 2010 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Popkin’s Nutrition Society Lecture was titled, “Contemporary Nutritional Transition: Determinants of Diet and its Impact on Body Composition.”
Dr. William Zelman
Zelman, Herring honored for teaching, mentoring
Two prestigious faculty awards were presented at the School’s 70th commencement ceremony last spring. William Zelman, PhD, professor of health policy and management, received the John E. Larsh Jr. Award for Mentorship, and Amy Herring, ScD, associate professor of biostatistics, received the McGavran Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Bill Gentry
Gentry awarded Moldova medal
Bill Gentry, lecturer in health policy and management and director of the Community Preparedness and Disaster Management program, received Moldova’s “Honorary Rescuer” medal in May 2010. Gentry has a long history of emergency preparedness and response efforts in the country.
Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen
Gordon-Larsen receives Obesity Society award
Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, associate professor of nutrition, has won The Obesity Society’s 2010 Lilly Scientific Achievement Award. Gordon-Larsen accepted the award, funded by the Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Co., at the Society’s October conference in San Diego.
Dr. Herbert Peterson
Peterson awarded prestigious Allan Rosenfield Award
Herbert B. Peterson, MD, Kenan Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Maternal and Child Health, received the 2010 Allan Rosenfield Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Family Planning. The award is presented annually by the Society of Family Planning (SFP).Peterson, also professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine, is known internationally for his work in women’s reproductive health, epidemiology, health policy and evidence-based decision-making.
Dr. Carolyn Halpern
Halpern honored for leadership, teaching
Carolyn Halpern, PhD, associate professor of maternal and child health, received the national Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health’s 2010 Loretta P. Lacey Maternal and Child Health Academic Leadership Award.
STAFF
Dr. Dorothy Cilenti
Cilenti leads NC Healthy Start, receives women’s health award
Dorothy Cilenti, DrPH, deputy director of the School’s N.C. Institute for Public Health, was appointed chair of the N.C. Healthy Start Foundation’s board of directors in July. She has served on the Healthy Start board since 2007.
Cilenti also received a $305,000 grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The project, Women’s Integrated Systems for Health (WISH) Distance Learning Initiative, will address the need to better integrate public health and mental health systems to improve women’s health.
Dr. Rachel Stevens
Stevens honored for local health efforts
Rachel Stevens, EdD, RN, received the 2010 President’s Award from the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) in August in recognition of her service. Stevens was deputy director of the School’s N.C. Institute for Public Health and clinical instructor of public health nursing before retiring in 2003.
Chris Perry
Perry receives Staff Excellence Award
Chris Perry, assistant director of School communications, was selected for the School’s 2010 Staff Excellence Award, which acknowledges excellent attitude, leadership and initiative. Perry is credited with “beyond-the-call” efforts on the School’s website content, including a recent major redesign of the site.
STUDENTS
Maiysha D. Jones
Public health students recognized for work benefiting North Carolina
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health students won four of 16 Impact Awards, presented by UNC’s Graduate School in spring 2010 to recognize student research that benefits North Carolina citizens. The awards, sponsored by the Graduate Education Advancement Board, were given to:
- Jennifer Gierisch, PhD, health behavior and health education alumna;
- Maiysha D. Jones, environmental sciences and engineering doctoral student;
- Kathryn Remmes Martin, PhD, health behavior and health education alumna; and
- Stephen Richardson, environmental sciences and engineering doctoral student.
Natalie The
Stephen Richardson
Two inaugural Gillings Dissertation Awards presented
Stephen Richardson (environmental sciences and engineering) and Natalie The (nutrition) received Gillings Awards in spring 2010 for their research, respectively, on solutions to soil contamination and the associations among weight, diabetes and physical activity across race and ethnicity in the United States.
Three students win Fulbright awards
Jacqueline S. Knee, MSPH, and Bachelor of Science in Public Health alumnae Melissa Asmar and Erin Shigekawa were selected to receive Fulbright public health scholarships. Knee is examining sanitary conditions of stored rainwater in Thailand; Asmar conducts research on nutritional changes in the national diet in Germany; and Shigekawa studies chronic kidney disease in Taiwan.
ALUMNI
Brostrom selected for Barr Award
Richard Brostrom, MD, MSPH, received the 2010 Harriet Hylton Barr Distinguished Alumnus Award for his achievements and contributions to the field of public health. Brostrom, medical director of the Division of Public Health for the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is also medical director of the commonwealth’s programs in tuberculosis control, public health bioterrorism preparedness and tobacco control. His award was announced at the School’s 2010 Foard Lecture.
Carolina Public Health is a publication of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. To view previous issues, please visit www.sph.unc.edu/cph.
Last updated December 20, 2010
