January 24, 2025

The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health announces the recipients of the second Gillings Research Excellence Awards. Seven faculty members were awarded $500 to help each support their research, scholarship and professional development.

The purpose of the chair-nominated Gillings Research Excellence Awards is to recognize one early- to mid-career faculty member from each department who has demonstrated excellence, innovation and impact in their research pursuits.

The awardees are Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition; Noah Kittner, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering; H. Luz McNaughton Reyes, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Behavior; Shabbar Ranapurwala, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology; Naim Rashid, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics; Sean Sylvia, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management; and Christine Tucker, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health.


Anna Kahkoska

Dr. Anna Kahkoska

Dr. Anna Kahkoska

Kahkoska’s career goal is to leverage interdisciplinary research methodologies to both identify and fill evidence gaps and to guide best practices for diabetes care across the lifespan, with a focus on older adults and their unique needs. In addition to her role at the Gillings School — where she is also an alum — she an adjunct assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at UNC’s School of Medicine and an affiliate of the UNC Center for Aging and Health.

“Dr. Kahkoska currently has one of two Pathway to Stop Diabetes Awards from the American Diabetes Association, and she is running a precision medicine trial design to learn how to individualize virtual care options to optimize behavioral health for future patients,” says Raz Shaikh, PhD, professor and chair in the nutrition department. “Her network of collaborators expands across the  Chapel Hill campus and throughout UNC’s Health System. She has published 110 peer-reviewed papers, holds a leadership position in the International Geriatric Diabetes Society and is on the Editorial Board of Diabetes Care. She is making a significant impact in the field of diabetes management and is well recognized for her effort.”


Noah Kittner

Dr. Noah Kittner

Dr. Noah Kittner

Kittner focuses on the transition to clean energy systems. In service of enabling a more just and healthier society, he assesses emerging technologies for cost and sustainability, constructs energy system planning models, and evaluates the impacts of changing energy supply and demand in the United States and abroad.

“He also leads the Sustainable and Resilient Energy Group at UNC, with members from various disciplines. His research aims to rapidly decarbonize the economy and understand pathways to achieve this goal,” says Rebecca Fry, PhD, Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor in children’s environmental health and chair in the environmental sciences and engineering department. “He collaborates at UNC to examine climate change effects on energy infrastructure and health equity outcomes, and his passion for research on energy and the environment focuses on solving environmental and public health challenges.”


Luz McNaughton Reyes

Dr. Luz McNaughton Reyes

Dr. Luz McNaughton Reyes

Reyes’ research interests focus on understanding and informing efforts to prevent health risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults, with a particular focus on interpersonal violence prevention. Complementing her work is her expertise in developmental science and expert use of longitudinal and person-centered research methods. She has published nine book chapters and 98 peer reviewed papers.

“Dr. Reyes has been a highly motivated, productive and respected faculty member in our department since 2010. She continues to make important contributions to research, education and public health. and is a valued resource,” says Kurt Ribisl, PhD, Jo Anne Earp Distinguished Professor and chair in the health behavior department. “She has shown exceptional dedication to the department over the past year, teaching two high-level statistics and methods courses, mentoring three doctoral students and serving on nine dissertation committees. Currently, she is principal investigator on a new study that will inform the development of effective whole-school interventions to promote mental health among children in Tanzania and other low-to-middle-income countries.”


Shabbar Ranapurwala

Dr. Shabbar Ranapurwala

Dr. Shabbar Ranapurwala

Ranapurwala’s research generates real-world evidence for preventing drug overdoses, suicide deaths, firearm violence and intimate partner violence, while working toward achieving racial health equity through his research and practice endeavors. He uses large datasets to determine trends in key health outcomes, such as opioid and suicide deaths in the state of North Carolina and beyond, while also examining this data to develop tools and methods that better identify individuals at risk for such preventable outcomes and to evaluate policies aimed at supporting them.

“In the area of opioid overdose, Dr, Ranapurwala has been lead or co-investigator in a number of federally funded studies to address the epidemic. He recently completed a large multi-center effort to evaluate the acute and post-surgical pain-specific opioid prescribing limits in NC,” says Audrey Pettifor, PhD, professor and associate chair in the epidemiology department. “In another recent analysis. he found that formerly incarcerated people in North Carolina had approximately twice the overall suicide mortality of the general population for three years after release. His work is addressing some of the most pressing health challenges leading to preventable deaths.”


Naim Rashid

Dr. Naim Rashid

Dr. Naim Rashid

Rashid holds a joint appointment within UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his methodological work spans several areas in genomics and statistics. His work addresses problems facing basic science, translational and clinical researchers in cancer. In addition to his outstanding record of obtaining research funding, he also frequently publishes papers in top medical, cancer and statistical journals.

“Dr. Rashid is as an outstanding biostatistics researcher, collaborative scientist and faculty member who also has a strong commitment to teaching, mentoring and service,” says Michael Hudgens, PhD, professor and chair in the biostatistics department. “He was senior author on a recent paper that found Black patients with metastatic colorectal cancer have different gene mutations than white patients, and he was just awarded a two-year Department of Defense award to build an artificial intelligence tool that generates personalized clinical trial recommendations for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.”


Sean Sylvia                     

Dr. Sean Sylvia

Dr. Sean Sylvia

Sylvia’s research improves public health through three avenues: generating rigorous policy-relevant evidence, building capacity for research and practice, and implementing programs that directly impact the communities with which he works. His research leverages insights from economics and psychology to develop more efficacious and cost-effective health service delivery strategies in resource-limited settings. Most of his research has been conducted in middle-income countries where he has cultivated long-standing, fruitful partnerships.

“Over the past several years, Dr. Sylvia has focused his research agenda on digital health. For example, his research has included evaluating a program placing digital health kiosks in rural Chinese villages; conducting experiments with a large digital platform in India that mobilized volunteer health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic; and working with researchers at the University of Ghana to pilot a low-cost approach to disease surveillance using collective intelligence enabled by digital platforms,” says Kristin Reiter, PhD, Humana Distinguished Professor and chair in the health policy and management department. “ ”His research has supported the provision of services and resources to tens of thousands of families in underserved communities.”


Christine Tucker

Dr. Christine Tucker

Dr. Christine Tucker

Tucker’s research examines how equitable maternal and child health programs are, and she also focuses on innovative data linkages in perinatal health and health among Latino communities. In the past year, she was awarded a $5 million grant to evaluate education on urgent maternal warning signs in WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) clinics across the country.

“Another of her impactful roles has been as principal investigator of Improving Community Outcomes for Maternal and Child Health ,” says Alessandra Bazzano, PhD, professor and chair in the maternal and child health department. “This collective impact project involved local health departments implementing evidence-based strategies to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality.”


“Each of this year’s Research Excellence Awardees are truly deserving of this recognition,” says Alexia Kelley, PhD, assistant dean for research at the Gillings School. “Their innovative research is key to addressing critical public health needs locally and globally.”


Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.

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