Twelve receive Gillings Merit Scholarships
| September 10, 2012 | |||||||||||||
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Twelve students at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have been designated as 2012-2013 Gillings Merit Scholars. The scholarships, established in 2010 to help the School recruit graduate students with exceptional promise and potential, are made possible through a $50 million gift to the School from Dennis Gillings and Joan Gillings.
This year’s awardees include Erika Helgeson (biostatistics); Julia Naman (environmental sciences and engineering); Eboneé Butler (epidemiology); Maria Priscilla Brietzke and Rachel Clad (health behavior); Daniel Douthit, Meredith Webb and Lei Zhou (health policy and management); Shane Khan (maternal and child health); Gina Tripicchio (nutrition); and Heidi Harkins and Virginia Moye (Public Health Leadership Program).
Khan says he was “thrilled to be wooed by a school with such a fine reputation, both globally and domestically” and was excited to hear about the Gillings Merit Scholarship award.”Public health draws together a host of disciplines to understand and examine the myriad of issues facing the world’s population,” Khan said. “These issues are complex and intertwined, requiring technical skill and knowledge to better understand them. During my studies, I want to expand the range of analytical tools and approaches that I use to answer the more complex and fundamental questions in my areas of interest.”
Khan aims to use research as a key tool “to make a significant, positive and lasting difference in the lives of women and children, who are often at the center of development activities.” Butler said she was honored to receive the Gillings Merit Scholarship and eager to contribute to UNC and the public health community. “During my time at UNC, I plan to explore health care services received by women with basal-like breast cancers, which currently have no targeted treatments,” Butler said. “I am also interested in understanding the etiology of these cancers and exploring biomarkers that may potentially serve as therapeutic targets.””The Gillings Scholars have diverse and impressive interests and backgrounds,” said Julie MacMillan, MPH, director of Research and Innovation Solutions, the office that administers the scholarships. “It is easy to see why the admissions committees had such confidence in these students’ ability to contribute to the School. We hope they love being Tar Heels.”
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Linda Kastleman, communications editor, (919) 966-8317 or linda_kastleman@unc.edu.
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