Alumni Awards

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Alumni Awards Virtual Gala

We hope you can join us for a live, remote celebration to honor the 2020 Alumni Awardees and Delta Omega alumni initiates at the Alumni Awards Virtual Gala!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020
5:30-7 p.m. EDT

EVENT PROGRAM
5:30 p.m. Awardee social rooms (open to registrants)
6 p.m. Virtual Gala begins

  • Welcome from Interim Dean Everette James
  • Group alumni induction of 2020 Delta Omega Omicron Chapter
  • Presentation of 2020 Alumni Awards
    • Distinguished Alumni Award for Practice
    • Distinguished Alumni Award for Research
    • Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination
    • Margaret F. Glonginger Service Award
    • Early Career Excellence
  • Closing remarks

7 p.m. Virtual Gala concludes

Zoom links to the awardee social rooms and ceremony will be shared with registrants on November 18.

2020 Alumni Honorees


DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD FOR PRACTICE

  • Benjamin Acosta-Cazares, PhD (EPI '15)

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD FOR RESEARCH

  • Shumei S. Sun, PhD (BIOST '83)
  • Chongyi Wei, DrPH (BCHS, '09)

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD FOR TEACHING AND DISSEMINATION

  • Kathleen S. Knauer, MS (ENVH '92)
  • Leigha Senter-Jamieson, MS (GNCSLG '03)

THE MARGARET F. GLONINGER SERVICE AWARD

  • Wendy King, PhD (EPI '04)

EARLY CAREER EXCELLENCE AWARD

  • Emma Hosman, MPH (BCHS '17)
  • Brandie DePaoli Taylor, PhD, MPH (EPI '11 '07)

DELTA OMEGA ALUMNI INITIATES

  • Kayleigh Blaney, MPH, (EPI '14)
  • Victoria Dianne Crall, MPH, (EPI '13)
  • Natalie Suder Egnot, DrPH (EPI '17); MPH (IDM '14)
  • Kelley M. Kidwell, PhD, (BIOST '12)
  • Angela M. Malek, PhD, MPH (EPI '11 '06)
  • Nicholas V. Resciniti, MPH (IDM '16)
  • Amy R. Richards, MHA/MBA (HPM '02)
  • Alexander J. Sundermann, MPH (IDM '14)

Alumni Awards Questions?

Jennifer Sciullo
alumni coordinator
jennifer.alison@pitt.edu
412-641-0481

Read about our Awardees

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Acosta-Cazares: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Practice 

Acosta-Cazares: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Practice

"The application of the epidemiological method to everyday problems is something that pleases me and creates challenges for me. I enjoy my work because most of the time I have been involved in the analysis of morbidity and mortality data, in the research of health problems from the epidemiological ... (11/17/2020)
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Sun: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Research 

Sun: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Research

Shumei Sun is the W. Hans Carter Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has joint appointments in the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health at VCU. Her knowledge of the develop... (11/17/2020)
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Wei: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Research 

Wei: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Research

"I entered the doctoral program without an MPH and Pitt Public Health cultivated my deep appreciation for the field of public health, in particular its principle of social justice. I was fortunate enough to have some of the best advisors and mentors, who helped me establish a vision for my research... (11/17/2020)
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Knauer: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination 

Knauer: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination

"At Pitt Public Health, I gained a deep understanding of how environmental factors like water quality, air pollution and toxic chemicals impact human health. This knowledge has been invaluable in my career in journalism, as I am able to communicate environmental issues to the public in a way that i... (11/17/2020)
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Senter-Jamieson: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination 

Senter-Jamieson: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination

Leigha Senter is a licensed genetic counselor and associate professor at The Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute where she has specialized in cancer genetics risk assessment for 17 years. Senter has more than a decade of research experience with a primary foc... (11/17/2020)
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King: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service 

King: 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service

Since 2011, King and her family have raised over $65,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (CCF) as part of their annual fundraising campaign, the “Take Steps” walk. Although the in-person walk was replaced by an online event this past June, King and her daughter, Madeline, raised $8,533 with ... (11/17/2020)
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Hosman: 2020 Early Career Excellence Award 

Hosman: 2020 Early Career Excellence Award

Emma Hosman is Response Coordintor for the Philadelphia Department of Health's Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Program, working on the front lines of PA's largest city's COVID-19 emergency response. "This year has really shown that public health is adaptable...[COVID-19] is challenging ... (11/17/2020)
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Taylor: 2020 Early Career Excellence Award 

Taylor: 2020 Early Career Excellence Award

"Like anyone in academia, I wear a lot of hats with my job between teaching, research and administrative duties but I still get excited about writing papers and publishing my research. I have always enjoyed the writing process and without hesitation that is my favorite part of the job. The only thi... (11/17/2020)
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Blaney: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate  

Blaney: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

Kayleigh Blaney attended the University of Pittsburgh, graduating in 2013 with a BS in biology and history and in 2014 with a Master of Public Health in epidemiology. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health at the University of South Florida. After working with the University of Pitt... (11/17/2020)
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Crall: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Crall: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

"My favorite part of my current role is using my education to create a safer environment for staff and patients. During the COVID-19 crisis this has been a difficult task, but I couldn't be prouder of the way my fellow infection prevention team has come together to ensure the safety of all." (11/17/2020)
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Egnot: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Egnot: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

"I utilize all aspects of my Pitt Public Health training in my current position. As a consultant, I often work on multidisciplinary teams to solve clients’ unique problems related to human health risk management. I am grateful for the diversity of coursework, training, and other applied opportuniti... (11/17/2020)
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Kidwell: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Kidwell: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

Kelley Kidwell is an ssociate professor at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics. She earned her PhD in biostatistics at Pitt Public Health in 2012. It was in graduate school that she found her passion for clinical trial design and analysis by working on h... (11/17/2020)
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Malek: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Malek: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

Angela Malek is a research assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She earned her MPH and PhD degrees in epidemiology in 2006 and 2011, respectively, from Pitt Public Health. Malek is principal investigator of a K01 career develop... (11/17/2020)
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Resciniti: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Resciniti: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

Nicholas V. Resciniti received his MPH with a concentration in infectious disease management, intervention, and community practice from Pitt Public Health in 2016. Currently, he is pursing his PhD in epidemiology from the University of South Carolina, with his dissertation focusing on microbiome di... (11/17/2020)
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Richards: 2020 Delta Omega Initiates 

Richards: 2020 Delta Omega Initiates

"I am fortunate to truly enjoy my work, as I have come to realize that not everyone can honestly say the same. Two things excite me. First, I look for stories in healthcare data. I get to identify variation in clinical, operational, and financial performance at hospitals and dig deep into their dat... (11/17/2020)
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Sundermann: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate 

Sundermann: 2020 Delta Omega Initiate

Alexander Sundermann is a clinical research coordinator and a DrPH student in epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. As a doctoral student and clinical research coordinator, Sundermann works in the Microbial Genomic Epidemiology Laboratory (MiGEL). He and the MiGEL team are working with experts at the... (11/17/2020)
View all past alumni award winners