Miranda Aman, MPH, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Bernard D. Goldstein Student Award in Environmental Health Disparities and Public Health Practice.
A doctoral student in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Pitt Public Health, Aman focuses her research on asthma and indoor air quality.
Working alongside Nesta Bortey-Sam, PhD, associate professor of environmental and occupational health, and Tina Ndoh, PhD, associate professor of environmental and occupational health and associate dean for public health practice, Aman is exploring precision public health through a household lens rather than an individual one.
Because people spend a lot of their time inside their homes, Aman said her research is vital to providing a more comprehensive understanding of environmental exposures and their long-term health impacts.
“The home is where people are supposed to feel safe,” she said. “But it’s also a place where a lot of exposures happen that people don’t think about, like particulate matter from candles or chemicals from cleaning products.”
Aman has also been selected to present the research as part of a panel at the National Environmental Health Association conference this fall in Kansas City, Mo.
She plans to use the award to support travel to the conference, where she hopes to share her findings with researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of environmental exposures and public health.
“This recognition allows me to bring this work to a broader audience,” Aman said. “I’m excited to engage with others in the field and continue building on research that directly impacts how we think about health in the home.”
“This award recognizes students who are not only advancing scientific knowledge, but also thinking critically about how that knowledge can be used to improve public health practice,” said Dean Emeritus Goldstein. “Miranda’s work is a strong example of that mission in action.”
Established in 2005 by Pitt Public Health Dean Emeritus Bernard Goldstein and his wife, Russellyn Carruth, an adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health, the Bernard D. Goldstein Student Award provides $2,000 in support for research and education. The award, given annually through a competitive application process, alternates between the fields of environmental health disparities and public health practice. The selection process for this award was administered by dedicated staff at the school’s Center for Health Equity.
-Ava Dzurenda