Spring 2025 Class Acts

NOTE: Included achievements and retirements occurred between November 2023 and December 2024. For 2025 honors be sure to see our upcoming fall issue of Healthviews.

Celebrating the achievements of students, alumni, faculty and staff

  • Adriana Black, PhD candidate

    Co-authored book chapter titled Faculty Development in Medical Language Education in The Handbook of Language in Public Health and Healthcare. She was also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association for her article Neighborhood Child Opportunity and Preterm Birth Rates by Race and Ethnicity.

  • Charlene Cariou, DrPH student

    Joined the Board of Directors for the National Board of Public Health Examiners, the entity that credentials public health professionals.

  • Hua Yun Chen, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics

    Received SPH’s Bernard H. Baum Golden Apple Award recognizing outstanding graduate-level teaching and service.

  • Ben Clapham, MPH, DrPH candidate

    Published a case study “Strengthening the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) System in Colombia” as part of the Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative. He further spoke at the United Nations about his analysis of CRVS needs in French-speaking countries and the need to improve investments in CRVS systems improvement for French-speaking countries.

  • Anna Cornel, MBAHM, BSN, RN, PHN, HNBBC, NE-BC, DrPH candidate

    Completed a year-long fellowship as an Environmental Health Nurse with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), collaborating with two community-based organizations to promote healthy habits and advocate for policies that prioritize the well-being of both people and the planet.

  • Abhery Das, PhD, MHS, Bridge to Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow

    Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology for her article “Racialized economic segregation and Black youth suicide in the US.”

  • Allissa Desloge, PhD ‘24

    Won the 2024 Community Health Sciences PhD Student Peer Support Award

  • Mark Dworkin, PhD, Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

    Won seed funding for his project Development of an mHealth Educational Intervention to Improve the Prevalence of Viral Suppression among Persons Living with HIV and Low Literacy in India

  • Sharyn Dyer, MPH, Director of Academic Affairs

    Won UIC’s Award of Merit, which recognizes outstanding employees who exhibit service, commitment, and dedication

  • Lee Friedman, PhD, Research Professor

    Won seed funding for his project Surveillance of Work-Related Injuries in Chiropractors

  • Clari Gomez, Assistant Director of Academic Progress and Retention

    Won the Rising Star Award, which recognizes employees early in their career who demonstrate dedication and quality of performance that indicates that they will continue to develop into an exemplary employee

  • Zoë M. Harris, MPH, PhD candidate

    Received the UIC Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship. The award recognizes underrepresented students who have demonstrated high academic achievement and have shown a commitment to civil rights and social justice through community service.

  • Yi Feng Lai, DrPH, MPH, BSc

    He and his team received Singapore’s Public Service Transformation Award and the Ministry of Health’s Award for their “Mobile Inpatient Care at Home” pilot program and mainstream implementation

  • Julien Leider, MA, a senior research specialist at IHRP

    Won the Journal of Public Policy’s Best Paper Award for his work on Impact of a sugarsweetened beverage tax two-year post-tax implementation in Seattle, WA, US at the American Public Health Association conference.

  • Dana Madigan, PhD, Research Assistant Professor

    Won seed funding for her project Surveillance of Work- Related Injuries in Chiropractors

  • Laura Ortiz-Ravick, MA, DrPH candidate

    Was recognized as one of Cancer Health Magazine’s 25 “Champions of Health Equity”

  • Monica Padilla, BS '25

    UIC’s 2024 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate. The award is given to seniors – just one from each college in Illinois – who have followed in the path of former President Abraham Lincoln by committing themselves to leadership and positive social change.

  • Joanna Paul, MPH ‘24, MSW ‘24

    Received the English Teaching Assistant Award under the Fulbright program, and started work as a Fulbright English teaching assistant at an elementary school in Berlin, Germany, in September

  • Lisa M. Powell, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Division Director

    Won the Journal of Public Policy’s Best Paper Award for her work on Impact of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax two-year post-tax implementation in Seattle, WA, US at the American Public Health Association conference.

  • Valerie Prudik, Business Administrative Associate

    Won the Janice Watkins Award, which recognizes exceptional Civil Service employees for their distinguished service to the University

  • Nathaniel Tran, PhD, Assistant Professor

    Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association for their article “LGBTQI+ Data Collection in Medicaid to Advance Health Equity”

  • Alisa Velonis, MPH, PhD, Associate Professor

    Named the Director of UIC’s Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, a center dedicated to training the next generation of maternal and child health practitioners

  • Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH ‘10

    Named the new executive director of UI Health Mile Square Health Center

  • Amanda Weidner, MPH, DrPH candidate

    Awarded the 2024 NAPCRG President’s Award, for her team’s work leading the effort to develop a national strategic plan for family medicine research

  • Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor and Program Director

    Appointed as an At-Large Member of the National Association of Local Boards of Health, and Appointed as the Chair of the Oak Park Board of Health.