San Diego, October 26, 2008
— Jonathan B. Kotch, MD, MPH, FAAP, professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named winner of the 2008 Martha May Eliot Award, which honors exceptional achievements in the field of maternal and child health. He received the award at the 136th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Exposition.
Kotch has educated a generation of young leaders in the maternal and child health field over the last 30 years, contributed to maternal and child health science in a number of key areas and, in addition to his activism and advocacy, is known among colleagues for his ability to implement changes.
“Dr. Kotch has tirelessly worked on behalf of children throughout his professional career and life,” said APHA member Rebecca A. Young-Marquardt, MPH, DrPH, in a letter nominating Kotch for the award. “He can just as easily talk about complex analytical aspects of research as well as exude enthusiasm about his experiences teaching children in our community.”
Working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1978, Kotch has advised more than 150 graduate and doctoral students and has organized and taught dozens of courses at the school. He organized and edited the textbook “Maternal and Child Health: Programs, Problems and Policies in Pubilc Health,” which is in its second edition and is highly regarded and widely used to teach maternal and child health students.
Kotch has been a major scholar of maternal and child health and pediatrics, contributing to literature on children’s injuries and violence, child care, abuse and neglect, infant mortality and perinatal health, maternal and child health service, and other topics. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, chapters, reviews and other works.
He is the director of the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center and has worked for years to improve the safety of child care centers. He has directed the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants to collaborate with several key national child health and child care organizations to develop and implement a national Child Care Consultant “train the trainer program” to provide assistance on health issues.
Kotch serves on many advisory committees relating to maternal and child health, was a senior fellow in child health for Children in Scotland from January–June 2008 and has been honored extensively for his work in the field of maternal and child health. Among his many
awards, he was APHA’s MCH Young Professional in 1985, was awarded the Sidney Chapman Award from the UNC Maternal and Child Health Department and the Bernard Greenberg Award from the School of Public Health and was honored with the Susan Aronson Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics for his contributions to early education and child care.