APHA announces 2016 award winners

When elevated blood-lead levels among residents of Flint, Michigan, were linked to contamination of the city’s drinking water last year, a public health mystery was solved. A pediatrician, whose seminal research uncovering the connection appeared in APHA’s American Journal of Public Health, and civil engineer helped to sound the national alarm over the crisis.

For their work in helping to crack the case, Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAP, director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative; and Marc Edwards, PhD, a professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, will be the first joint honorees of APHA’s David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health.

Their efforts are among the many acts of leadership, innovation and excellence being honored this year by APHA.

Other awardees announced yesterday include:

• Lawrence Green, MPH, DrPH, DSc (Hon.), a retired professor at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, who will receive the Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health for devoting his career to the bridging of theory and research to planning, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies in public health; and
• Ross Brownson, PhD, professor at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the Prevention Research Center, who will receive the APHA Award for Excellence for his work as a scholar, leader and public health practitioner.

“These esteemed leaders have made remarkable contributions to the field of public health and to the health of this nation,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of APHA. “We are honored by their commitment and indebted for their service. We celebrate their accomplishments in helping create the healthiest nation.”

For a full list of award listings and descriptions, visit the APHA website.

The honors will be presented at an awards ceremony Nov. 1 during APHA’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo in Denver.