June 23, 2020

The 2020 Dornsife Awards recognize faculty, professional staff, students and alumni contributions to the Dornsife School of Public Health (DSPH) at Drexel University.

Typically, Dornsife awards are announced at multiple celebratory events, including commencement and other celebrations at the end of academic year.

With the continued uncertainty of COVID-19 and guidelines on social distancing and large gatherings, it makes it difficult to plan for any in-person celebration with certainty. This year’s award recipients will be mailed their awards, with the hope that we will have the opportunity to formally celebrate in person when it’s feasible to do so. 

Please join us in congratulating the following 2020 award recipients for their contributions to DSPH and to Drexel University.

2020 Dornsife Award Recipients

Mentor Recognition Award

This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a faculty or professional staff member to the student body in the areas of mentorship, advisement, teaching, or other service to the School.

Presented to:

• Michael L. Jenkins Jr., MPH ‘12
• Chanyeong Park, BS Public Health ‘20
• Ali Groves, PhD, MHS, Assistant Professor, Community Health and Prevention
• Renee Davis, MD, MPH, Senior Research Associate and Program Coordinator, Maternal and Child Health Program

Outstanding Promise Award

This award recognizes graduate students who have exhibited great promise for regional or national societal impact, and accordingly, for enhancing Drexel's reputation, now and in the future.

Presented to:

Afrah Howlader, (Candidate) BS Public Health ‘21
Rachel Legend, Certificate in LGBT Health ’20, Chief Executive Officer at Fuller Health

Public Health Practice Award

This award recognizes faculty or students who have demonstrated through either research/scholarship, teaching, and mentorship of students, commitment to the practice of public health and the improvement of health.

Presented to: Asia Williams, MPH ‘20

Staff Excellence Award

This award recognizes a professional staff member who has demonstrated dedication and commitment to the school through innovation or making significant contributions.

Presented to: Kristi LeBlanc, MSEd, Senior Program Manager, Environmental and Occupational Health

Junior Faculty Research Award

This award recognizes a junior faculty member at the Assistant Professor rank (pre-tenure) with a primary appointment at DSPH, in recognition of scholarly activity in the field of public health.

Presented to: Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Golden Apple Teaching Award

This award recognizes faculty for their excellence in teaching. The recipient of this award has demonstrated all of the following: enthusiasm for teaching and inspiring students, stimulating intellectual interest, a spirit of scholarly inquiry and innovative methods in presenting material.

Presented to: Leslie Ain McClure, PhD, MS, Professor and Chair, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Drexel University Graduate College Awards

The Graduate Student Excellence Awards recognize Drexel's high performing graduate students and their commitment to the University's mission.

The Graduate College requests that each School/College at Drexel select and submit nominations for one graduate student in each Graduate College Award category. Since Dornsife may only select one graduate student to compete amongst the other graduate student nominees, the nominated DSPH student is considered the DSPH Award finalist for the 2020 Dornsife Awards.

Please join us in congratulating the following finalists for the Graduate Student Excellence Awards for Dornsife School of Public Health.

Drexel Common Good Award

The Drexel Common Good Award is presented to a graduate student who demonstrates academic excellence and who is committed to improving the world around them by making contributions to local, national or global communities through either scholarship or civic engagement.

Graduate College recipient/DSPH recipient: Samantha Joseph, MPH ‘12 (Candidate) PhD

Research Excellence Award

The Research Excellence Award is presented to a graduate student who has completed original, innovative research, scholarship and/or creativity during their career at Drexel.

DSPH recipient: Katie LaWall, MPH ‘20

Outstanding Dissertation Award

The Outstanding Dissertation Awards are presented to PhD/doctoral students who have written original, innovative dissertations that reflect great research and have or are likely to be disseminated widely and have significant impact on the field and society.

DSPH recipient: Marisa Felsher, PhD ‘20

Outstanding Mentorship Award

This award is presented to a graduate student who has shown an outstanding commitment to mentoring, developing and supporting undergraduate and/or new or junior graduate students.

DSPH recipient: Jamile Tellez Lieberman, MPH ‘15, (Candidate) DrPH

Congratulations again to all of the finalists and award recipients, and a special thanks to our Awards Committee who reviewed and selected the recipients for this year.

Read more about Drexel's 2020 Graduate College Awards.