PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted activities across the globe — but it hasn’t stopped Brown faculty from making a positive impact through research and scholarship.
Over the last year, faculty members at Brown have been honored for outstanding research, service and leadership in their fields of study with numerous awards, fellowships and other honors. The scholars, whose fields range from literary arts and education to applied math and biostatistics, earned both national and international recognition and support for their work.
Among such distinctions were the following honors bestowed on public health faculty:
Dr. Jasjit Singh Ahluwalia, a professor of medicine and behavioral and social sciences, was invited to serve on the Food and Drug Law Institute’s 2020 Tobacco and Nicotine Products Committee, which brings diverse stakeholders together for high-level discussions on tobacco products regulation and policy.
Sara Becker, an associate professor of behavioral and social sciences and psychiatry and human behavior, won the 2020 G. Alan Marlatt Mid-Career Research Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies for her program of rigorous research in the field of addiction psychology.
Dr. Richard W. Besdine, a professor of medicine and health services, policy and practice, received the Charles “Bud” Kahn, M.D., Lifetime Leadership Award from the Miriam Hospital Medical Staff Association for "outstanding leadership over a lifetime of service." Besdine retired from his position as director of the division of geriatrics and palliative medicine in the department of medicine, and chief of geriatrics, for Lifespan after 20 years of service.
Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences Patricia Cioe was named by the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing as one of 75 “luminaries” representing the best nurses and nurse scientists to have come through its nursing program over the years, excelling in professional practice, education, research and advancement of the college, and making lasting contributions to the profession of nursing.
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the School of Public Health, was honored with the Meeting the Moment in Public Health Award from Johnson & Johnson Research! America. Jha was recognized for “playing a key role in communicating public health information and developments to members of the public” and for his “masterful ability and tireless commitment to conveying key information about COVID-19 to a wide array of audiences.”
Dr. Tracy Madsen, an associate professor of epidemiology and emergency medicine, was selected by the National Academy of Medicine as the 2021 American Board of Emergency Medicine Fellow. During her two-year fellowship, Madsen will collaborate with eminent researchers, policy experts and clinicians from across the country and will help facilitate initiatives convened by the National Academies to provide nonpartisan and evidence-based guidance to policymakers, academic leaders, health care administrators and the public.
Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Kali Thomas was the inaugural recipient of the Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research from the American Federation for Aging Research for her work applying health services research to inform policies and practices that improve health and quality of life for older adults. The award is name for the founding dean of Brown’s School of Public Health.
Andrew R. Zullo, an assistant professor of health services, policy and practice and epidemiology, was named a 2020 Health in Aging Foundation New Investigator Awardee by the American Geriatrics Society for his original research reflecting new insights in geriatrics and his commitment to the discipline’s role in academia.