Department of Health Studies

Faculty and students garner awards

In November, several students and professors travelled to Washington, DC for the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting. This conference is the largest gathering of public health professionals in the country.

Health Studies major, Fernanda Moya Quezada ’26, was recognized for Outstanding Student Work in the Advancement in Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Policy category. She gave an oral presentation entitled “Social Networks and Their Impact on Perceptions and Characteristics of Substance Use in Undergraduate College Students: Findings from Phase 1 of an Exploratory Sequential Design.” She conducted this research as part of Dr. Courtney Blondino’s independent study group along with Ella Karcewski ’26, who is double majoring in Health Studies and Biology.

Dr. Nigel James was honored with the 2025 APHA Cancer Forum Global Health Award, which is the highest award in the Global Health category. Two students who spent the summer researching with him, Julia Messerman ‘28 and Callia Nickels ’28, presented their poster entitled “Transforming Detection: Assessing the Impact of Task Shifting in Nurse-Led Breast Cancer Screening in Rural Ghana”. For this study, they collaborated with researchers at Penn State and the University of Ghana.