Each year, the UAB School of Public Health recognizes outstanding alumni and their contributions to the field of public health through the annual Alumni Awards. This year, there are three graduates being recognized for executing the School’s mission daily in their professional careers, which is to make positive and lasting change in the public’s health through the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, teaching and service to the larger community. Winners of the 2024 Alumni Awards include:
The Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award: This year’s Alumna of the Year is Keisha Callins, MD, MPH, OB/GYN at Community Health Care Systems and professor at Mercer University School of Medicine. Callins graduated with her MPH in Health Behavior from the School of Public Health in 2000. The Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award recognizes an established graduate who completed their degree 10 or more years ago and has made significant contributions in the field of public health at either a local, statewide, national or international level that are considered exemplary.
The G.O.L.D. (Graduates of the Last Decade) Alumni Award (formerly the Early Career Achievement Alumni Award): This year’s recipient is Luz Padilla, MD, MSPH, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UAB School of Public Health, who has a secondary position as the director of surgical research for the Joseph S. Bruno Pediatric Heart Center of Alabama in the Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Padilla earned her MSPH in Applied Epidemiology from the School of Public Health in 2016. The G.O.L.D. Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated an exceptional level of accomplishment, service or expertise in the field of public health since completing their degree from the School of Public Health less than 10 years ago.
The Dean’s Distinguished Alumni Award: This year’s award goes to John Waterbor, MD, DrPH, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UAB School of Public Health. Waterbor earned his DrPH from the School of Public Health in 1987. The Dean’s Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates who have shown a substantive commitment to the School’s mission while serving as a source of inspiration and pride to others. This unique award is bestowed each year by the Dean of the UAB School of Public Health.
Congratulations to the 2024 recipients of the UAB School of Public Health Alumni Awards and thank you to those who nominated a deserving individual. Nominations for the 2025 awards will open later this year.