Michelle Williams, 91探花professor of epidemiology, has won the American Public Health Association鈥檚 (APHA) Abraham Lilienfeld Award that recognizes excellence in teaching of epidemiology during the course of her career. She will be presented with the award at the APHA鈥檚 annual meeting on Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C.
鈥淭he award is very prestigious in epidemiology circles for outstanding accomplishments as an epidemiologist and as a teacher,鈥� said Scott Davis, professor and chair of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. 鈥淪he is absolutely outstanding as a researcher, scholar and mentor to students. She is most distinguished among our faculty in her research productivity in perinatal and reproductive epidemiology, her rigorous methodology, and her very high standards.”
Williams is also co-director for Perinatal Studies at Swedish Medical Center and affiliate investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her research focuses on integrating genomic sciences and epidemiological research methods to identify risk factors, diagnostic markers, treatments and prevention targets for disorders that contribute to maternal and infant mortality. She has research and teaching collaborations with epidemiologists in Peru, Ecuador, Vietnam, Thailand, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and the Republic of Georgia.
“It is wonderful to see Michelle’s leadership and contributions recognized nationally through the Lilienfeld award,” notes Dean Patricia Wahl, of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. “We are proud of her many accomplishments in both research and teaching and her great success in introducing 91探花undergraduates to global public health.”
As a teacher, Davis said, 鈥淢ichelle has had an enormous impact on training the next generation of epidemiologists and that impact has been and continues to be far reaching. Williams is dedicated to her students and their well being. She has served as a thesis and dissertation adviser for many students and requires rigorous scholarship from them all.鈥�
She is the founder and director of the UW鈥檚 Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) Program, which received the 2007 Brotman Award for Instructional Excellence. The program trains undergraduate students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds for careers in research and public health leadership.
In another venture, Williams is one of the leaders in the Rotary 鈥� 91探花 Partnership, a collaboration in which the Partnership, 91探花faculty, staff, and students, and Rotary will work to fast-track the dissemination of disease-preventing, health-promoting interventions and technologies to address pressing global health disparities.
Abraham Lilienfeld was one of the most widely known and highly respected leaders in chronic disease epidemiology who was 鈥渁 consummate teacher who cared deeply for students, past and present,鈥� according to a New York Times obituary. 鈥淚n working tirelessly to improve public health, his life and his contributions in a sense affected the lives of us all.鈥�
The award was created in his honor to recognize qualities such as 鈥淓xcellence in teaching as exhibited in effective classroom lectures, professional seminars or workshops, publications of substantial pedagogical or methodological importance for students and professional epidemiologists or students who have made worthwhile contributions to the improvement of public health. Evidence of incorporating both historic and innovative epidemiologic concepts and methods in teaching; evidence of ability to communicate difficult complex ideas in clear, understandable language or using innovative methods; evidence of influence on students or young professionals as teacher or mentor.鈥�
Davis said that when he read the criteria for the award, Williams was his first candidate for nomination.
鈥淢ichelle is one of those rare individuals who has it all together,鈥� Davis said.
The APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition is the premier Public Health Educational Forum. It is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attracting more than 13,000 national and international physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists. APHA鈥檚 meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.