UCLA Fielding School of Public Health graduate student Curtis Wong awarded Abdelmonem Afifi Fellowship
Curtis Wong, a first-year student in the master of public health program, has received the Abdelmonem A. Afifi Student Fellowship.
A UCLA Fielding School of Public Health student has been recognized for academic excellence at the school, ranked as among the top public health graduate schools in the United States.
Curtis Wong, a first-year student in the master of public health program, received the Abdelmonem A. Afifi Student Fellowship, named after Dr. Afifi, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of biostatistics at UCLA Fielding, at the school’s 2026 Student Academic Honors and Awards Ceremony. Recipients are selected for academic excellence and demonstrating a well-balanced and humanitarian understanding of the field of public health.
The award, which includes a stipend, stems from his achievements in the MPH program, including his 4.0 GPA and service at UCLA, where he has served as a teaching assistant, student activities planner, residential life coordinator, and volunteer at the Los Angeles LGBT Center meal program, among others.
“I am eager to put my years of experience with student engagement and mentorship and public health research into a career of community care and empowerment,” said Wong, who considers Sacramento his hometown and earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA in 2021. “I am especially interested in using my research work experience to inform and manage interventions for youth-at-risk for, or living with, HIV.”
His current research, with Dr. Dallas Swendeman, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, has focused on qualitative analysis of the sexual health and mental health strengths of youth-at-risk for HIV participating in a coaching-based intervention. Wong has also co-authored peer-reviewed research papers, and his combination of academic success and service to the community is exemplary, faculty members said.
“What sets his work apart is his approach, treating data not simply as quantitative outputs, but as representations of lived experiences, consistently elevating community voices, and ensuring that findings were interpreted with cultural humility, respect, and a commitment to equity,” said UCLA Fielding’s Dr. Angie Denisse Otiniano Verissimo, associate professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences. “This balance of technical rigor and ethical responsibility reflects a holistic understanding of public health that is essential particularly given Curtis’ commitment to working with diverse communities.”
