Faculty Honors & Service
Four UCLA Fielding School of Public Health scholars were listed among the Highly Cited Researchers list, compiled annually by analytics firm Clarivate: Dr. Sander Greenland (MS ’76, PhD ’78), Dr. Michael Jerrett, Dr. Carol Mangione, and Dr. Marc Suchard.
Dr. Kristen Choi (MS ’18) received a fellowship from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, managed by the UC Davis Nursing School. Her fellowship project focuses on mental healthcare for LGBTQ youth.
Dr. Anne Coleman (MS ’94, PhD ’97) was named executive medical director and chair of the department of ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She began service as director of the UCLA Stein Eye Institute and affiliation chair of the Doheny Eye Institute.
Dr. Catherine Crespi (MS ’91, PhD ’04) was elected to the executive board of the International Biometric Society for the term 2023-26.
Dr. Roger Detels received UCLA’s 2021-22 Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award for outstanding research, teaching, and service.
Dr. Daniel Eisenberg served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Mentorship, Well-being, and Professional Development. He was a featured speaker at the Nobel Conference on “Mental Health (In)Equity and Young People.”
Dr. Julie Elginer (DrPH ’11) was awarded the 2022 City of Calabasas Carl Gibbs Environmental Excellence Award.
Dr. Patricia Ganz received the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship’s Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care and the AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. She was elected to the Association of American Physicians for 2023.
Dr. Dana Rose Garfin received the Early Investigator Award from the Academy of Behavioral Medical Research. Garfin received a 2023-24 Faculty Career Development Award from the UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
Dr. Gilbert C. Gee was among experts listed in the 2023 Ranking of Best Scientists in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities by the website Research.com and was awarded the 2022 Outstanding Service Award by the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Among his other honors, he was a 2022 co-author and organizer of the National Academies of Medicine Report on Structural Racism and a 2022 executive committee member of the Environmental Protection Agency Board of Scientific Counselors.
Dr. Kimberly Gregory received the Luella Klein Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Dr. Michele Guindani was named 2024 chair-elect for the American Statistical Association’s Statistics in Imaging Section.
Dr. Ron D. Hays received the 2022 Health Assessment Lab/Medical Outcomes Trust Career Achievement Award.
Dr. Felicia Hodge was inducted into the inaugural cohort of the UCLA Faculty Mentoring Honor Society.
Dr. Andrew Holbrook received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award for his work building statistical models for the global spread of viruses. Holbrook also earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2023.
Dr. Richard Jackson received the California Department of Public Health’s Beverlee A. Myers Award for Excellence in Public Health. He served as a senior reviewer of United States Government National Climate Assessment Number 5. He received the David Rall Medal from the National Academy of Medicine for his work as a leader in environmental health.
Dr. Jian Li served as co-chair for cardiovascular disease on the U.S. National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Cancer, Reproductive, Cardiovascular and Other Chronic Disease Prevention Cross-Sector Council. He was vice chair of the International Commission on Occupational Health Scientific Committee on Cardiology in Occupational Health, and a member of the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group on Occupational Burden of Disease Estimation.
Dr. Jingyi (Jessica) Li received the 2023 Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies Emerging Leader Award, and the 2023 Overton Prize from the International Society for Computational Biology.
Dr. Roch Nianogo (MPH ’13, PhD ’17) was a 2022 recipient of the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust’s Toffler Scholar Award for his ongoing research into preventing Alzheimer’s disease in vulnerable populations.
Dr. Michael Ong was appointed associate chief of staff for research and development at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Dr. Ninez Ponce (PhD ’98) was named a 2023 Women’s History Month honoree by Catalyst California for being “a trailblazer in health policy and management.” She participated in the 2022-23 White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders as a Data Disaggregation Subcommittee member. She also served as a 2023 editorial board member for the journal Health Affairs Scholar, and as associate editor of DEI for JAMA Health Forum.
Dr. Michael Prelip (MPH ’85) served as chair of the Danone International Prize for Alimentation Selection Committee.
Dr. Anne Rimoin (MPH ’96) was named to STAT News’ 2023 STATUS List, “the ultimate list of leaders in life sciences.” Rimoin was appointed to the World Health Organization’s 2022 Mpox (Monkeypox) Panel.
Dr. Kirsten Schwarz was named to the National Science Foundation’s Ecosystem Science Cluster in the Division of Environmental Biology.
Dr. Catherine Sugar was named chair of the UCLA Undergraduate Council.
Dr. Stephanie Taylor received the Veterans Affairs’ Research Career Scientist Award.
Dr. Courtney Thomas Tobin served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Managed Retreat in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region.
Dr. Jane Valentine served as a reviewer of proposal submissions for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, and for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s 2024 annual meeting panel presentations.
Dr. Steven P. Wallace, late professor of community health sciences, was honored by the Journal of Aging and Health with a special edition as a tribute to his leadership and work in the field of minority aging research.
Dr. Elizabeth Yano was honored with the Under Secretary Award from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
