Congratulations to Our 2025 Award Winners!
IAPHS Staff
We’re pleased to announce our award winners for 2025. Recipients will receive their awards at our conference in Pittsburgh September 8-11, 2025.
J. Michael McGinnis Leadership Excellence Award
Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH
Dr. Perry N. Halkitis is an infectious disease epidemiologist, applied statistician, and public health psychologist. He conducts this work through his research, teaching, and activism. Dr. Halkitis is currently Dean, Hunterdon Professor of Public Health & Health Equity, and Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics & Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health, as well as the founder and Director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies.
Stephanie Robert Mentoring Award
Tara McKay
Dr. Tara McKay, PhD (she/her), is a nationally recognized expert in the field of LGBTQ+ population health, policy, and aging. She is co-founder and Director of the Vanderbilt LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, which was recognized by the National Institutes of Health for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in health research in 2024.
Early Career Award
Lauren Gaydosh, PhD
Dr. Lauren Gaydosh is an Associate Professor of Sociology and faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an investigator on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Lauren’s research focuses on population health disparities using life course and biosocial perspectives.
IAPHS Student Award
Hanseul Cho, MD, MPH
Dr. Hanseul Cho examines the impact of social determinants and medications on population health using large-scale real-world health data. With training in epidemiology and biostatistics during her MPH and clinical expertise as an MD, her work bridges public health and medicine to inform global understanding of disease burden and its drivers.
IAPHS Postdoctoral Award
Shaon Lahiri, PhD, MPH
Dr. Shaon Lahiri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Administration at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. His research focuses on delineating mechanisms of health behavior change, especially those related to harmful social norms.
Health Equity Award
Zinzi Bailey, ScD, MSPH
The Ida B. Wells Public Engagement Award
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute/County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (Representative: Sheri Johnson)
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