More than 200 attendees participated in the inaugural Public Health Showcase 2023 event on April 10th. Sponsored by the University of Kentucky College of Public Health (CPH), this event was a unique opportunity for a diverse community to share and celebrate innovative work in public health, community practice, teaching, and workforce development.
The showcase event welcomed all undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Kentucky, faculty, staff, and community partners.
“What is public health?” Today, we didn’t just tell what public health is, we showed it, says Dr. Heather Bush, acting dean at CPH. “The Public Health Showcase was an inspiring show-and-tell of the work happening to make lives, and all lives, healthier. We celebrated researchers, teachers, students, and community members, and not as just individuals, but as a demonstration of how the best of public health happens when these groups come together.”
Roundtable discussion about substance use in Kentucky
The event started with a powerful roundtable discussion and courageous conversation, moderated by Dr. April Young, professor in the department of epidemiology and environmental health at CPH, with community stakeholders engaged in guiding substance use research in Eastern Kentucky.
"The conversation focused on elevating the voices of people who are often under-represented, with the goal of identifying ways that research can better heed the harm reduction mantra, 'nothing about us without us'," said Dr. Young.
With colleagues and students, Dr. Young has been conducting substance use research in rural Kentucky for more than ten years.
Diverse Poster Abstracts
Afterwards, almost 90 posters were on display at the showcase event, covering a myriad of public health topics.
Everyone was invited to join the conversation, network, and learn more about the numerous ways that public health impacts our communities here in Kentucky and beyond, and ways that we can improve, collaborate, and build more partnerships.
“I was thrilled to see the number of abstract submissions across a wide range of topics,” says Dr. Svetla Slavova, Interim associate dean for research at CPH. “Our students, most importantly, were able to network and receive valuable feedback from faculty, professional staff, and public health practitioners and leaders.”
“This is how we help our students become future health champions that can change the world – coming together to build relationships, mentorships, and supporting their career ambitions,” adds Slavova.
CPH faculty displayed some of their research during this event, ranging from COVID -19 and natural disasters in Appalachia, adverse childhood experience and undergraduate student success, student well-being services, enhancing public health research through collaboration and utilizing data simulations, fostering empathy and cultural sensitivity among diverse populations, and more.
Staff at CPH also had the opportunity to discuss their services to the College during the poster session, which included the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), Center of Innovation in Population Health (IPH-C), Office of Scientific Writing (OSW), Student Engagement & Academic Success (SEAS), Marketing and Communications (MarCom), and many others.
Special Award Recognitions
Research poster participants could compete in the following award categories: undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, post-doctoral. There were 33 student posters entered in the competition and scored independently by 3 judges. A total of 21 judges volunteered their time, discussing, evaluating, and asking questions to determine the winners.
Three winners in each category were recognized during the ceremony, which included:
Undergraduate
Masters
Doctoral
Other Public Health Showcase awards included:
Outstanding Post-Doctoral Research
Gyeon Oh: “Association of gabapentin initiation and neurocognitive changes between adults with normal cognition and cognitive impairment”
Feitong Lei: “Urban-Rural Differences in Mortality among Patients Receiving Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Kentucky”
Most Productive Student
People’s Choice Award
In addition, Dr. Richard Charnigo, professor in the biostatistics department at CPH, was recognized as the most productive faculty mentor for being the main advisor on 5 student research posters.
The Department of Biostatistics received the award for the highest participation rate; 70% of the full-time faculty and staff were co-authors on posters presented at the showcase.
Because of the success of this year’s Public Health Showcase, plans are to continue this event next year and beyond.
“The Public Health Showcase gave everyone, including our students, the opportunity to connect and celebrate the successful impact in our community, promote collaborative engagement and enable transdisciplinary research partnerships across our college and the University of Kentucky,” says Doris Castellanos, assistant dean of research operations at CPH. “We look forward to planning the next showcase event in 2024!”
Stay tuned for more details at cph.uky.edu/showcase.
Office of Research
CPH’s Office of Research supports the growth of the multidisciplinary and applied research conducted by CPH faculty, staff, and students, leading to new discoveries and improved health of the population in Kentucky, the nation, and globally.
Whether you are an experienced independent investigator, an early-career faculty, or a student, we believe you belong here, you can contribute, and you can become part of the growing public health research community. Learn more about cph.uky.edu/research.
To learn more about our people, programs, and passion for public health, visit cph.uky.edu.
Linda Kim
