Ronald E. Aubert Ph.D.

Interim Dean of the School of Public Health, Director of the Presidential Scholars Program, Visiting Professor of the Practice of Race and Ethnicity in America

Melissa A. Clark Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Education; Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Megan L. Ranney M.D., MPH ’10, RES ’08

Academic Dean, School of Public Health; Director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health; Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice

Madeline Noh AB Public Health ’22

As a public health concentrator, Noh focused her research on substance use disorders, HIV and sexual health disparities, and the health of incarcerated people—particularly among minority groups. For her outstanding commitment to public health, including co-founding Brown’s Undergraduate Journal of Public Health, she was inducted into Brown’s chapter of the Delta Omega Honor Society. Noh will continue at Brown in pursuit of an MPH, working on community-engaged research around opioid overdose, as well as sexual health disparities among marginalized groups. She hopes to eventually attend law school with the goal of advocating for equitable health services access for underserved populations.

Andrew Walch MPH ’22

Marine Corps veteran Andrew Walch lives at least part of the time on a sailboat. His MPH thesis, not surprisingly, measured Rhode Islanders’ access to Blue Space (aka beaches) using spatial network analysis. A novel area of study, Walch set out to add to the literature showing an association between neighborhood racial composition and access to the shoreline. He’ll set off on a sailing adventure after graduation visiting the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior and then on to Chicago.

Alexandria Macmadu Ph.D. ’22

As a doctoral student in epidemiology, Alex continued the work she began in the School’s ScM program in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences, studying the social determinants of opioid use, opioid use disorder, and overdose; evidence-based approaches to mitigate opioid-related harms; and racial justice and health equity in marginalized subgroups, including BIPOC communities, people who use drugs, and people affected by the criminal justice system. She has authored or co-authored 28 peer-reviewed publications and one book chapter, including in JAMA Network Open, The Lancet Public Health, Addiction, and the American Journal of Public Health, and one co-authored manuscript in The Lancet. Macmadu has accepted an appointment to the Brown University Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship program, which supports the development of promising early career scholars for up to two years.

Undergraduate
Awards

Graduate
Awards

Laura Keohane Ph.D. ’16

This competitive award recognizes one exceptional master’s or doctoral alumnus or alumna making a significant impact on their community and/or in their field. Laura Keohane, assistant professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is recognized for “her stunning trajectory and increasing impact in research and policy related to aging.”

In just six years since earning her Ph.D. at Brown, Laura has had extraordinary impact as a health policy researcher focused on vulnerable older adults, particularly those dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Applying rigorous and creative methods to critical research questions related to care and outcomes, she has established herself as a leader in the field with 30 peer-reviewed publications in leading health policy and medical journals. This important work has informed reports issued by the Office of Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee, and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Professor Keohane is “an obvious rising star in the growing field of health services research in aging,” say her nominators. Her commitment to the frail and low-income population of older persons in America testifies to her strong sense of purpose. A passionate advocate for older and disabled adults, she is among the nation’s most creative and impactful early career aging/health services researchers.

The 2022 SPH Alumni Impact Award is yet further testament to Professor Keohane’s growing national reputation and the impact her work is having at the state and national level to improve the lives of older, vulnerable adults.