WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2009)—AcademyHealth and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have awarded ten scholarships to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding potential to contribute to the field of public health systems research (PHSR).
Scholarship recipients each receive $1,000 for registration and travel to attend AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting and the PHSR Interest Group Annual Meeting, June 28-July 1, 2009 in Chicago. Scholarship winners will present their research during a poster session at the PHSR Interest Group meeting.
The following students received scholarships: Maya Babu, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Business School; Nancy Baum, University of Michigan School of Public Health; LeConte Dill, University of California, Berkeley; Carl Foreman, Portland State University; Justin Hall, Queen's University and the University of Waterloo; Melissa Higdon, The George Washington University; Tracy Marie Hilliard, University of Washington; Jonathan Keeling, Columbia University; Natalie Privett, Stanford University; and Joanna Zablotsky, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Scholarship recipients are masters and doctoral students engaged in research that shows potential to advance the understanding of public health systems by highlighting the diversity of research interests that broadly constitute the field. Applicants were required to submit an abstract of their work in addition to two letters of recommendation from faculty.
PHSR is a field of inquiry examining the organization, financing, performance, and impact of health systems—defined as the constellation of governmental and non-governmental actors that influence population health, including health care providers, insurers, purchasers, public health agencies, community-based organizations, and entities that operate outside the traditional sphere of health care.
AcademyHealth represents a broad community of people with an interest in and commitment to using health services research to improve health care. We promote interaction across the health research and policy arenas by bringing together a broad spectrum of players to share their perspectives, learn from each other, and strengthen their working relationships.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.