SPHHP Students Are Rising Star, Scholarship Winner and Association Committee Member

Important recognition has come to three current students in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. Each has been acknowledged in distinct ways for exceptional work and commitment to their discipline.

The Obesity Society has given a prestigious award designated for rising research stars to Amanda Crandall, a PhD candidate in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior. Crandall received the society’s Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award, which recognizes excellence among young investigators in the field of obesity research, during their annual conference. Awardees are considered “rising stars” in the field. Crandall received the Sims Award for preliminary data from her dissertation project, which is investigating the effect of financial losses on food motivation and self-control. Crandall acknowledges her mentor, Associate Professor of Nutrition Jennifer Temple, PhD, who guided the research, and a large team of undergraduate and graduate students who assisted with collecting the data. Among Crandall’s past honors is the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award-- Individual Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Temara Cross, 3+2 MPH student, received the selective Maureen R. L. Mussenden Scholarship from the UB's Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences. The scholarship supports first-generation graduate students attending one of UB’s five health sciences schools. Cross is working on a BS in pre-medicine and public health followed by a master of public health degree in community health and health behavior. She is currently a REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) program assistant and an intern at Cicatelli Associates, Inc., an organization that tackles health and social issues in communities. She is also a research apprentice at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center where she is studying Exercise to Improve Health and Quality-of-Life in Breast Cancer Survivors. The Mussenden Scholarship Fund provides recipients with one-third of their state university tuition for up to four years. Maureen R. L. Mussenden was part of the associate counsel in UB’s Academic Health Center who focused on health and corporate law with a specialized expertise in hospital/university affiliation agreements.

Michael Canty, an Online MPH program student, was selected as co-chair of the American Public Health Association’s External Relation Committee within the student body. Canty will be responsible for identifying potential collaborations with international student-run public health organizations and networking with public health professionals and students across the world. His term began in October 2020; he remains co-chair until October 2021. As part of his MPH field training, Canty recently created a Continuing Medical Education program for primary care providers that covers topics of HIV and hepatitis C treatment and prevention.