Kudos

UB nurses Kimberly Brunton and Tammy Austin-Ketch were among the nominees for the 2015 Nurses of Distinction Award from the Professional Nurses Association of Western New York.

Brunton, clinical nurse specialist and associate director of operations in the Clinical Research Office at UB's Clinical and Translational Research Center, works with researchers in planning, protocol development, recruitment and study development.

Austin-Ketch is clinical professor and assistant dean for the MS/DNP programs in the School of Nursing. A fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, she is a recipient of the New York State Nurse Practitioner of the Year award from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Mecca S. Cranley Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UB School of Nursing.

Her research areas include health issues of vulnerable populations, cancer survivorship, metabolic syndrome, and stress disorders and the impact they exert on overall health.

Each May, the Amherst Chamber of Commerce recognizes individuals and companies that support Western New York through their business and community service.

This year, the chamber honored Norma Nowak, executive director of the UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, with its Sponsors Award.

Nowak is a professor of biochemistry at UB and founder and chief scientific officer of Empire Genomics LLC, a molecular diagnostics company focused on enabling personalized medicine.

The award is given to a business on behalf of the chamber’s sponsor, First Niagara Bank, which chose Nowak and Empire Genomics for their outstanding contributions to the region.

Donald W. Rowe, director of the Office of Public Health Practice and a faculty member in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, has been named the 2015 recipient of the Herman M. Biggs Public Health Award by the New York State Public Health Association.

The award, named for Herman M. Biggs, a pioneer in the field of public health and New York State public health commissioner for 26 years, is given annually for outstanding achievement in public health.

In a career spanning 40 years, Rowe is recognized for his longstanding contributions to tobacco control, emergency preparedness, community service, coalition-building and rural health. As director of the Office of Public Health Practice, his focus is on connecting the school with the practice community to improve the health of communities.

Rowe also teaches courses in public health practice and community health assessment and surveillance.

He serves as chair of the New York State Rural Health Council, president of the New York State Association for Rural Health, and a member of the board of directors of the Western New York Public Health Alliance Inc. and the Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center. He also co-directs the Population Health Observatory in UB’s public health school.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Outstanding Leadership in Public Health Award from the New York State Public Health Association; Public Health Professional of the Year from the New York State Association of County Health Officials; Community Health Network of Western New York Leadership Award; the Lake Plains Community Care Network Service Award; co-recipient of the Program of the Year Award from the New York State Association for Rural Health; and two Dean’s Awards from the School of Public Health and Health Professions for community service and dedication to faculty and students.

Rachel Gaydosh, a student in the School of Social Work, has been selected as an advanced clinical social work fellow in the Yale Child Study Center.

Gaydosh, who graduates this weekend, will begins her one-year fellowship in the center’s Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (IICAPS) program on July 1.

The fellowship includes a stipend and comprehensive health care.

Founded in 1911 by Arnold Gesell, an early pioneer in the study of child development, the Yale Child Study Center is a multidisciplinary department in the Yale School of Medicine. Its IICAPS program provides clinical services for children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances. The center collaborates with schools and other service providers with the goal of maintaining the at-risk child’s relationship with parents or other adult caregivers.

“The opportunity to work with this population interested me,” says Gaydosh. “That’s what initially sparked my interest, but doing more research I discovered the center’s long history of being invested in the child from an early age. I value the early intervention of children at-risk.”

Gaydosh says she hopes to develop a strong clinical skills set over the next year, honing her abilities to engage with families in ways that are “strength-based.”

“Looking at individuals, families, communities or even entire societies, a ‘strength-based’ approach identifies the resiliency within any system and makes it possible to bring out those strengths,” she says. “That’s something the School of Social Work has emphasized in my education that I can now put into practice.”