2024 Honors and Awards Celebration

Congratulations to the Bower School of Population Health students for being recognized with the following honors and awards!

PGYIII Residents for completion of the Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residencyn program:

• Dr. Amaan Kajani
• Dr. Carmen Obeng
• Dr. Inder Kaur
• Dr. Jason Sachman

Student Body Representatives:

• Student Body President: Sabrina Alam
• Student Body Vice-President: Sydney Morris-Hill
• Population Health Science Representative: Rebecca Andrew Ayyasamy
• Data Science Representative: Sachin Karki 

UMMC Teacher in Training Certification:

• Dawn McLendon

Institutional/SOPH Committee Members – The University of Mississippi Medical Center and John D. Bower School of Population Health value service as an essential component of a long-term professional trajectory centered on a commitment to the university, school, society, community, and healthcare profession.

• Kelli Irby - -SOD Executive Committee and the UMMC Sustainability Committee
• Dr. Alexa Lampkin – SOD Admissions Committee; Faculty Senate
• Chris Moore – UMMC Biospecimen Access Committee; Research Compliance Management Committee; Conflicts of Interest Compliance Management Committee
• Dr. Rahaat Noor – SOM GME Residency Review Subcommittee
• Brian Christman – SOM Curriculum System-Based Practice Subcommittee
• Sabrina Alam – SOPH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• Bre Wade - -SOM Curriculum – Society and Medicine Subcommittee

SOPH Student Ambassador Program – In the 2023-24 academic year, the Bower School of Population Health proudly launched the SOPH Student Ambassador Program under the leadership of Mr. Patrick Taylor, special projects coordinator, to harness the enthusiasm and experiences of our current students in attracting and retaining prospective students. 

•  McKing Amerdari
•  Minhazul Abedin
•  Sachin Karki

Health Policy Fellowship - The Health Policy Fellowship is a partnership between the Center for Mississippi Health Policy and the John D. Bower School of Population Health (SOPH). It is designed to train students, residents, and faculty in the SOPH about health care policy and the legislative process as a means of preparing them to utilize this knowledge in future scholarship and practice to positively impact the health of populations.

• Dr. Amaan Kajani
• Dr. Jason Sachman
• Dr. Mark Lund
• Dr. Omar Hasan
• Sabrina Alam
• Dr. Shamima Somi
• Dr. Tasnova Malek
• Rebekah Andrew Ayyasamy

L.C. Dorsey Research Honor Society – The L.C. Dorsey Research Honor Society is a multidisciplinary network of social, behavioral, health, and citizen scientists who have produced or contributed to the production of exceptional minority health and health disparities research. Dr. L.C. Dorsey was a fierce advocate and pioneer who worked tirelessly to improve the health and well-being of Mississippi’s disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations.

• Kisa Harris

Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society - Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at UMMC recognizes undergraduate seniors or second-semester juniors with high standards of scholarship and character, graduate students in professional schools with distinguished records placing them among the ablest in their classes, and faculty members who have made significant contributions to their disciplines.

• Quest Whalen
• Sabrina Alam

Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence – The Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence recognizes Bower School of Population Health students who have 4.0 cumulative grade point averages for the current academic year.

• Dr. Alexa Lampkin
• Dr. Amaan Kajani
• Dr. Angela Filzen
• Brian David Christman
• Changhong Wen
• Chris Moore
• Dawn McClendon
• Emma McNeill
• Farhana Lima
• Hunter Sylvester
• Dr. Inder Kaur
• Jackie Starrett
• Dr. Jason Sachman
• John M. Williams
• Kelli Irby
• Kendell Churchwell
• Kerri Ivey
• Latonya Thigpen
• Lisa Stark
• McKing Amerdari
• Md Minhazul Abedin
• Dr. Mark Reddington
• Mengna Zhang
• Dr. Mohammad AlJabr
• Neil Maneck
• Dr. Omar Hasan
• Dr. Rahat Noor
• Dr. Shamima Somi
• Dr. Tasnova Malek
• Dr. Utsav Nandi

Scholastic Award – The Scholastic Award is awarded to graduating Bower School of Population Health students with the highest cumulative average.

• Dr. Amaan Kajani
• Emma McNeill
• Dr. Inder Kaur
• Dr. Jason Sachman
• John Williams
• Kelli Irby
• Kisa Harris
• Dr. Mohammad AlJabr
• Dr. Utsav Nandi

SOPH Student Service Award – The SOPH Student Service Award is awarded to a Bower School of Population Health student who has demonstrated leadership in school and institutional committees, student organizations, and service activities. 

• Quest Whalen

Regions Research Award – The Regions Research Award is awarded to Bower School of Population Health students who have demonstrated exceptional potential in population health research. 

• Dr. Inder Kaur
• Lauren Pongetti

Helen Reeves Turner Scholarship – The Helen Reeves Turner, MD, PhD Scholarship was established in 2013 and is awarded each year to a deserving student from one of the Medical Center Schools. The recipient of this award exemplifies Dr. Turner’s outstanding attributes of leadership, education, and service.

• McKing Amedari

John D. Bower Award – The John D. Bower Award is awarded to a graduating Bower School of Population Health student in recognition of their exceptional potential in the field of population health. 

• Kisa Harris

Commencement Marshals – Each year, their colleagues select a Faculty Marshal to lead the faculty processional at annual commencement services. Additionally, a Student Marshal is selected by the faculty to lead the student processional at the annual commencement services.

• Dr. Benjamin Walker, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Science as Faculty Marshal
• Kelli Irby, Executive MS in Population Health Management as Student Marshal

Certificate Presentations – The John D. Bower School of Population Health awards certificates in analytics and population health science.

• Jacqueline Starrett, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Analytics

2023-24 Graduates – The John D. Bower School of Population Health is proud to present the 2023-24 graduating class.

Department of Data Science:

• Kendell Churchwell, Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science
• Emma McNeill, Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science

Department of Population Health Science:

• Dr. Amaan Kajani, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Dawn McClendon, Master of Science in Population Health Science     
• Dr. Inder Kaur, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Dr. Jason Sachman, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Dr. Tasnova Malek, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Dr. Utsav Nandi, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• John Williams, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Rebekah Andrew Ayyasamy, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Sydney Morris-Hill, Master of Science in Population Health Science
• Kelli Irby, Master of Science in Population Health Management
• Dr. Mohammad AlJabr, Master of Science in Population Health Management
• Bre Wade, Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health Science
• Courtney Gomilla, Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health Science
• Fei Tang, Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health Science
• Kisa Harris, Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health Science