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The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni Association recently announced the recipients of the 2022 Alumni Awards, who were chosen by their peers through a nomination and voting process. The awards will be presented during this year’s Alumni Weekend, which takes place September 22-24.
Alumni Award of Merit
Established in 1992, the Alumni Award of Merit is the highest honor presented by the Alumni Association to an alumna/us of Harvard Chan School.
Julie E. Buring, S.D. ’83
Julie E. Buring’s research focuses on epidemiology of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer, and especially among women. She has been involved in a number of large-scale randomized clinical trials, including the Women’s Health Study and Physician’s Health Study II, evaluating the preventive role of aspirin, and of vitamin E and other vitamins.
Wafaie Fawzi, M.P.H .’89, SM ’91, DPH ’92
Wafaie Fawzi is a physician and epidemiologist known for his work on interventions that enhance maternal and child health and development. At Harvard Chan School, he is the Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Sciences, professor of nutrition, epidemiology, and global health, and former chair of the Department of Global Health and Population.
Stephen Hwang, AB ’84, M.P.H. ’96
Stephen Hwang is a physician, teacher, and researcher known for pioneering work in the field of homelessness, housing, and health. A professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, he is also chair in homelessness, housing, and health — the first such endowed position in the world.
Emerging Public Health Professional Award
Sameer Kadri-Rodriguez, S.M. ’14
Sameer Kadri-Rodriguez has dedicated his career as a physician and researcher to improving health outcomes for people with lethal infections, both at the bedside and on a population scale. At the NIH, Kadri-Rodriguez created and headed the organization’s Clinical Epidemiology Section and Data Lab, in addition to serving as principal investigator and as an attending physician in the NIH’s intensive care unit.
Public Health Innovator Award
Carlos Camargo, D.P.H. ’96
Carlos Camargo started the first of several studies on the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption as an undergraduate at Stanford, and his first paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, made important contributions to understanding the impact of alcohol on heart disease and its risk factors. Camargo was the first to document a link between being obese or overweight and the development of adult-onset asthma.
Leadership Award in Public Health Practice
Choochai Supawongse, M.P.H. ’91, M.O.H. ’92
For the past four decades, Choochai Supawongse has worked to promote health and sustainable development in Thailand as a physician, advocate, and public health leader. Supawongse is known for leading the charge to curb smoking in Thailand, and his efforts were recognized by the WHO. In 2017, the country established the Primary Health Care Board of Thailand, making primary health care a fundamental right for all — a cause he championed as a member of the National Reform Steering Assembly.
