5/8/2019
Herman Gibb, Ph.D., M.P.H., Class of 1974, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Practice in recognition of his more than 35 years of experience in health risk assessment. Now president of Gibb Epidemiology Consulting, Gibb has provided expert consultation to a variety of international and national clients, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO). He chairs the WHO Foodborne Epidemiology Reference Group Chemical Task Force and previously served as associate director for health and assistant center director at the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment.
Kevin Kip, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., Class of 1998, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Research in recognition of his two decades of work on federally funded and industry-sponsored studies. Distinguished Health Professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, Kip has co-authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications in a wide range of health disciplines, including interventional cardiology, endocrinology, oncology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynecology, complementary and alternative medicine, and novel methods of psychotherapy. Last year, he was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.
Thomas Songer, Ph.D., M.P.H., Classes of 1986 and 1990, respectively, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Teaching and Dissemination in recognition of his development of educational programs in epidemiology as assistant professor and director of the doctoral programs in the Department of Epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. Consistently one of the most highly rated teachers in the school, Songer is the primary instructor for graduate courses in injury epidemiology and injury prevention and control, and introductory undergraduate courses. As the primary instructor for the core course Principles of Epidemiology, his teaching has guided the thinking of thousands of students as they embark on their public health studies.
Jamie Sokol, M.P.H., Class of 2007, will receive the Margaret F. Gloninger Service Award for her significant service to her community. Since 2013, she has served as an administrator for workforce development and training at the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). In this role, she is responsible for ensuring quality internships and other experiential learning opportunities for Pitt Public Health students, spending hundreds of hours with the school’s faculty and students to develop every aspect of the internship programs. In addition to her daily work, Sokol is a consistent volunteer at the school, dedicating her free time to mentoring students, collaborating with faculty and staff, offering suggestions for new initiatives and then helping to implement them.
Kamil Barbour, Ph.D., M.S., Classes of 2010 and 2011, and Annie Nagy, M.P.H., Class of 2010, will both receive the Early Career Excellence Award. Barbour will receive the award for his work as an epidemiologist with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC, where he leads a prolific research program focused on critical applied epidemiological needs. He also serves as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, where he was promoted to the rank of commander by the age of 35. Nagy will receive the award for her work as the Maternal and Child Health program administrator at the ACHD, where she manages multiple programs that improve the quality of life and health of mothers, infants, children and families in Allegheny County. Previously, Nagy served in roles with AmeriCorps, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs in West Africa, Save the Children in Guinea, Protection of Mothers and Infants in Gabon, and VISIONS Service Adventures in West Africa and the West Indies.
