Each year, ASPPH honors individuals who demonstrate groundbreaking achievements across education, research, practice, and student services, and we are thrilled to announce and celebrate the ASPPH 2026 Excellence Award Winners, whose contributions have set a new benchmark for excellence in academic public health. We invite you to join us in honoring these winners at our annual meeting luncheon, as well as the winners of the Welch-Rose Award for Distinction in Public Health and the Harrison C. Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service, which will be announced next week.
This year’s Excellence Award winners exemplify the innovation, leadership, and dedication that define our field and strengthen our collective impact in areas that are essential to advancing public health at every level.
Meet Our 2026 Excellence Award Winners
Christine M. Arcari, PhD MPH, Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Gregory D. Kirk, MD, MPH, PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Paul J. Fleming, PhD, MPH, University of Michigan School of Public Health
Erica Whitiker Valenzuela, EdD, MA, Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
R. Tyler Derreth, PhD, PhD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Fan Li, PhD, Yale School of Public Health
Denise Nelson-Hurwitz, PhD, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
ASPPH extends heartfelt gratitude to all who submitted nominations and to every nominee who participated in this year’s award cycle. The nominations reflected exceptional talent, dedication, and impact across the academic public health community. We are deeply appreciative of the nominators who took the time to recognize their colleagues’ achievements and of the nominees whose work continues to elevate our field.
We invite you to join us in celebrating these remarkable individuals and the extraordinary contributions they make to advance academic public health and improve the health of communities everywhere.