Each academic year, the faculty and staff of UMD's School of Public Health (SPH) honor their outstanding students at the Celebration of Scholarships and Student Awards, recognizing students who received scholarships, fellowships and awards in the 2025-26 academic year.
Global Public Health Scholars saw numerous awards given to undergraduates, program alumni, and graduate assistant instructors alike. Manuel Custodio received the Robert and Barbara Gold Public Health Innovation Award for her research poster presentation. Saili Khorjekar received a Top Poster Award at the Public Health Research Day and the Social Action Student Award, which recognizes an SPH student or team that demonstrates excellence in social action through a planned event, campaign or project designed to improve the well-being of traditionally marginalized groups.
Rend Nayfeh received the Fraley Award of the Dean's Scholar Awards, the highest undergraduate honor offered by the School of Public Health; and Arianna Ruiz was named a Dean's Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar, for excelling academically and contributing to the greater SPH community through campus activities, community service, and volunteering.
Dr. Angshuman Kashyap led the graduate assistant instructors with his awards tally, receiving the Research Paper Award for a PhD student who published a manuscript in 2024 that was innovative, included substantial data analysis and made a significant contribution to the field of public health research; the Barry Portnoy Dissertation Research Award, honoring the legacy of Dr. Barry Portnoy by recognizing outstanding dissertation proposals that demonstrate innovation, meaningful public health impact, and especially exceptional methodological rigor; and the Pamela I. Clark Global Health Student Experience Endowed Award, which supports SPH students for education, research and service experiences outside ef the United States, especially through Public Health Beyond Borders.
Joining him were John Wesley Wiggins, who received the Robert and Barbara Gold Public Health Innovation Award for his research poster presentation; and Dr. Janay Johnson, who received The Dean's Graduate Scholar distinction for excelling academically and contributing to the greater SPH community through campus activities, community service, and volunteering.