School of Public Health Receives $1.5M HRSA Grant

By Office of the President | Oct 11, 2022

Congratulations to the School of Public Health (SOPH) on its recent $1.5M grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support the Downstate Public Health Scholarship Program (DPHSP), led by PI, Anika Daniels-Osaze, Ed.D., MPH, and Co-PI Marlene Camacho-Rivera, Sc.D., MS, MPH.

The Downstate Public Health Scholarship Program (DPHSP) will recruit, train, and retain underrepresented minority (URM) master’s and doctoral public health students to deliver culturally and linguistically competent care. The program will also work to reduce disparities while promoting health equity. In addition, DPHSP will help to diversify the public health workforce, develop an interdisciplinary and health equity-focused public health seminar series, launch an equity-centered student-tailored mentoring program called PROGRESS, and increase the capacity of public health systems through COVID-19 and health equity field (APEx) opportunities and Downstate-wide activities.

DPHSP will expand strategic partnerships beyond the current agencies, which include the New York City and State health departments, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, the University Hospital at Downstate, Kings County Hospital Center, and institutions of higher education to provide field placement sites for 85 trainees per year. Additionally, the SOPH will offer scholarships to offset the financial burdens that challenge these students.

Throughout the three-year grant, the DPHSP will train and provide field placements and scholarships for 255 students while facilitating entry into full-time public health positions upon graduation. In many cases addressing the issue of public health worker shortages in underserved neighborhoods. 

Academic performance enhancement, career opportunities through mentoring initiatives, and professional development seminars for trainees focused on career development and public health emergency preparedness strategies and education related to social determinants of health, disparities, and health equity are also crucial elements that the grant covers.

Dr. Daniels-Osaze has over two decades of experience developing pathway programs for underrepresented students and managing HRSA-funded programs at Downstate. Dr. Camacho-Rivera has extensive experience recruiting, training, and mentoring graduate students from URM backgrounds and historically excluded communities. 

We are proud of Professors Daniel-Osaze and Camacho-Rivera for securing this impactful HRSA grant to diversify the ranks of public health talent and expertise and further advance our cherished mission to advance health equity.

Tags: Education, Public Health