The School of Public and Population Health (SPPH) proudly celebrates three of its faculty whose innovative projects were selected as 2024 President’s Cabinet Award recipients.
Since 1993, the President’s Cabinet Awards has provided more than $6 million in seed funding to 184 promising initiatives, thanks to the generosity of over 300 members, including faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners.
“The President’s Cabinet is a vital arm of UTMB to reach into the community and to do so much good,” said UTMB President and CEO Dr. Jochen Reiser on X.com. “The breadth of projects and programs, and the commitment of the Awardees are one of a kind.”
Empowering Patients and Families Through Safety Videos: Dr. Meredith Masel
Meredith Masel, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health & Health Disparities and Director of the Oliver Center for Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, received her third President’s Cabinet award since joining UTMB in 2002. Her latest project will bring vital patient safety information to life through video, turning 10 of the Care Partner Project’s most-used checklists into visual content for display in hospital rooms and online platforms.
“This is my 3rd President’s Cabinet award since coming to UTMB in 2002,” said Dr. Masel. “It is an honor and a privilege to be given this opportunity to turn popular printed material for patients and their loved ones into videos that can be displayed in patient rooms.”
“The Care Partner Project™ at UTMB Health provides an important patient safety program where we aim to mobilize patients and care partners to be an extra layer in the ‘Swiss cheese model’ of patient safety,” she continued. “When a loved one is in the hospital, their care partners often ask, ‘What can I do to help?’ These warm, patient-centered checklists empower them to do activities that can prevent hospital-acquired infections, falls, medication errors, or readmissions.”
Dr. Masel added, “There are families that would give anything to turn back time to receive vital information showing them how they could have helped prevent a deadly infection in their loved one. It is very exciting to have the chance to reach more people across our healthcare system and community with life-saving safety information through an additional medium.”
Look for the new video safety checklists soon and find existing resources online at the Oliver Center for Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Public Health Leaders: Dr. Cara Pennel and Leslie Stalnaker
Cara Pennel, DrPH, MPH, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Leslie Stalnaker, MPH, Director of Public Health Practice, were also awarded a 2024 President’s Cabinet grant for their initiative to launch a Public Health Summer Camp for middle and high school students across Galveston County.
Set to debut in summer 2025, the two-week camp will engage 25 adolescents with hands-on public health learning, field trips, and mentorship from UTMB graduate students.
“We often talk about the importance of the public health workforce, but that pipeline starts much earlier than graduate school,” said Dr. Pennel. “This camp is a way to spark curiosity, introduce real-world public health concepts, and inspire young people to see themselves as future leaders in the field. We’re thrilled to help students explore how public health shapes our daily lives.”
“This camp is all about exposure and empowerment,” added Stalnaker. “Campers will visit local health departments, hear from public health professionals, and get hands-on with tools and concepts they’ve never seen before. It’s an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom learning and public health practice in a fun, engaging way.”
Their project aligns with SPPH’s mission to connect education and service, build a stronger public health pipeline, and make a lasting impact on the health of Texas communities.
Have a story to share? If you or your team are working on a project, event, or initiative that makes an impact, we’d love to feature it on the SPPH News & Events blog. Email us at SPPHmarketing@utmb.edu with your ideas!