Recognizing extraordinary accomplishments early in their career
The Mohammad R. Torabi Early Career Outstanding Alumni Award is presented annually to a graduate of the School of Public Health-Bloomington and its prior incarnation as Health, Physical Education, and Recreation who has demonstrated notable achievement in public health community outreach and engagement. Community engagement is the framework within which individuals, groups and organizations work together with community members to bring about positive health impact. The overarching goal is to improve community health through collaboration across and within various communities. Recipients of this award are limited to those individuals who have received their most recent School of Public Health-Bloomington degree within the past ten years.
2023 recipients
A self-described “pracademic,” Dr. Tapati Dutta is a social scientist and inclusion strategist with almost 25 years of blended experience in teaching, program management, socio-behavioral research, community-based health education, policy advocacy, and service, including her widely viewed TEDx talk “Life Lessons via Cannibals, Sex Workers & Marginalized People.” She is an assistant professor of public health at Fort Lewis College (FLC), a Native American Serving Nontribal Institution (NASNTI) and Minority Serving Institution (MSI) located in southwest Colorado.
At FLC, Dr. Dutta has been most popular for introducing Participatory Teaching Co-Learning (PTCL) methodologies and building classroom communities through indigenized approaches such as: (1) using storytelling as a pedagogic method, (2) leading and sustaining academia–non-profit partnerships, (3) integrating student co-led research to curriculum, and (4) innovating virtual global health internships.
Her research interests include public health policy and systems to address global health disparities with focus on sexual and reproductive health, chronic diseases, and biomedical tools for disease prevention (including vaccines). While her research is oriented as translational, her systems research reiterates “community engagement” to realize social, relational, and ethical determinants of health policies and programs. She received her Ph.D. from SPH-B in 2019.
Tapati Dutta
Dr. Grace Karikari—fondly known as Dr. Gee—is an assistant professor and educator scholar with the Indigenous Health Department, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. In addition to a graduate certificate in gerontology and health, she earned an M.P.H. and Ph.D.from SPH-B.
Dr. Karikari has a diversified teaching and research background in gerontology and geriatric education, holistic health and wellness, stress prevention and management among college students, community-based participatory research, rural community engagement, global health education, and promoting dementia-friendly institutions and communities. She is a passionate educator who enjoys teaching, collaborating with students, and seeking resources to support student learning. She received the 2023 University of North Dakota Excellence in Course Development and Innovative Teaching Strategies Award.
Dr. Karikari has embraced current technology and social media to help make public health knowledge more accessible and meaningful to people everywhere. She created YouTube and podcast channels dedicated to empowering people to take holistic action to improve their health and well-being. Dr. Karikari and her family also established KENKAN Books and More, a culturally oriented educational publishing company.
Grace Karikari
Past award recipients
Dr. Abigail Stickford is a senior medical writer at Medtronic. She received her M.S in 2009 and her Ph.D. in 2013, both from SPH-B.
Following a postdoctoral research fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Stickford served for more than six years as an assistant professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Public Health and Exercise Science. Her research interests include human physiology, blood pressure, pregnancy, and the sympathetic nervous system.
While at Appalachian State, she received a Graduate Research Assistant Mentoring (GRAM) Program award for her work with graduate students on “Sympathetic neural and cardiovascular responses to pregnancy in obese women.”
Among her impressive body of research are nearly 80 publications on a variety of public health topics ranging from COVID-19 in young adults; pregnancy beliefs and behavior in rural communities; hypertension in various populations including people experiencing perimenopause, pregnancy, and a family history of hypertension; and how gait and the cardiac cycle alters heart rate response during running.
Dr. Carla Brown is an Assistant Professor at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. She has worked in public health for the last 13 years in the public and private sectors. Dr. Brown has a Bachelor of Science degree in Advanced Medical Imaging Technology from the University of Cincinnati (UC).
During her time at the UC, Dr. Brown became a member of Chi Omega Sorority, Inc. She earned her Master of Science degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree from Indiana University School of Public Health. Dr. Brown completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. While at the CDC, she learned the best techniques and practices in the field of public health.
Dr. Brown is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist. She has conducted international health research to improve the quality of health for people across the world. Dr. Brown hopes to help others live their best life by protecting their health. Dr. Brown partnered with her colleague, Dean Chiarelli, to write a book about healthy aging for people aged 60 years or older.
In her free time, Dr. Brown hosts her own geopolitical podcast and leads aerobic group fitness classes. Dr. Brown loves traveling and has visited China nearly 15 different times. She is diligently working on becoming fluent in Mandarin Chinese. She is a dedicated dog mom to her 6-year old Shiba Inu named Gabby. Her greatest hope is to end homelessness in the United States.
Dr. Jon Agley is currently an Associate Professor of Public Health in the Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. He is also the Deputy Director of Research at Prevention Insights, a translational research center within that department.
Dr. Agley has led and supported community-engaged research throughout his academic career, partnering with organizations of all kinds throughout Indiana and beyond, including, but not limited to, hospitals, primary care and behavioral healthcare centers, nonprofits, health departments, community advocates and leaders, training programs for healthcare professionals, and even a professional theater company. The work advanced by these partnerships has taken many forms, such as advancing rural psychiatric and mental health services, supporting robust evaluation of community-driven services, and advancing and supporting prevention programming for youth and young adults. He delights in community-engaged work and is proud to be able to call many of his community partners friends.
Dr. Agley works to maintain and expand a robust portfolio of research, expressed through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and monographs. His work has been recognized in a variety of news outlets, in addition to being grant- and contract-supported by federal, state, and local funding entities. He enjoys both generating new ideas and systematizing ways to implement those ideas in real-world settings.
Dr. Johnathon Shaffer earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the Indiana University School of Public Health in 2011. He went on to attend the University of Queensland -Ochsner Clinical School, completing two years of medical school in Brisbane, Australia, followed by two years of clinical training in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation.
Throughout his career he has been a major proponent of exercise for the maintenance of neurological, cognitive, and overall health. He was a member of Indiana Collegiate Emergency Medical Services while at IU, covering a vast array of events including the Little 500. He helped organize and facilitate several outreach programs, including one through the New Orleans Saints NFL Trainer’s Symposium for Youth. He is currently advocating for more athletic training support in Baltimore County, for which he has submitted a proposal for a highly competitive Palatucci Grant from the American Academy of Neurology.
Most recently, he was awarded a fellowship in Sports Neurology, Neuromodulation, and Interventional Pain at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles for 2020. There he will be a consulting physician or team physician to the Los Angeles area professional sports teams, colleges and other area teams, including Team HEAL high schools in inner city Los Angeles.
Dr. David Pierce is an Associate Professor of Sports Management in the Department of Tourism, Events, and Sport Management at IUPUI. He is an expert in the area of sport sales, having published the ground-breaking textbook to teach students how to sell (Selling in the Sport Industry, 2017). He is also the Director of the Sports Innovation Institute where he offers high achieving students engaged learning opportunities to conduct research for sport industry partners. In addition, he serves on the Executive Board for the Sport Marketing Association, and is also a member of the editorial board of the Sport Management Education Journal.
Dr. Pierce spent six years as an Associate Professor at Ball State University prior to his appointment with IUPUI. During that same time, he was the play-by-play radio voice of the Marian University Knights football team. Throughout his career, he has been awarded several honors including Indiana AHPERD's Sport Management Educator of the Year in 2015 and Young Professional of the Year in 2011. On the IUPUI campus, Dr. Pierce leads the Capstone Community of Practice for the Institute for Engaged Learning.
Dr. Pierce currently lives in Fishers, Indiana with his wife and two children. He stays involved with his community by volunteering at cross-country events produced by Hilltop Sports Ministry at Northview Church Carmel and Summer Play events produced by Brookside Community Development at Brookside Park in Indianapolis.
Kristen Jozkowski, M.S. '07, Ph.D. '11 is currently a tenure-track, assistant professor of Public Health, affiliate faculty member in Gender Studies, and the director of the Sexuality Research Lab at the University of Arkansas where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. She is also a Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University.
In her first year as faculty at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Jozkowski was awarded her department's Outstanding Research Award. In 2014, she was awarded the Outstanding Young Professional Award from the Population, Reproductive and Sexual Health Section of the American Public Health Association and the Rising STAR Award for excellence in service, teaching and research by the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Jozkowski's research on sexual consent and sexual assault prevention is not only important, but timely given recent national attention on sexual assault prevention. She is one of the leading researchers on sexual consent and clearly remains committed to reducing rates of sexual assault on college campuses through her research and advocacy.
Dr. Jozkowski has authored or co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and over 85 presentations at national and international conferences. Her work has been cited by mainstream media including the New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, the Daily Beast, and Cosmopolitan Magazine demonstrating the importance and impact of her work.
She is committed to student growth both inside and outside the classroom.
Kalen Irsay graduated from Indiana University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management and Marketing from the School of Public Health-Bloomington. Like her sisters Carlie and Casey, shegrew up with the Colts organization as a significant part of her life. Ms. Irsay joined the team in June of 2010 as vice president and, along with her sisters, she represents the next generation of Colts ownership. She is currently entering her third season as Vice Chair and Owner of the Indianapolis Colts.
Ms. Irsay is involved in corporate sales and community outreach programs and currently serves on the board of the United Way of Central Indiana. She is president of the Indianapolis Colts Women's Organization, an organization comprised of Colts female staff as well as wives of staff, coaches and players, which plans monthly service projects during the season and supports a variety of charities including School on Wheels and United Way of Central Indiana.
A native of Fishers, Indiana, Brittany Hollingsworth received her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology in 2011. As a student at Indiana University, she served as team manager for the women's basketball team. Prior to the completion of her senior year, Brittany, and a handful of generous donors, established a first-ever endowed scholarship for women's basketball managers at Indiana University.
Upon graduation, she spent the 2011–2012 season as the equipment manager for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. She worked under the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach, Lin Dunn, and was part of the first-ever championship in franchise history during the 2012 season. Ms. Hollingsworth is now entering her second season as Director of Women's Basketball Operations at the University at Albany-State University of New York. She is involved with daily operations including administrative duties, travel and logistics, community service and outreach, and assisting the needs of staff and players on and off the court.
Allison Chopra is the owner of Urban Fitness Studio, LLC, a private personal training studio in Bloomington. Her business opened in August 2008 and has experienced growth each year since that time during a period of a challenging economy.
The vision for Urban Fitness Studio is to connect with non-exercisers in an inviting, non-intimidating environment, with a focus on exercise as a means to physical and mental health. Currently, she and four other staff trainers (all of which are IU School of Public Health graduates) work with clients to find health and longevity through fitness. She also opened Urban Cycle Studio in the fall of 2011—a dedicated spinning studio.
Both Urban Cycle and Urban Fitness are involved with the City of Bloomington's Adopt-a-Trail program aimed at maintaining the B-Line trail. The studios are sponsors in the Little 500, Mag 7 Race Series Event, and the IU Mini Marathon. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Allison is a board member on the City of Bloomington's Urban Enterprise Association and an avid IU Varsity Club supporter.
In her spare time, she enjoys racing in 5K road races and spending time with her husband, Christopher, and two young sons. Her ability to combine entrepreneurial drive with her passion toward exercise and fitness, makes her a fitting recipient of the School of Public Health's first ever Early Career Outstanding Alumni Award.
Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Beth Goldman came to Indiana University for her Ph.D. in Kinesiology in 2008 and has since continued her successes by having an extraordinary early career, holding a myriad of prestigious positions.
She has worked as chief of rehabilitation research for the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, as a senior scientist for the Joint Combat Casualty Research Team in Iraq, as director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Program for the Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, as the deputy director for Neurotrauma Research for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, as a congressional analyst for the Office of the Surgeon General, and presently a legislative liaison for the Medical Portfolio Appropriations Committees for the Pentagon as well as an adjunct faculty member at Baylor University.
LTC Goldman has received several awards for her outstanding work, including the Iron Major Award for the Army Medical Specialist Corps, the Outstanding Research Committee Member Award for the American Society of Hand Therapists, and the U.S. Navy Occupational Therapist of the Year Award.
Due to her research findings, in recent years, she joined the Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a joint initiative to promote cultural change regarding traumatic brain injury, solider-athlete awareness and reducing the stigma caused by seeking treatment for concussions and other brain-related injuries.
