Page Menu

Mick Huppert Community Health Scholar Awards

2024 Mick Huppert Community Health Award

Call for Proposals: due April 15, 2024

The annual Mick Huppert Community Health Award is intended to support first year medical students who have demonstrated a commitment to community engaged service and scholarship as well as a career as a family medicine physician. With mentoring from a Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (FMCH) physician faculty member, the student will be expected to:

begin work on a distinct portion of a new or existing community health initiative during MS I and complete by January of MS II
work with a FMCH physician faculty member to advance the initiative’s goals,
develop and submit an update at the initiative’s midpoint as well as a brief final report as it concludes,
make a presentation at one of the FMCH’s monthly forums as the work concludes, and
submit an abstract to a professional meeting for presentation of the work while a medical student.

This competitive award will fund up to three initiatives at $1,650.00 each. Distribution of the funds will be according to the following guidelines:

$500 for the student(s) (this is taxable income)
$500 for the FMCH physician faculty mentor (this is taxable income)
$150 for supplies and other misc. expenses (mailing, copies, etc.) FMCH can help purchase the supplies or reimburse the student. Gift cards are not an allowable expense.
$500 for future conference travel and registration for the student to disseminate the project in collaboration with the mentor (FMCH will assist with travel coordination and reimbursement)

If two students collaborate on a project, one faculty mentor can support two students. Applications should explain the project and how the funds will be used for supplies and if any conference attendance is planned.

Completed applications are due April 15. Applications should be submitted online to the link provided, with attachments sent to Heather-Lyn.Haley@umassmed.edu . Awardees will be announced by the end of April. Funding will be provided by the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.

The following application criteria must be met:

The student is an MS I and has shown an interest in Family Medicine and/or Community Health through joining the Family Medicine Interest Group, MassAHEC Urban or Rural Health Scholars, or the Primary Care Principles Optional Enrichment Elective.
The student demonstrates prior commitment to community engagement, public health or community health and outlines future career plans.
The proposed initiative addresses a public health, community health or population health issue.
The project is longitudinal and can be completed by mid-year of the student’s MS II
year.
The student has identified and received a commitment from a Family Medicine and Community Health physician faculty member to serve as mentor.

About Mick Huppert: These awards honor the work of Mick Huppert, MPH, an FMCH faculty member and AHEC leader who passed away in 2017. Mick left a legacy of community health improvement initiatives and public health spirit in our department, our communities and our state, as well as in our hearts. Mick had an unwavering passion for addressing community health needs and for passing this passion along to students and colleagues.

2024 Application:

Mick Huppert Community Health Award Application 2024

Review fields below, prepare responses, then complete application at this link:

https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ElpVHk0KM9OBtY

1. Student Name(s) (Up to two students maximum):

2. Involvement in FMIG, MassAHEC RHS/UHS or the Primary Care Principles OEE

3. Email address(es):

4. Name of Family Medicine and Community Health physician faculty supervisor/advisor:

5. Title of Project/Proposal:

6. Project summary (include statement of problem/rationale for proposed project and how community will benefit)

7. Community Program(s) participating in project (include name of Program Contact, Level of Commitment/interest to date)

8. Clear explanation of how the community and/or community program has been involved in planning for the proposed project (i.e. focus groups, survey, etc)

9. Two or three “SMART” objectives* (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound):

10. Proposed outcomes of project and how outcomes will be evaluated:

11. Project timeline (including a timeline for submission to Institutional Review Board if project involves human subjects research):

12. Plan to disseminate the completed project at a regional or national conference, and/or via publication:

13. Statement about past involvement in community engagement, public health or community health and future career plans:

14. Proposed budget for how the $150 will be used (for project supplies, printing, etc):

Once your responses have been submitted online, please email Heather-Lyn.Haley@umassmed.edu with the following attachments to complete your application:

1) Brief letter of support from the Family Medicine and Community Health physician faculty mentor/advisor

2) CV that denotes past commitment to public health, community health, or community engagement

* Specific – state exactly what you want to accomplish (who, what, where, when); Measurable – how will you demonstrate and evaluate that goals have been met; Achievable – objectives that have an the ability to achieve the outcome; Relevant – how does the objective tie into key responsibilities; Time-Bound – have target dates “by when”.

Submit by April 15, 2024.

2023 Huppert Awardees

Brain Injury and Intimate Partner Violence in U.S. Asylum Seekers: Assessing Barriers to Brain Injury Evaluation
Elizabeth Irvin, Class of 2026/PURCH
Mentor: Lucy Candib, MD

Encouraging Civic Engagement in Southeast Asian Youth
Minhtam Tran, Class of 2026/PURCH
Mentor: Heather-Lyn Haley, PhD

Partnerships with Community Organizations to further the work with the Worcester Refugee and Immigrant Communities
William Lemnios, Class of 2026, Erik G Bratland, Class of 2026/PURCH
Mentor: Olga Valdman, MD

2021 Recipients & Projects

Julia MacDougall (T.H. Chan School of Medicine) and Emily Chin (T.H. Chan School of Medicine)
Mentor: Sara Shields, MD, MS
Worcester Safe Baby Project

Sabahat Rahman (T.H. Chan School of Medicine)
Mentor: Payal Modi, MD, MPH
Assessment of Social Determinants of Health and Linkage to Care Within the UMass Chan Medical School Emergency Department

Michael Urbanowski, PhD (T.H. Chan School of Medicine)
Mentor: Daria L. Szkwarko, DO, MPH
A retrospective program evaluation of latent tuberculosis infection screening and treatment in an urban Massachusetts federally qualified health center

Heidi Boland (Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing) and Grace Winship (Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing)
Mentor: Andy Lowe
Implementation of Outer Cape Health Services’ Sano Health Smartphone Pilot Project

Samantha Creamer (Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing) and Annie Thornton (T.H. Chan School of Medicine)
Mentors: Linda Cragin, MS and Janet Hale, RN, PhD
Operation Conversation: Bridging the Gap between the Veteran Community and Future Health Care Providers at the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic

2020 Recipients & Projects

Haley Schachter (T.H. Chan School of Medicine) & Aisling Ryan (Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing)
Mentor: Andy Lowe
Outer Cape Health Services Community Navigator Program:
A Positive Health Force on the Outer Cape

Filia VanDessel (T.H. Chan School of Medicine) & Cathleen Cuddihy (Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing)
Mentor: James Ledwith
Improving Access to Recreation and Physical Activity Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities on Martha’s Vineyard

Anushay Mistry
Mentor: Heather-Lyn Haley
Promoting Wellness to Boost Resilience in WRAP Youth

Christine Callahan (T.H. Chan School of Medicine) & Iha Kaul (T.H. Chan School of Medicine)
Mentor: Elizabeth Eagleson
Empowering Healthy Eating through Community Based Education

2019 Recipients & Projects

Divya Bhatia
Mentors: Lucy Candib and Satu Salonen
UMass Chan Medical School Student-Run
Asylum Clinic

Vanessa Villamarin & Emily Nuss
Mentor: Sara Shields
Baby Box Project