BUSM Student Owen Kendall Receives US Public Health Service Honor

Own Kendall receiving the USPHS award from Karen Symes, PhD
Owen Kendall receiving the USPHS award from Karen Symes, PhD

Fourth-year medical student Owen Kendall has received the 2015 Excellence in Public Health Award of the Physicians Professional Advisory Committee (PPAC) of the United States Public Health Service. The award recognizes medical students who are involved in public health issues in their community.

Kendall, an MD-MPH candidate, created and implemented a free community running group, the Forest Hills Runners (FHR). The goal of FHR is to empower the community by bringing together people who might not normally meet to reduce social isolation and improve physical and mental health. He chose his own community, Jamaica Plain, for its socioeconomic and culturally diverse population to begin the program. With six runs per week, approximately 100 members now participate each week.

“Owen is an empathetic and articulate student with a palpable passion for public health and serving underserved and vulnerable populations,” wrote Karen Symes, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and assistant dean for student affairs, in her nomination letter. “FHR has already made a significant and direct impact on the health of local adults and children in his own community. Through the engagement of local volunteers, FHR will be sustained and likely continue to grow even after Owen graduates from BUSM and leaves the area. This work and his plans to develop a model that can be applied locally by people throughout the country make Owen a highly deserving candidate for this award.”

Members of FHR also have expanded their activities beyond running to include volunteering at a local soup kitchen, attending races to support one another and social activities that are coordinated by a community volunteer. 

Kendall also wrote about his experiences with FHR and the role of community running groups in an essay, “Using Social Networking in the Fight Against Obesity.” The essay was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and helped him become a NEJM Gold Scholar in 2012.