BUSPH Faculty Receives Prestigious Peter Paul Professorship
Catharine Wang, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health department of community health sciences, has been awarded a 2009 Peter Paul Career Development Professorship by Boston University that she will use to pursue research related to translating genomic discoveries into programs that will improve human health.
Wang, who recently joined the BUSPH faculty, is one of this year’s three recipients of the award, which recognizes outstanding young faculty within their first two years of BU appointments. The award, which provides $50,000 a year for three years in salary support and research funds, was established in 2006 with a gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Peter T. Paul.
Wang, who has a doctorate in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is pursuing research centered on the genomic applications to health, genetic risk assessment and risk communication in the context of genetic testing.
“The first thing I did after the initial shock was breathe a sigh of relief,” she said of receiving news of the award. “One of the most challenging aspects as a junior faculty member is finding ways to get new research ideas off the ground. I plan to use the award to bolster and strengthen an ongoing study and to initiate two pilot studies related to the translation of genomic discoveries into programs that will improve human health.”
Wang is joined by Margaret Litvin, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of Arabic and comparative literature, and Abigail Moncrieff, an associate professor of law at the School of Law. The awards are named for Peter Paul (GSM ‘71), president of the mortgage banking company Paul Financial, LLC, who gave the University $1.5 million in 2006 to fund 10 professorships over five years. Nominations for the award are submitted by deans and department heads, and awardees are selected by President Robert A. Brown and Provost David Campbell.
Last year, another BUSPH faculty member was among the Peter Paul award recipients. Yesim Tozan, an assistant professor of international health, received the award to pursue her research into the neurocognitive consequences of childhood malaria and the associated socio-economic costs.
Submitted by Lisa Chedekel