CHET Honors Inaugural Awardees
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2021) — The University of Kentucky’s Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) recently announced the recipients of its inaugural Equity Changemaker Award for Graduate Students, Professional Students and Postdoctoral Scholars and Undergraduate Essay Competition. The two new awards honor UK scholars who are advancing health equity.
The Equity Changemaker Award recognizes impactful research by UK postdoctoral scholars, graduate and professional students. The award honors scholars whose research seeks to understand health disparities and inequities and whose mentorship has contributed to the next generation of health equity leaders.
This year’s recipients include Jardin Dogan, a counseling psychology doctoral candidate in the College of Education whose research focuses on health disparities in Black communities.
“It’s imperative for me to disseminate research and resources to Black populations in translatable and digestible ways,” Dogan said. “Achieving health equity requires a multifaceted prevention and intervention approach to help Black people who encounter barriers and challenges on multiple levels.”
CHET’s first Undergraduate Essay Competition was launched to implement programming focused on health equity and anti-racism. Students were invited to reflect on the quote, “Critically intervene in a way that challenges and changes.” Essays focused on the intersection of health and justice to illustrate the importance of health equity.
Nyassa Emedi, a public health major in the College of Public Health, was awarded first place for her essay focused on racism and xenophobia in health care and her commitment to addressing these inequities.
“As a young Black woman, I am aware that there aren’t a lot of people who look like me in the medical field but stepping into a scene that wasn’t built for me is my way of critically intervening in a way that challenges and changes,” said Emedi.
The 2021 winners are:
Equity Changemaker:
Jardin Dogan, Awardee
Dogan is a counseling psychology doctoral candidate in the College of Education. With a stellar record of scholarly research, community outreach and clinical work, she strives to eliminate mental, social, and sexual health disparities for Black people by focusing on racial identity, racial trauma and mental health; substance use, incarceration and racial health disparities; and Black sexualities, sexual pleasure and intimate relationships.
Kendra OoNorasak, Honorable Mention
OoNorasak is an education sciences doctoral student in the College of Education. Through her outstanding commitment to research, service, teaching, mentorship and program development, OoNorasak has made great strides in addressing nutrition inequity and food insecurity in the UK and Lexington communities.
Kaylin Batey, Honorable Mention
Batey is a second-year medical student in the College of Medicine. His outstanding dedication to social justice, community engagement and mentoring are evidenced through his numerous efforts to address health inequities outside of his medical studies.
Undergraduate Essay:
Nyassa Emedi, First Place
Emedi, a public health major in the College of Public Health, is committed to addressing racism and xenophobia in health care by personally contributing to the diversity of health care professionals. She has also led advocacy efforts among her peers to address cyberbullying and participated in community protests against racist violence.
Kayla Woodson, Second Place
Woodson is a political science major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her essay focused on the impact of medical racism on Black women’s health and its relationship to historic injustices. Woodson also led the UK Student Government Association’s response to the racial injustices happening across the nation, specifically crafting a statement voicing support for justice for Breonna Taylor.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.