There’s a moment that happens once everyone sits down, before the program starts, when the noise settles just enough for you to notice who’s in the room.

New faces. Familiar ones. People you usually see in meetings, on Zoom, or in passing between buildings.

That’s where this year’s DPHS Holiday Luncheon really began.

“You can’t do it in one slide.”

Interim Chair Kathryn McCollister opened the luncheon by naming something most people in the room already knew.

The work happening across the department doesn’t compress easily.

“You can’t do it—not in one slide, not in 100 slides, honestly.”

She spoke about conversations she’s been having across DPHS, about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the use of genomic data to predict disease and design precision health interventions. About environmental equity, occupational health, and efforts to reduce exposure risks across diverse workforces.

“I just want you to know that I’ve been listening and learning.”

She also spoke candidly about what she’s seen since stepping into the role: the operational backbone that supports faculty work, the scale of coordination it takes to keep programs running, and the people who make it happen.

“I now see what’s under the hood, and I’m amazed.”

Before moving on, she looked ahead: expanding online education, formalizing new programs, and launching initiatives that had already been in motion across the department.

What’s taking shape

Rather than listing announcements, Dr. McCollister framed them as momentum already underway:

• New and expanded online education programs
• The launch of the Public Health Sciences Catalyst Lab in January, led by Dr. Tyler Bartholomew
• Public Health Roundtables, a reimagining of grand rounds led by Drs. Farren Briggs and Lin Zhu
• MOMENTUM, a mentoring and translational research initiative led by Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez

“All three have tremendous potential for expanding our path across the University and beyond.”

Then she paused.

“So what lies ahead? Exciting things, I hope.”

An unscripted moment

Before the awards began, Dr. McCollister invited a guest to say a few words, without warning.

Guillermo “Willy” Prado stepped up, laughing, and admitted he hadn’t prepared anything.

“This is my extended family,” he said. “It’s where I grew up as a Ph.D. student.”

He talked about mentorship, doors opened quietly over time, and the meaning of seeing familiar faces alongside new ones.

“There are a lot of new faces… you’re in a phenomenal place.”

Teaching Awards, Year Three

The room then turned its attention to teaching.

Dr. Viviana Horigian presented the 2025 DPHS Teaching Faculty Awards, now in their third year. The awards were established in 2023 to recognize excellence, innovation, and community engagement in teaching.

This year’s recipients:

Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Sara St.George

Teaching Innovation Award

Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez

Community Engagement Award

Dr. Audrey Harkness

Horigian noted that the new Community Engagement category reflects how deeply community partners are embedded in the department’s teaching mission.

“We are a learning community,” she said. “Faculty, students, staff, we’re all learners.”

Recognizing staff, too

This year also marked the first DPHS staff recognition awards, honoring contributions that often happen outside the spotlight.

Exemplary Service Award

Simone Whitehead

Team Spirit and Collaboration Award

Amael Trujillo

Both awards recognized work that supports faculty, students, and departmental operations—often quietly, always consistently.

A pause for David

Before lunch ended, the department took time to recognize Dr. David Lee, with reflections submitted by faculty and staff and a word cloud built from their responses.

When Dr. Lee spoke, he kept it simple.

“The most rewarding part of my career has been the opportunity to support people—their trajectories, their growth.”

“It’s humbling.”

He reflected on the department’s growth over the decades and thanked the community for carrying the work forward.

Before heading back to work

As the program wrapped up, Dr. McCollister returned to the podium one last time.

“It’s been really wonderful to bring everybody together,” she said. “To honor and celebrate each other.”

She wished everyone a healthy holiday season and invited the division directors up for photos.

And just like that, the room shifted again: chairs scraping, conversations restarting, people heading back to meetings, with a little more context about the work happening around them.

Written by Deycha Torres Hernández, published on January 20, 2026.