COVID-19 Impact Award Winners | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health

COVID-19 Impact Awards are given in recognition of a COVID-19 related practice effort that has made or has great potential to make a sustained impact on a health-related outcome in Baltimore, the United States, and globally. Meet our award winners below.

Excellence in U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Practice

Project: COVID-19 Contact Tracing: Training for the Pandemic Response Workforce

Team: Emily Gurley, Brooke Jarrett, Tashrik Ahmed, Sharon McDonnell, Tolbert Nyenswah, Jonathan Zenilman, and the Staff of the Center for Teaching and Learning

Launched a free, massive open online course on contact tracing for COVID-19, including the science of SARS-CoV-2, how contact tracing is done, and the ethical considerations for isolation and quarantine. More than 1.2 million students have enrolled since May 2020, and health departments in every state of the USA leverage this training. The training materials have been adapted and used by programs across the globe.

Excellence in International COVID-19 Public Health Practice

Project: Gender and COVID-19

Team: Rosemary Morgan, Erica N. Rosser, Heang-Lee Tan, and Christina Amethyst Memmott

Collaboration between partners in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom to identify and document the gendered dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak as well as preparedness and response measures to provide immediate policy guidance and recommendations at the global and national level. The group also co-founded and co-chairs an international Gender and COVID-19 Working Group, bringing together over 600 academics, gender practitioners, policymakers, and advocates.

Excellence in Baltimore COVID-19 Public Health Practice

Project: Protecting people who are or have been incarcerated from COVID-19

Team: Leonard Rubenstein, Chris Beyrer, Gabe Eber, Carolyn Sufrin, Joyell Arscott, Lauren Dayton, Henri Garrison-Desany, and Rachel Strodel

Partnership with From Prison Cells to PhD and other community organizations to limit COVID-19 exposure and transmission to incarcerated individuals in Baltimore. Successfully brought COVID-19 testing into correctional facilities and persuaded the Governor to release individuals at highest risk of COVID-19 from prison. Collaborated with partners to assess the degree to which the state is providing housing, medical and other supports to individuals released from confinement during the pandemic.