Andrew Braun receives the 2020 United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award

Andrew Braun, a student in the MD/MPH dual-degree program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in San Antonio and Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, has received the 2020 United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award.

The national award was established to recognize contributions to public health made by medical students. Braun was nominated for his dedication to research that addresses bladder cancer and improves HIV prevention efforts. 

“We are proud of Dr. Braun and his consistent commitment to improving the health of the community throughout his MD/MPH program,” says associate professor Melissa A. Valerio-Shewmaker, PhD, MPH, Braun’s MD/MPH program advisor. 

Braun completed his practicum work with Robert Svatek, MD, to develop research databases on cancer epidemiology and bladder cancer. He has twice received the HIV Vaccine Trials Network’s prestigious Research and Mentorship Program (RAMP) Scholars award, once to work in qualitative research with the New York Blood Center and once to work in an HIV vaccine laboratory at the University of Washington. After graduating from the MD/MPH program, he plans to pursue his medical residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC.

Braun says the classroom and research experiences he’s had while earning his MPH at UTHealth School of Public Health in San Antonio have taught him to view medical issues from both a clinical and population health perspective.

“All of this has pushed me to want to continue as a physician-researcher in an academic setting in the future,” he says. “Additionally, I am interested in policy and hope to take advantage of the opportunities available in DC because research cannot be effective without advocacy.”