Arnold School Awards
Gerry Sue Arnold Alumni Award: Samuel O. Antwi
Currently an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Jacksonville, Florida, Samuel Antwi’s public health journey began in Ghana, where he studied psychology. He moved to the U.S. to complete a MPH in Epidemiology at the University of Kentucky before completing a Ph.D. in the field at the Arnold School in just three years.
After graduating in 2015 with the Outstanding Epidemiology Student Award, Breakthrough Graduate Scholar Award from the Office of Vice President for Research at USC, and the Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, Antwi joined the Cancer Genetic Epidemiology Training Program at the Mayo Clinic as a postdoctoral fellow. He remained with the Mayo Clinic as a Senior Associate Consultant in Research – during which time he also completed a Postgraduate Program in High Impact Cancer Research at the Harvard Medical School – before moving into assistant and then associate professor positions. He also serves as the Director of Genetic Epidemiological Risk Assessment for Pancreatic Cancer at the Mayo Clinic.
Antwi’s research has resulted in more than 65 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, such as the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Human Molecular Genetics, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. He serves on Editorial Boards of several academic journals in his field, including Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, and has served on grants review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. He is the co-investigator on three major National Cancer Institute-funded projects, principal investigator of two foundation grants and previously was the principal investigator of an NCI-funded K01 study that uses molecular and genetic epidemiological evidence to advance knowledge about cancer prevention, risk assessment, and early detection. Antwi is a founding member and serves on the Executive Committee of the Africa Hepatopancreatobiliary Cancer Consortium and serves on the Associate Member Council of the National Cancer Institute’s Cohort Consortium.
“Dr. Antwi is an emerging star in cancer epidemiology whose research on liver and pancreatic cancer is significant to patient care and public health,” says Anthony Alberg, chair of the epidemiology and biostatistics department. “The list of Dr. Antwi’s accomplishments to advance understanding of cancer so that it can be prevented or detected in its earlier more curable stages is extensive, and his work is making a difference in the fight against cancer.”
This award is open to all alumni who graduated less than 10 years prior to the current year. Alumni whose work has both made a difference to the profession and in the health of an identified community or population are eligible for this award.
Norman J. Arnold Alumni Medal: Charity G. Patterson
Charity G. (Moore) Patterson, a graduate of both the Master of Science in Public Health in Biostatistics (1997) and Ph.D. in Biostatistics (2000) programs, is an expert in clinical trials and data coordination, particularly for studies of non-pharmacological interventions such as rehabilitation and exercise. She enrolled at the Arnold School directly after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University with a bachelor's degree in statistics and mathematics.
After completing her graduate degrees and receiving the Outstanding Graduate Student in Biostatistics Award, Patterson lent her research expertise to the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and South Carolina Rural Health Research Center before accepting a faculty position at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 2007, she made the move to the University of Pittsburgh, where she has spent nearly two decades in various leadership and faculty roles.
Ultimately finding her niche in rehabilitation research, Patterson has led the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Data Center (previously known as the Physical Therapy Data Center) for the past eight years. Since 2019, she has held the title of Professor of Physical Therapy, with secondary appointments in Clinical and Translational Sciences and Biostatistics.
Patterson has authored or co-authored more than 200 scholarly articles to date and is currently providing her biostatistics expertise to 13 projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Patient Centered Outcomes Institute. She has collaborated on clinical trials related to treatments for low back pain, hearing care in older adults, physical function following knee replacement, Parkinson’s disease, multiple ligament knee injury, and fatigue in shift workers. Patterson is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award (University of Pittsburgh) and a two-time winner of Rose Excellence in Research Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Research.
“Dr. Charity Patterson is a model of an extraordinarily successful academic biostatistician who is making a strong positive impact to benefit clinical medicine and public health,” says Anthony Alberg, chair of the epidemiology and biostatistics department. “In a career spanning more than two decades that remains on a strong positive upward trajectory, Dr. Patterson serves as an exemplar of the value of biostatistics as an essential component of public health and clinical research in the team science environment.”
This award is open to all alumni who graduated more than 10 years prior to the current year. Eligible alumni should demonstrate work that has had both a positive impact on the profession and on the health of an identified community or population and has brought recognition to the Arnold School of Public Health.