College of Public Health

2023 Faculty Achievement Award winner announced

May 2, 2023 • News

On Friday, Dr. Erika Thompson, associate professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was awarded The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s prestigious annual Faculty Achievement Award – taking home a $10,000 prize in addition to the prestigious award.

The Faculty Achievement Award Committee names an annual winner for this award based on a nominee’s accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship, service, clinical service and leadership. An awards committee consisting of a senator and faculty member selected from each of the five HSC colleges and schools reviews the nominees.

To be eligible for the peer-nominated honor, a faculty member must have been an active member of faculty for at least three years and work primarily at HSC. Faculty members who hold administrative appointments and immediate past winners are not eligible.

During the Spring Faculty Assembly in Luibel Hall, all five finalists — one from each of HSC’s colleges — were recognized.

Dr. Xiaowei Dong of the UNT System College of Pharmacy, Dr. Kimberly Fulda of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Rachel Menegaz of the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, and Dr. Teresa Wagner of the College of Health Professions were also nominated and will receive a $2,500 cash prize for being finalists.

In the nomination letter, assistant professors Dr. Stacey Griner, Dr. Nolan Kline, Dr. Malinee Neelamegam, and Dr. Charlotte Noble praised Thompson for exemplifying HSC’s values.

“Dr. Erika Thompson is incredibly well deserving of the HSC Faculty Achievement Award because of her exemplary achievements in research, teaching and service,” the letter says. “Her commitment to these areas promotes the values of the HSC as she models exceptional standards and act in the best interest of our community.”

Thompson has served the American Academy of Health Behavior as the 2021 conference research review chair, the Association for Teachers of Maternal and Child Health’s Advisory Board and as chair of their Education and Mentoring Committee, and the American Public Health Association Women’s Caucus ‑ Caucus Collaborative Representative. She is also a senior associate editor for Behavioral Medicine with an emphasis on women’s health research, and serves on the editorial board for Health Behavior Research.

Locally, Thompson is the co-chair of the advocacy committee and sits on the board of the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County. She also serves on the core team and is a founding member of the Birth Equity Collaborative of Tarrant County, an organization created through a partnership with CityMatCH.

In addition to these leadership roles, she is a member of several community efforts, including the Tarrant County Health Equity Alliance, the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition’s Family Homelessness Committee, the Texas HPV Vaccine Coalition, and the Cervical Cancer Screening Workgroup for the Cancer Alliance of Texas. Within the College of Public Health, she has been active in several school committees, including the MS/PhD Committee; Program Director Committee; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee; and Scholarship and Awards Committee.