In late 2019, the Division of Health Policy and Insurance Research (HPI) opened the first call for nominations for the inaugural Aaka Pande and Sumit Majumdar Memorial Award. The award was established in response to the untimely passing of Drs. Pande and Majumdar, as a means of honoring their legacy of dedication to rigorous science for impactful population health benefit. The review committee received numerous nominations of outstanding work by current and former DPM fellows. Given the high quality of work submitted, the selection committee decided to select two awardees. HPI is honored to announce the 2024 Aaka Pande and Sumit Majumdar Memorial awardees:

• Selina Ehrenzeller, MD, Post-doctoral Researcher, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University Basel, Switzerland

• Bryant Shuey, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine, General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dr. Ehrenzeller is a post-doctoral researcher in the Division of Clinical Epidemiology at University Basel in Switzerland. She is dedicated to conducting exceptional research to advance health equity through advocating for integrating basic preventative measures in health systems to improve population health. Her submitted work focused on measures to ultimately advance the quality and cost-effectiveness of care delivered in hospitals. Dr. Ehrenzeller’s paper, “Association Between Daily Toothbrushing and Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” was published in the December 2023 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine.

Dr. Shuey is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is committed to rigorous health policy research and evidence-informed decision making to improve population health. His submitted work focused on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on high-acuity, alcohol-related complications. Dr. Shuey’s paper, “High-Acuity Alcohol-Related Complications During the COVID-19 Pandemic” was published in the April 2024 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum.

With this award in memory of two former fellows, HPI annually recognizes the talents of current and former research fellows in the Department of Population Medicine making significant contributions to constructive health policy dialogue through publications of sound research, insightful blogs, or op-eds. For more information on the award, please visit the award website.