Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Celebrating Excellence, Innovation and Service at the 2025 PHS Faculty Awards

June 5/2025

Congratulations to Profs. Kazumi Tsuchiya, Robert Steiner, Eleanor Pullenayegum, Jude Kong, Prabhat Jha, Jennifer Gibson and Francisco Ibáñez-Carrasco for receiving 2025 Faculty Awards! 

By Ishani Nath

With the 2024-2025 academic year coming to a close, faculty and staff recently gathered to honour the recipients of the 2025 PHS Faculty Awards.

“It’s a pleasure to celebrate the passion, dedication, and tireless efforts of our colleagues who make lasting impact through their teaching, research and leadership,” said Carol Strike, Associate Dean of Public Health Sciences (PHS), to a joyous crowd at the Faculty Club. 

Strike then awarded various faculty members for their excellence in teaching, research, and service to the community.

Excellence in Teaching, Supervision and Mentorship 

DLSPH’s Assistant Profs. Kazumi Tsuchiya and Robert Steiner were recognized with Public Health Sciences Awards for Excellence in Teaching. 

Tsuchiya works in the Social and Behavioral Health Sciences Divisionand is clearly appreciated by her students.

“In the words of her students, Dr. Tsuchiya embodies the qualities of an exemplary teacher whose dedication to equity, diversity and inclusion along with her commitment to evidence-informed teaching makes learning a truly enjoyable experience,” said Strike, adding that, “Kazumi’s teaching goes beyond the classroom, empowering students to critically engage with the world around them and to advocate for change.”

Steiner was similarly recognized for introducing new opportunities and perspectives to PHS students. He designed and launched multiple new DLSPH courses, including Public Health Advocacy, and Public Health Impact, Trust and Communications and is the Director of the Dalla Lana Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact, which has trained more than 200 public health and health systems experts. 

“Rob’s goal in teaching applied subjects to sophisticated learners is not merely to facilitate application but to inspire students to view their world with fresh, disciplined perspectives, free from the constraints of traditional thinking,” said Strike. 

In addition to teaching, students greatly benefit from supervision and mentorship from DLSPH faculty members. Biostatistics Prof. Eleanor Pullenayegum, who is also an Associate Professor in the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), was recognized for her achievements in this area. 

Pullenayegum is not only well-respected in her field, but Strike noted that she is “admired by her students for her time management, constructive feedback, work-life balance and meaningful professional development.” Pullenayegum was honoured with the Public Health Sciences Award for Supervision and Mentorship. 

“She is deeply appreciated as an outstanding professor, mentor and a role model — knowledgeable, supportive, and inspiring and is a well-deserved candidate for this recognition,” said Strike. 

Excellence in Research

The innovative research conducted by PHS and IHPME faculty members plays a major role in DLSPH being ranked the best public health faculty in Canada and among the top 10 around the world. At the 2025 PHS Faculty Awards, Profs. Jude Kong and Prabhat Jha were each recognized for their work with a Public Health Sciences’ Anthony Miller Award for Excellence in Research. 

Kong, who is also an IHPME Assistant Professor, conducts research in the areas of artificial intelligence, pandemic preparedness, equity and global public health. “He has an h-index 25; i10-index 63, and over 115 publications. Since joining the DLSPH, he has secured over $4 million in funding,” said Strike. “His productivity is simply astonishing as is his commitment to his community and drive to change the world.”

Strike noted Jha’s research systematically capturing causes of death has been able to catalyze public health responses, and save lives, around the world. “Prabhat has shown how rigorous data, gathered at low cost, can drive monumental change — whether in tackling the tobacco epidemic, reducing malaria deaths, or exposing the true toll of COVID-19,” said Strike, adding that his work, “exemplifies the power of research to change the world.”

Excellence in Service to the Communities 

Jennifer Gibson, an Associate Professor with PHS and IHPME, was recognized with the Public Health Sciences Award for Excellence in Service to the Public Health Sciences/University of Toronto and Professions. 

Gibson, the SunLife Financial Chair in Bioethics and Director of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre of Bioethics, overhauled and updated the MHSc in Bioethics program and has advised governments and policy makers on issues ranging from medical assistance in dying to drug funding and supply. “Recently appointed a fellow of the Hastings Center, an internationally recognized research and policy institute in Hastings, New York, Dr. Gibson is deserving of this award for her exemplary body of work and impactful service that has informed scholarship and public understanding of complex ethical issues in health,” said Strike. 

Improving public understanding of health issues, and conducting research with patients as peer researchers, is at the heart of Assistant Professor Francisco Ibáñez-Carrasco’s work — and part of what makes him an outstanding member of the PHS faculty. 

Strike noted that Ibáñez-Carrasco is “one of the founders of HIV community-based research (CBR) in Canada and continues to be an innovator in community service, e-learning and a champion of CBR and participatory research within HIV affected communities.” Ibáñez-Carrasco, a community activist and academic, was recognized for his long-standing commitment to and impact on service to communities with the Public Health Sciences Award for Excellence in Service to the Communities. 

Before concluding the awards presentation, Strike highlighted faculty who were promoted in the past year, those who received tenured or continuing status, and the members of PHS who will soon be retiring.