FAMU Alumna Awarded Fellowship

Corliss Allen, M.P.H., a 2009 graduate of Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) Institute of Public Health, was awarded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) Fellowship. She was selected from a pool of 900 applicants of which only 25 individuals were awarded this prestigious fellowship. PHPS is a three-year training and service fellowship for master’s level public health professionals. The fellowship focuses on public health program management and provides experience in program planning, implementation, and evaluation through specialized hands-on training and mentorship at CDC, and in state and local health agencies.

Some of the specialized hands-on training will include environmental health, chronic disease prevention, and infectious disease. Each Fellow will receive key supervision support and mentoring while working on multidisciplinary projects along with public and private partners.

Allen said, “Being selected as a CDC Public Health Prevention Service Fellow is both exciting and humbling. I have so many people to thank who truly sacrificed so that I may be afforded such an opportunity. I hope to be a great ambassador of FAMU’s public health program.”

Preceptor Ivette A. López, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, Institute of Public Health said, “This opportunity is well deserved. Not only is Ms. Allen talented; she is passionate and committed to serving underrepresented communities. The level of training and experiences that she will receive at this premier public health federal agency will enhance both her professional and personal gifts.”

“We are extremely happy and proud of Ms. Allen,” said Cynthia M. Harris, Ph.D. DABT, professor and director of FAMU’s Institute of Public Health. “The fellowship is indicative of her hard work and competency as a public health professional.”

“Graduates of our Institute of Public Health continue to win outstanding national honors for their training and contributions to improving the public health of our nation,” said Henry Lewis III, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The goal of PHPS is to prepare public health professionals for leadership positions in local, state, national, and international public health agencies.