School of Public Health Alumni Advisory Board honors two former students

Jennifer Griffith, DrPH, MPH, and Omolola “Lola” Adepoju, DrPH, were recently honored by the Texas A&M University School of Public Health’s Alumni Advisory Board.

Griffith, the associate dean for academic affairs and an instructional professor at the School of Public Health, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, while Adepoju, who is an assistant professor at the University of Houston, received the Rising Star Award.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest award presented by the Alumni Advisory Board and it serves to honor alumni who have contributed distinguished service to the college and/or the public health profession.

The Rising Star Award honors an alumnus less than 10 years post-graduation who has exhibited outstanding contributions to their profession, to their community and to the Texas A&M School of Public Health.

Griffith received her Bachelor of Arts in biology from Texas A&M in 1998 and her Master of Public Health in 2000 as a member of the first class to graduate from the School of Public Health.

She joined the faculty at the School of Public Health in 2008 as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, and in 2019 she assumed the role of associate dean for academic affairs.

She has also served as associate dean for public health practice (2015-2019), associate department head for public health studies (2015-2017), director of the Master of Public Health program (2014-2015) and director of practicum experiences (2013-2015).

In 2021, Griffith was a namesake for Session B of Texas A&M’s Fish Camp.

“Jennifer has probably done more for the school than any other alumni,” said the individual who nominated her for the award. “Her service to the school has taken on many roles.”

Adepoju graduated from the School of Public Health in 2013 and is an associate professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences at the University of Houston College of Medicine.

Adepoju teaches evidence-based medicine and leads research activities within the Humana Integrated Health System Science Institute, a strategic partnership between Humana Inc., and the University of Houston.

She is an affiliate of the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging. Additionally, she works with Robert Ohsfeldt, PhD, on pipeline postdoctoral positions for recent PhD in Health Services Research graduates.

Since graduating from Texas A&M, Adepoju has worked in a variety of settings, including the government, health insurance industry and academic institutions. She also serves on the editorial board of two high-impact journals—Population Health Management and Frontiers in Public Health.