McLeroy selected as Research Laureate

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — Kenneth R. McLeroy, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of social and behavioral health in the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, has been selected the 2010 Research Laureate for The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB). The award was made recently during the academy’s annual meeting in Clearwater, Fla.

The Research Laureate is the highest award bestowed by the AAHB. Awarded annually, it honors an individual who has made a significant, enduring contribution to health behavior research. The process is highly competitive and based on a comparative review of finalists’ lifetime records of research productivity and national and international impacts on the field.

Dr. McLeroy is honored and gratified by the award from such a distinguished group of scholars.

“Being rewarded for participation in an ongoing discussion about interesting ideas is a bit disconcerting,” Dr. McLeroy said. “Many of the ideas with which I have been engaged and for which I am being rewarded have come from a variety of sources, and while I think I have contributed to them, they are ideas emerging from conversations with colleagues over a number of years that belong to all of us. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to work with a very productive group of colleagues across the years, and much of the credit for this award belongs to them.”

The American Academy of Health Behavior mission is to promote excellence in research and in the application of research to improve public health.