Audry S. Motlagh (Spr ’15) Recipient of MPH Excellence in Health Promotion Research Award

Audry S. Motlagh, a current MSW MPH student slated to graduate this Spring 2015, received the 2015 MPH Excellence in Health Promotion Research Award from the University of Georgia College of Public Health.  Ms. Motlagh was nominated for this award by her mentor, Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Behavior in the College of Public Health.  Dr. Smith summarized her research contributions as follows:

“Audry has been working with Chatham County (Savannah) for the past few years to develop a county-wide inventory of health- and social work-related services.  The purpose of this inventory was to identify service delivery gaps and opportunities for organizational collaboration to ensure Chatham County residents receive necessary services.  As part of this effort, Audry trained herself to use asset mapping software that can overlay aspects of the population (e.g., race/ethnicity, poverty) with aspects of service delivery.  This asset mapping work has been turned into a report for the County, and Audry is currently writing a publishable manuscript about the process and utility of such technology for strategic planning and partnership development.”  Audry completed this work through the Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship through the School of Social Work, which provides financial support to a student working in coastal Georgia.  She worked under the direction of former School of Social Work professor Dr. Michelle Carney, who is now Professor and Director of the School of Social Work at Arizona State University and in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Smith.

“Audry has also worked to write a publishable manuscript about cardiovascular disease and sexual dysfunction among middle-aged and older adult male military Veterans and factors associated with discussing sexual health with their physicians.  This manuscript is currently under review for publication in a scholarly journal.  This work has also revealed a gap in the literature where military Veterans often use VA healthcare services and community-based healthcare services; however, these systems do not seamlessly communicate, which can compromise Veteran health.  Audry has written a commentary about this issue which is currently under review for publication in a scholarly journal.  The results of this work have resulted in Audry presenting at one national conference and two local/state conferences.”  Audry completed this work in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Smith.

Congratulations on these outstanding achievements, Audry!