UWF Department of Public Health

08/21/2026

These are UWF public health students at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Several of them presented their own research.

If you want to know how a student gets from a first public health course to a national conference, come find out. Our Virtual Public Health Student Orientation is Friday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

You'll meet the faculty, learn how advising works, and hear which professors are taking student researchers this year. Open to any UWF student who's curious about public health.

Can't make it Friday? Register anyway — we'll send the recording.

Register: https://uwf.zoom.us/meeting/register/fSsonIo8RvqqSHN4PTQq0g

06/22/2026

We are so proud of our very own Dr. Chhabria Unrue!!! Please see more details below!!!

University of West Florida Assistant Professor of Public Health Dr. Karishma Chhabria Unrue has been awarded a nearly $825,000 grant through the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund to lead a statewide initiative focused on improving the health and well-being of breast and prostate cancer survivors. The a...

05/05/2026

🏆✨ End-of-Semester Spotlight: Celebrating Simone Symister-Salmon — Distinguished Honor Graduate! ✨🏆
The Department of Public Health has SO much to celebrate this semester — and at the heart of it is Simone Symister-Salmon, recipient of the UWF Office of Undergraduate Research Distinguished Honor Graduate Award for the Usha K***a, MD College of Health! 🎉👏
Under the faculty mentorship of Dr. Colette Davis, Simone is a student researcher in the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences whose work is making a real impact across Northwest Florida. Her research project — "Community-Engaged Cancer Screening Outreach and Digital Health Promotion in Northwest Florida" — focuses on improving cancer screening access and digital health outreach in our region. 🩺💙
But that's not all — also under Dr. Davis's mentorship, Simone is a recipient of the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Scholars Program designation AND a Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) grant — recognition reserved for the very best undergraduate researchers in the country. 🌟
At the 2026 UWF Symposium, Simone presented her work alongside her peers, showing what's possible when curiosity, dedication, and community-engaged research come together. 📊
Simone — your hard work, leadership, and commitment to advancing health equity in our community are an inspiration. And Dr. Davis — thank you for the incredible mentorship that has helped Simone reach these heights! 💪💙🤍
Congratulations to you both! 🎓✨
***aMDCollegeOfHealth

05/05/2026

🎓 End-of-Semester Spotlight: Dr. Colette Davis's Student Researchers Shine at the UWF Symposium! 🎓
We are SO proud to celebrate the undergraduate and graduate student researchers mentored by Dr. Colette Davis of the UWF Department of Public Health, who presented their work at the 2026 UWF Symposium! 👏✨
Collin Groundwater & Connor Groundwater (Undergraduate Students) presented TWO posters in person — co-mentored by Dr. Cynthia Smith Peters of the UWF School of Nursing — tackling some of the most pressing public health issues facing our community:
🌡️ "More Than a Hot Flash: Assessing Menopause Health Needs in Pensacola, FL" — shining a light on a critical and often-overlooked area of women's health right here in our own backyard.
💔 "Hungry and Hurting: Food Insecurity, Depression, and HIV" — examining the powerful intersection between food insecurity, mental health, and chronic disease.
And presenting virtually via Gather Town, Meagan Russell (Graduate Student) shared her important research:
🧬 "The Prevalence of Deficient Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D in Individuals with Autoimmune Thyroid Antibody Biomarkers" — exploring nutritional deficiencies that may impact those living with autoimmune thyroid conditions.
This kind of cross-disciplinary work — spanning Public Health and Nursing, undergraduate and graduate students, in-person and virtual — is exactly what makes the Usha K***a MD College of Health so special! 💙🤍
Congratulations to Collin, Connor, Meagan, Dr. Davis, and Dr. Smith Peters on an outstanding symposium! 🌟
***aMDCollegeOfHealth

05/05/2026

🌟 End-of-Semester Spotlight: Congratulations to Dr. Colette Davis — NextGen Provost Fellow! 🌟
We are SO proud to celebrate Dr. Colette Davis of the UWF Department of Public Health, who was selected for the prestigious NextGen Provost Fellows Program (Fall 2025 – Spring 2026) — a competitive, invitation-only leadership development program designed to prepare faculty for university leadership and to collaborate on projects that make a lasting impact on UWF. 🎓💙
Throughout the year, Dr. Davis worked alongside senior university leaders on initiatives shaping the future of our university — including identifying students meeting the AAC&U High-Impact Practices criteria for UWF's Metric 10, and co-developing a zero-budget strategic plan to grow internship opportunities for students in the Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business. 📈✨
Pictured here with Dr. Davis at the NextGen Provost Celebration are the Provost, Vice Provost, and the Dean of the Usha K***a MD College of Health — celebrating her well-earned recognition. 👏
Dr. Davis, your leadership and vision are exactly what UWF is all about! 🐎🌊💙🤍
***aMDCollegeOfHealth

05/05/2026

🎓✨ Celebrating Shelby Blair — Master's Graduate, Delta Omega Inductee, and Rising Public Health Researcher! ✨🎓The Chhabria Unrue Lab has SO much to celebrate this semester — and at the heart of it is Shelby Blair, who just earned her Master's degree on May 2nd! 🎉👏But that's not all… Shelby was also inducted into Delta Omega, the national honor society for public health — a prestigious recognition reserved for students who have demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service in the field. 🏆💙Shelby's research journey hasn't been confined to UWF either. She represented our university at the University of Florida, sharing her work with the broader public health research community and showing what UWF Argos are made of! 🐎🌊Throughout her time in the Chhabria Unrue Lab, Shelby has been a driving force behind multiple research projects — including Hypertension and Depression Among Women With Breast Cancer and Food Insecurity and Depression Among Uninsured Women — tackling some of the most important issues facing women's health today. 💪Shelby, your dedication, curiosity, and hard work have set the bar high for the next generation of public health researchers. We cannot WAIT to see what you do next! 🌟Congratulations, Shelby!! 🎓💙🤍

05/05/2026

🎓 End-of-Semester Spotlight: Meet the Student Researchers of the Chhabria Unrue Lab! 🎓
Following Dr. Karishma Chhabria Unrue's powerful keynote at the UWF Symposium, her team of student researchers took the stage with their own incredible work — tackling some of the most pressing issues in public health today. 💙🤍
This semester, students from the Chhabria Unrue Lab presented research on:
📊 Anne Bowe — Hypertension and Depression Among Women With Breast Cancer
🥗 Christian Oglesby — Metabolic Syndrome, Food Insecurity, and Depression Among Women
🎗️ Bhumika Regmi — Quantifying the Burden of Metabolic Syndrome and Depression Among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
📋 Jacob George — Practical Considerations in the Use of Validated Survey Instruments for Public Health Data Collection
✍️ Ali Kent — The Hidden Side of Research: Undergraduate Roles in Grant Development
📚 Kaydence Struckel — Considerations of Critical Journal Metrics for Research Publications
🩺 Shelby Blair, Jacob George, Ali Kent & Christian Oglesby — Food Insecurity and Depression Among Uninsured Women (collaborative project)
🧠 FNU Shrishti — Association Between Depression and Cardiometabolic Risk Among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors (mentored by Dr. Achraf Cohen, co-authored with Dr. Chhabria Unrue)
From breast cancer to head and neck cancer survivorship, food insecurity to mental health, and even the behind-the-scenes world of grant writing and journal selection — these students are doing the work that shapes the future of public health. 🌟
We are so proud of every single one of you! 👏💙
Stay tuned — one of these student researchers took her work all the way to FSU AND UF! 👀✨

05/05/2026

🛡️ End-of-Semester Spotlight: Celebrating the Chhabria Unrue Lab! 🛡️
As the semester comes to a close, we're taking a moment to highlight the incredible accomplishments of Dr. Karishma Chhabria Unrue and her team of student researchers in UWF Public Health! 🎉
This spring, Dr. Chhabria Unrue took the stage at the UWF Symposium to deliver a powerful keynote — "From Data to Policy: Understanding How Research Shapes the Future of Healthcare" — showing how big data is reshaping public health and how each of us can be part of it. From metabolic syndrome to mental health research, she walked the audience through the real-world impact of public health data on our communities. 📊
But she didn't stop there — Dr. Chhabria Unrue also mentored a remarkable group of student researchers who presented their own work at the symposium, tackling everything from breast cancer and depression to food insecurity, head and neck cancer survivorship, and the future of public health research methods. 💙🤍
Stay tuned this week as we spotlight each of these student researchers and their projects — including one whose work made it all the way to FSU! 👀
Congratulations to the entire Chhabria Unrue Lab on a phenomenal semester! 👏

04/16/2026

Today, on April 16th, we are celebrating our 8th event. This annual event provides support to the programs, scholarships and initiatives that make UWF great. You can support UKCOH on Day of Giving and provide funding for our students to create the best learning environment possible to fuel the next leaders in healthcare. Learn more at dayofgiving.uwf.edu.

On , you can provide transformational gifts to Usha Kundu, MD College of Health and our departments while you rack up on Argo Gear! Make a gift of $20 to get a UWF bandana, a gift of $30 for UWF socks and $50 for a UWF hat. To get all three, make a gift of $100! Head to dayofgiving.uwf.edu on April 16th to support our Usha Kundu, MD College of Health.

04/14/2026

UWF's Day of Giving is NEXT week!! Every donation invests in our amazing students by empowering scholarships, research, and other health initiatives.

Visit DayofGiving.uwf.edu to donate and stay tuned for more updates! 💙