The University of Maryland Alumni Association will honor Alumni Alyssa T. Krumlauf, Ph.D. '15, with the Spirit of Maryland Award and Veeraj Shah '21 with the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award during its annual "A Celebration of Terps: Featuring The Maryland Awards" event on November 10, 2023 in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.
The Spirit of Maryland Award honors an alumnus/a or community member who reflects the best of the university spirit. The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award honors an alumnus/a under 35 years old who has completed their undergraduate degree within the last 10 years and has distinguished themselves personally and professionally.
Spirit of Maryland Award: Alyssa T. Krumlauf, Ph.D. '15, associate director, clinical effectiveness and decision science, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Krumlauf, who earned her doctoral degree in behavioral and community health, is a scientist, educator, mentor and advocate passionate about inspiring individuals to answer the next generation’s most pressing public health questions.
For over a decade, she worked as an investigator at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, studying health behavior in diverse and vulnerable populations while teaching over 500 students as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She later worked as a scientific review officer at the NIH Center for Scientific Review before taking her current role.
Krumlauf has stayed connected to her alma mater by having served as the president of the School of Public Health Alumni Network and as the school’s alumni commencement speaker. Krumlauf was recently honored with the School of Public Health’s Distinguished Terrapin Award.
She lives in Gaithersburg with her husband Mike and their mini labradoodle, Luce.
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award: Veeraj Shah '21, co-founder and CEO of Vitalize Care
Shah, who earned a dual degree in biological sciences and health sciences, policy and technology, developed his passion for improving health care as an undergraduate at Maryland. This started through research at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he built software improving quality control processes for oncologists. As a policy intern at the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, he contributed to research and policy supporting the nation’s clinical workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shah also co-founded Chat Health, a chatbot system to improve access to health care, and Public Health Beyond Borders, a nonprofit focused on mitigating global health disparities through education and advocacy.
In 2021, Shah and fellow alum Sanketh Andhavarapu co-founded Vitalize Care, a digital platform that provides mental health support to health care professionals. Shah received a Gates-Cambridge Scholarship to seek a Ph.D. in public health at the University of Cambridge but left the program early to commit to Vitalize Care as CEO. Since then, the company has completed the Y-Combinator accelerator program, raised millions from venture capital funds and angel investors (including multiple UMD alums) and secured multiple hospital system customers.
In his free time, Shah enjoys hiking and trying out local coffee roasters.