The School of Public Health (SPH) Alumni Network is proud to recognize four outstanding recent graduates with the Public Health Emerging and Engaging Leaders (PHEEL) Award. The PHEEL Award honors SPH graduates who have received a degree within the last 10 years and have demonstrated excellence in career progression, service, and leadership.
The honorees are:
- Dr. Priscilla Novak Ph.D. '19
- Dr. Bina Ali Ph.D. '15
- Dr. Munjireen Sifat Ph.D. '21
- Root Woldu B.S. ’20
"We recognize these leaders not just for where they’ve been, but for where they’re going. The PHEEL Award is our way of saying: We see you, we’re proud of you, and the SPH community stands behind you as you continue to grow,” said Chris DeVore, president of the Alumni Association.
The PHEEL Award is our way of saying: We see you, we’re proud of you, and the SPH community stands behind you as you continue to grow.
Dr. Priscilla Novak, Ph.D. '19 has also been named the SPH Early Career Award recipient, to be awarded April 16, 2026. This distinction recognizes an alum who is distinguished professionally, reflects SPH's core values and has graduated within the last 10 years.
Congratulations to the 2026 PHEEL Award cohort, we look forward to your continued contributions and your growing connection to our community.
Dr. Priscilla Novak ‘19
Health Services Administration
Dr. Priscilla Novak, recipient of the 2026 Early Career Award, is a health services researcher and Supervisory Program Officer at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), where she leads a research portfolio focused on health systems, long-term services and supports, dementia care and the economics of aging.
Novak's work centers on building evidence that can be translated into Medicare, Medicaid and community-based care for people living with dementia. She serves as Project Scientist or Program Official for several national initiatives, including the National Dementia Workforce Study and multi-site coordinating centers supporting innovative research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia, she is passionate about bridging research and practice by bringing together academics, health system leaders, community organizations and people with lived experience to co-create solutions. Novak earned her Ph.D. in Health Services Administration from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Bina Ali ’15
Behavioral and Community Health
Dr. Bina Ali is a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, leading critical projects in injury, violence, and overdose prevention. She directs the HRSA-funded data center for the Children's Safety Network, a national resource center that investigates trends and disparities in child and adolescent safety and serves as Principal Investigator on a CDC-funded evaluation of drug overdose prevention efforts in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Ali has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and successfully proposed ICD-10-CM code changes to identify specific synthetic opioids. Her research has been featured in CNN, CNBC and USA Today. She serves on the Children's Safety Network Alliance Steering Committee and the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention Steering Committee and mentors students as a Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University. In 2020, she received the Outstanding Research Award from the Safe States Alliance.
Dr. Munjireen Sifat ’21
Public Health
Dr. Munjireen Sifat is Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University. Her research focuses on health equity, cancer prevention and addressing social determinants of health in underserved communities, including immigrants, refugees and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Sifat has secured multiple grants as Principal Investigator from the American Cancer Society, including projects on harm reduction interventions for chronically unhoused adults and integrating health-related social needs screening in cancer care. She employs innovative community engagement approaches, including cooking circles in Chinatown and public library events that demystify scientific discoveries, ensuring cancer prevention information reaches minority and underserved residents. She received the UMD School of Public Health Dean's Scholar Award in 2022 and a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship for intensive Arabic study in Oman in 2020.
Root H. Woldu ’20
Public Health Science
Root H. Woldu is a public health leader advancing health equity and access. As a Senior Project Manager for the Patient Health Innovation team at Merck, Woldu leads strategic initiatives across HIV and oncology portfolios, developing health equity-aligned patient support programs expected to reach thousands of patients. In her previous role as a Health Equity and Partnerships Fellow at Merck, she coordinated stakeholder engagement at the United Nations General Assembly, analyzed partnership opportunities in low-to-middle-income countries to advance maternal child health and launched the US Health Equity Learning Network Series showcasing principles of health equity and their application within the private sector to advance access and close gaps in care.
Root's expertise spans multiple domains. She serves as Community Advisory Board member for a multi-institutional cancer research initiative at the University of Maryland School of Public Health examining how neighborhood environments and life stressors influence cancer risk. Previously, she served as Analyst to the CEO at Maisha Meds in Kenya, supporting global health technology initiatives. While pursuing her MPH at Harvard, she conducted research on political economy and decolonizing global health. As a CDC Public Health Associate, she designed and launched a statewide status-neutral HIV engagement program for Maryland.
Root holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy with a concentration in Public Health Leadership from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Science from the University of Maryland. As a second-generation Ethiopian American, her lived experience informs her commitment to addressing health disparities domestically and internationally.