Early Career Award

Dr. Leena Malayil, PhD '17

Assistant Research Professor, UMD School of Public Health

“This award reaffirms my commitment to pushing boundaries in research, fostering collaboration, and mentoring the next generation of public health leaders. It motivates me to continue striving for innovation, equity, and impact in my work. It reminds me why we chose this path — to make a difference, one step, one study, and one community at a time."

Dr. Leena Malayil is an Assistant Research Professor at the Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, where she passionately pursues her interests in environmental health, food safety, water quality, and human infectious diseases. 

She also acts as the Co-Director of the Maryland Safe Drinking WATER Study leading efforts to characterize the drinking water quality of Maryland's underserved communities using a combination of citizen science, field-based research, and laboratory analyses. She is also the Co-PI for the Global FEWture Alliance and leads the Nepal FEWture Project and the UMD Global STEWARDS Undergraduate Program. Additionally, she serves as program manager of CONSERVE: A Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food & Health, a multi-institution Center funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2016-2021). She is also part of the DAWN (The Dashboard for Agricultural Water Use and Nutrient Management) Educational Team. Dr. Malayil received a Ph.D. in Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences from UMD School of Public Health and MS in Toxicology from the University of Georgia School of Public Health. She also holds MS in Microbiology and a BS degree with a triple major in Chemistry, Zoology and Microbiology from Bangalore and Mangalore University, India.

Kimberly Stinchcomb

MPH'16 (Environmental Health)

Kimberly Stinchcomb, MPH, is currently the Manager of Community Impact and Assessment at the Prince George’s County Health Department. Her role involves engaging community partners to drive positive change through the Prince George’s County Healthcare Action Coalition. She leads efforts to develop the Community Health Improvement Plan, collaborating with stakeholders to address community health priorities identified in the Community Health Assessment, while ensuring adherence to Accreditation standards.

Ms. Maya A. Walker '13

Family Science, UMD School of Public Health
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov), HHS

Maya Walker is a Public Health Analyst for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the Community Based Outreach workforce division. At HRSA Maya works to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce, and innovative, high-value programs. Maya has been able to support community organizations in administering thousands of Covid-19 vaccinations in underserved communities.

Prior to HRSA, Maya was the Manager of Health and Wellness Programs for the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy where she addressed inequities to improve health outcomes through food access and education. Maya managed the only year-round farmers’ market in Ward 7 of Washington, D.C. With the support of her amazing colleagues, she was able to distribute over 3,000 subsidized produce bags and 20,000 meals during the current covid-19 pandemic.

Maya is also currently assisting Black Nurses Rock and the Be the Match campaign to increase bone marrow donations within Black communities. This has created the opportunity for her to continue on the ground outreach to improve health inequities in underserved communities, her deepest passion. She believes that true success is not measured by individual achievements but how you are able to positively impact others.

Mariano Kanamori, Ph.D. '13

Assistant Professor, Division of Prevention Science and Community Health
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Kanamori is a Latino epidemiologist who researches social networks and ways to reduce HIV and substance misuse in Latino populations. His research has been implemented in Peru, Africa and the United States. As a PhD student at UMD, he received several awards including a Dean’s Scholar Award, Chair’s Scholar Award and the University of Maryland Distinguished Dissertation Award.

Following graduation in 2013 from UMD, Dr. Kanamori completed a postdoctoral program on Latino HIV and substance misuse at Florida International University. He joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in January 2018.

Dr. Kanamori has published how immigration policies and enforcement actions are changing the structures and dynamics of Latino farmworkers’ social networks, and how these changes are influencing increases in women’s alcohol dependence and children’s marijuana use. His research is analyzing the role social networks have on the evolving opioid epidemic among Latino farmworkers. He has developed a novel spatially-explicit social network model, called PrEParados, that merges four social network methods with spatial analysis to address the intertwining epidemics of HIV and substance misuse.

Dr. Kanamori’s advice to current UMD students is “Don't be afraid to ask for mentorship. Some doors may not open but the right ones will. There are many public health professionals who are committed to mentoring the next generation. I have mentors and colleagues from all over the world!”