The USF College of Public Health (COPH) brought its public health community together in San Antonio during the 2026 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Expo. From student research presentations and professional development opportunities to reconnecting with alumni, faculty and public health advocates at the college’s annual reception, COPHers showcased their passion, expertise and commitment to advancing public health.
COPH sends robust student delegation to APHA
Every year the COPH presents SHARP Awards to students who are conducting impactful research relevant to public health and who have been formally invited to present their work at professional or research conferences. This year’s SHARP awardees who shared their public health passion at APHA include:
PhD student Khaila Prather | “Evaluating changes in sexual and reproductive health prevention determinants among justice-involved youth participating in the Choosing Myself program” and “Opportunities to improve youth’s reproductive well-being: findings from a regional needs assessment in west- central Florida”
PhD student Beatriz De Oliveira Rocha | “Advancing disease intervention in Tribal Nations: Workforce perspectives and challenges”
DrPH student Jesse Casanova | “A Multi-Domain Prioritization Framework for Malaria Intervention Planning: A Decision-Support Tool Incorporating "Seek and Destroy" Larval Source Management in Uganda”
Undergraduate student Amrita Nayak | “Beyond Resettlement: The Enduring Health Impacts of Displacement and Transnational Lives” and “Refugee Health Needs and Barriers to Healthcare Access in United States”
PhD student Melissa Newsome| “Building child welfare workforce capacity through a co-developed NAS/NOWS training” and “A Student-Driven Curriculum to Build Policy Knowledge, Skills, and Leadership for the Future Public Health Workforce”
DrPH student Jesse Casanova used his SHARP Award to present "A decision-support tool incorporating Seek and Destroy larval source management in Uganda" at the APHA 2026 Annual Meeting & Expo.
Igniting their public health passion
Every fall the college hosts a competition around professionalism. Graduate students
have five minutes to present on what public health professionalism means to them.
The prize is a trip to APHA and the competition is fierce. This year’s winners of
the 5th annual Ignite Passion for Professionalism event include Jordan Sammarco and Ana Laura Alcantara Nascimento.
Ignite winners Ana Laura Alcantara Nascimento (center left) and Jordan Sammarco (center right) attended the reception along with the dean and Dr. Caitlin Wolfe. (Photo courtesy of Wolf)
The hippest reception in town
The COPH reception was held in a private event space featuring an outdoor patio terrace along the historic San Antonio River Walk and an adjoining indoor room, offering the perfect setting to connect, unwind and celebrate with the COPH community. Faculty, alumni, students and public health advocates gathered over tasty appetizers and a private bar.
COPHers enjoyed the appetizers and refreshments along the San Antonio River during the reception. (Photo courtesy of Liz Bannon)
Dean Sten Vermund, who opened the evening, welcomed former dean, Dr. Donna Petersen, who spoke with pride and optimism of the state of public health and of the COPH.
“Attending the APHA conference this year the energy has been around community, social connection, humility about what hasn’t worked in public health and building what is next,” Petersen said before adding, “We’ve got people depending on us and the COPH does it like nobody else!”
Dr. Donna Petersen and Dean Sten Vermund gave welcoming remarks. (Photo by Liz Bannon)
Afterwards, Vermund shared exciting news of the new status of the college, “The COPH is now the largest public health college in the United States in terms of number of students, which includes over 4,000 undergraduate students and our core graduate program of about 700 students.”
He credited Petersen and her colleagues as early pioneers in undergraduate studies in public health education.
“Our undergraduates are in demand when they come with public health degrees because it is not common for those in the workforce to have that degree, so they stand out,” he said.
He mentioned more points of pride including a historic number of grants applied for and awarded and ,more than 100 faculty members.
“It’s a healthy college, with many people in the room who are making it that way,” he said. “As you’re visiting each other’s presentations at the remainder of conference, be proud to be a Bull,” he concluded.