College of Public Health hosts their inaugural MPH “Practice Day” competition
May 12, 2025 • News
Last month, the College of Public Health (CPH) hosted their inaugural Practice Day competition on behalf of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program. In previous years, the competition was conducted asynchronously. MPH students could submit their projects in advance and receive their recognition online. This was the first year that the CPH community was invited in-person to support the competition live.
The event, organized by CPH Associate Dean Dr. Emily Spence and MPH student Megan Slaughter, was a showcase of the public health impact that MPH students are making in the community.
The event kicked off with a keynote presentation by Chara Abrams, Systems Director for Community Health and Health Equity at CHRISTUS Health. Abrams who is also a Governance Committee Co-Chair for the Community Corps addressed the community need for public health, and she acknowledged the impact that MPH students can make in her keynote.
“Public health is based on relationship,” Abrams said. “Your story, your perspective, your fire, all matters. The world needs hope-carriers and believers in the impossible.” Four students participated in the Practice Day event for first and second place awards based on the thoroughness of their project and effectiveness of their presentation.
Himani Modi was awarded first place for her presentation on the “8-Week Guided Brain Health Package” which she developed during practice with the UNTHSC Center for Older Adults. The content she created for the 8-week guide was integrated into the UNTHSC Brain Health application to support cognitive well-being in the aging community.
Rayan Asif was awarded second place for his presentation “Advancing Oral Health Equity: The CDC Oral Health Coalition and the Hy-GENIUS Model.” Developed during his practice at the Texas Health Institute, Rayan’s project served as a strategic response to the ongoing federal disinvestment in oral health. The project was also a call for sustainable, community-driven care.
Hely Ghanshyambhai Patel won first place for the “Best Practice Product” and presented her work on the development of a “Trauma and Violence Informed Care (TVIC) Toolkit” from her practice at JPS Health Network. The toolkit she developed encourages and empowers healthcare providers to address trauma and violence when treating patients.
Brianna Lewis earned second place for the “Best Practice Product” and presented on the development of the Bonton Farms Health Outcomes Dashboard. During her internship, Lewis created an interactive dashboard in collaboration with the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center. The dashboard displayed recent findings from an observation project to share participants’ cardiovascular results in a way that’s clear, meaningful and actionable.
Six students submitted their practice products for review and scoring by Community Corps judges. Among these, four students presented their work for the Practice Day audience.
Following the presentations, everyone in attendance voted electronically on the presentation they favored, determining the first and second place presentations (Modi and Asif). Community Corps judges determined the top two practice product winners (Patel and Lewis), and also participated in the determination of Super Site Supervisor and Super Site award finalists.
The competing four students’ site supervisors were also in attendance. Inspired by their mentorship to the MPH students and their partnership with CPH, the supervisors were able to support the final product of their mentees’ impactful work in the North Texas community.
All four students who participated in the competition are graduating in a few weeks.
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