Shilpa Venkatachalam, a second-year public health student at NYU, was selected to attend the 13th annual Paul Ambrose Scholars Program Student Leadership Symposium in Washington D.C. from June 20-22, 2014. She joined 40 other health profession students selected from over 80 schools across the country. The symposium consisted of leadership development sessions focused on perspectives in prevention, health policy, community organizing, and careers in public health. As a scholar, Ms. Venkatachalam is eligible to receive funds to implement a public health project focused on a Healthy People 2020 goal in her community.

1. SHILPA VENKATACHALAM of the Global Institute of Public Health, New York
University,NYU Attended a Student Leadership Symposium on Public Health and
Preventive Medicine in Washington, DC
Ms. Venkatachalam,asecondyear,publichealth studentatNYU was acceptedinto a highlycompetitive
program to attendthe 13th annual Paul Ambrose ScholarsProgram StudentLeadership Symposium,
heldJune 20-22, 2014 in Washington,DC. She joined40 othermedical,physicianassistant,dental,
pharmacy,publichealth,andgraduate nursingstudents dedicatedtobringinghealthpromotionand
preventiveapproaches tohealthprofessionseducation andtheircommunities. The students were
selected fromapool of applicantsfromover80 healthprofessionsschoolsacrossthe country.
RADMBoris D. Lushniak,MD,MPH, U.S.PublicHealthService,DeputySurgeonGeneral,providedan
inspiringday-oneclosingdiscussion thatsetthe stage forthe rest of the Symposium. Throughoutthe
leadershipdevelopmentprogram,(Ms.Venkatachalamandthe otherparticipants attended
presentations focusedonperspectivesonprevention,healthcareandthe economy,healthpolicy
advocacy,projectplanningandcommunityorganizing, medicineandthe underserved, funding
opportunities, mediarelations,socialdeterminantsof health,andcareersinpublichealthand
prevention. Publichealthofficials,industryexperts,andpublichealthveteransled the sessions.
The program is namedforPaul Ambrose,MD,MPH, wholosthislife onboardAmericanAirlinesflight77
on September11, 2001. Paul wasthe seventhAPTRLutherTerryFellow,aSeniorClinical Advisorinthe
Office of Disease PreventionandHealthPromotion,andwasworkingwiththe USSurgeonGeneral ona
Call to Actiononoverweightandobesity. Throughhisintelligence,commitment,and heart-feltenergy,
Paul forgedmeaningfulrelationshipsandtouchedmany livesbydemonstratingazestfor living and
passionforpreventionandpublichealth. Paul’sparents,Kenand SharonAmbrose, attendedthisyear’s
symposiumevent.

2. In additionto accommodationsto participate inthe symposium, Ms.Venkatachalam iseligibleto
receive amini-grantfunds toimplementapublichealthordisease preventionproject focusedonone of
the HealthyPeople 2020 LeadingHealthIndicators oncampusor in hercommunitywithinthe nextyear.
The Paul Ambrose ScholarsProgram(PASP) isplannedandimplementedbythe Associationfor
PreventionTeachingandResearch(APTR). PASPissponsoredbythe Office of DiseasePreventionand
HealthPromotion(ODPHP) of the U.S.Departmentof HealthandHuman Services(HHS).
About the Associationfor PreventionTeachingand Research (APTR)
Established in 1942,the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) is a national membership
organization for faculty and academic institutionsadvancingtheeducation of physiciansand other health
professionals in prevention and population health.
APTR individual members arefaculty,researchers,practitioners,administrators,residents and students.APTR
institutional members includegraduatepublic health programs,medical school departments of preventive and
community medicine, medical school departments with a population health focus, health professions schools,and
various health agencies.
The APTR Council of Graduate Programs in Public Health is theorganizingbody for the accredited and emerging
graduate public health programs in the U.S.
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