Ramirez awarded Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health
Mays Cancer Center Annual Report
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, has received the 2025 Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health from the American Public Health Association. Ramirez is director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and associate director of cancer outreach and engagement at Mays Cancer Center.
The award recognizes Ramirez’s work in public health, which spans more than 30 years. An internationally recognized health researcher, Ramirez also launched the “Avanzando Salud Center,” supported by a 4-year, $4.08-million grant from the American Cancer Society. The center is a response to the cancer burden facing South Texas. Center research scholars and the community are teaming up to address health across the cancer care continuum by targeting non-medical drivers of health that prevent people from obtaining care.
In addition, Ramirez is among a team of researchers at UT Health San Antonio selected to launch a community engagement resource center on heart health, thanks to a generous contribution from the American Heart Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. From a total gift of $20 million to support four teams of scientists and community leaders from across the United States to engage the community in research to improve health, UT Health San Antonio received $3.5 million for its CONNECTOR initiative. The initiative aims to identify, evaluate and manage community-based solutions to fight precursors of heart and vascular disease, including upstream factors such as nutrition insecurity and other related non-medical drivers of health.
