Two CoHP Students Honored at 2023 BSA Awards

The Black Student Association (BSA) Awards Ceremony honors student leaders from each of the UTHSC colleges as they move toward graduation. Two CoHP students were recognized at the ceremony in February: Siham Sherif and Bianca Jackson.

Siham Sherif, a third-year Master of Occupational Therapy student, is known across her department for her academic excellence, professionalism, and commitment to the community. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the program, while also participating in many leadership and volunteer activities.

Prior to becoming a student at UTHSC, she founded and was president of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Student Association (2019) at the University of North Carolina, was a tutor in a Gross Anatomy lab, and was a supervisor of facilities and operations at the UNC Campus Recreation Center.

Sherif has demonstrated excellence in scholarship. She and several classmates presented a poster at the 2022 Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference titled, “Effects of Sensory Intervention on Neurological Development in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Critically Appraised Topic.”

She is a board member of the Rachel Kay Stevens Therapy Center, a student-run pro-bono pediatric clinic for uninsured or underinsured Tennesseans. She served as the secretary of the Delta Zeta Chapter of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s honor society, Pi Theta Epsilon. She also served as a gross anatomy teaching assistant, providing support to occupational therapy and physical therapy students. She volunteers at the Memphis Islamic Center, where she has helped set up and run community health fairs, COVID vaccination events, and dinners for families in need during Ramadan. She is also a youth head soccer coach.

After studying biology during her undergraduate years, Bianca Jackson, MPH, discovered her interest in improving health outcomes on a large scale.

“I learned about how we can use data to improve health outcomes, as well as doing a grounded approach of talking to people within the community to understand the social determinants in order to get to the core of how these chronic diseases and morbidities are impacting them,” Jackson said. “I arrived at UTHSC because the professors in this specific program are interested in improving health outcomes by utilizing their various research skills, and there is a large focus on helping the community around us.”

Jackson, from Memphis, is pursuing a PhD in health outcomes and policy research with an emphasis in health informatics and information management. Before joining UTHSC, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in health systems management from the University of Memphis.

Her research experience includes qualitative and quantitative research, clinical research, health technology assessment development, and evidence evaluation, analysis, and synthesis. Her dissertation focuses on the use of machine learning to predict lung cancer risk using electronic health record data.

“We see that lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers and that it is most prevalent within the southern region. I am diving into how we can improve the outcomes of those with lung cancer, identify the risks, and prevent the incidence of lung cancer within our community and in our region,” she said. “Using that data, we can understand what is causing this, specifically within individuals in Tennessee, who are at greater risk, how it is impacting patients in Memphis compared to Nashville or Knoxville, and how we can apply the knowledge of health informatics to improving the outcomes of people within my community and across the state.”

Jackson served as a student representative on the Graduate Student Executive Council. She is praised in her college for the energy she brings to her work that inspires colleagues, faculty, and staff. About being honored at the BSA Awards, Jackson said, “It was awesome to be in a room of people that look like and share the same interest as me. Although we are in different fields, our ultimate goal is to help others and improve the health of others.”

After graduating, Jackson will pursue consulting in the field of health economics and outcomes research and plans to apply the research and analytical skills she received from the program to improve health outcomes in many therapeutic areas.