<p>Tom Devine (Master of Public Health, Columbia 2023) and researchers at Whakauae have been named this year&rsquo;s recipients of the Jack Elinson Award by Columbia University, New York City. The award is named for Jack&nbsp;Elinson, the first Chair of Columbia&rsquo;s Sociomedical Sciences Department, who coined the term sociomedical science. &nbsp;It recognises the contribution to sociomedical research made by a Columbia sociomedical sciences programmes graduate student through their lead authorship and publication of a paper of outstanding merit.</p>

<p>A faculty panel selected the paper, published in the <em>Journal of Humanistic Psychology</em> in 2022 and entitled &ldquo;Equity, Public Health Messaging, and Traditional M&#257;ori Knowledge: The Te Ranga Tupua COVID-19 Response&rdquo;, for this year&rsquo;s award. The paper&rsquo;s rigour, significance, and overall excellence were noted by the selection panel.</p>

<p>Tom has been with Whakauae since 2020 and has worked on a number of research projects alongside the team including the Te Ranga Tupua COVID-19 Response study, public health policy commentary, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access for M&#257;ori MSM. He has been in New York since 2021 completing his Master of Public Health degree at Columbia on a Fulbright Scholarship, William Georgetti Scholarship and Gordan Watson Scholarship.</p>

<p>Tom has also been nominated for a distinguished thesis award for his dissertation entitled <em>Putting Systems Thinking into Public Health Practice: A toolkit for Aotearoa New Zealand</em>.</p>

<p>He would like to acknowledge Whakauae and its leadership for their mentorship over recent years and for the opportunity to learn and be involved in Kaupapa M&#257;ori research. The knowledge he has acquired during his time with Whakauae has not only informed his studies at Columbia but also his work as a Principal Advisor at Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.</p>

<p>Congratulations on all you have achieved to date through your hard work Tom!</p>

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<p><img alt="Tom Devine and Linda Fried" src="/uploads/images/tom-devine-and-linda-fried.jpg" style="height:650px; width:650px" /><br />
<em><span style="font-size:12px">Tom with school Dean Linda Fried</span></em></p>
