Recognition & Awards

Partnership SDSU PI Hala Madanat named SDSU Interim Vice President for Research

August 6, 2020Hala Madanat, PhD Director of the San Diego State University School of Public Health, has been named interim vice president for research. Madanat’s appointment becomes effective on Sept. 1.

“Given her leadership and expertise in interdisciplinary research, external funding generation, undergraduate and graduate student research, and community outreach, she is a truly an exceptional candidate,” SDSU President Adela de la Torre shared in a campus announcement on Aug. 6.




Hala Madanat Named 2020 Albert W. Johnson University Research Lecturer

February 27, 2020Hala Madanat, PhD will deliver the Albert W. Johson University Research Lecture at Storm Hall on the SDSU campus (date TBD). The Albert W. Johnson University Research Lectureship is awarded annually to an SDSU faculty member for outstanding achievement in research and scholarship. Its purpose is to recognize such achievement, to foster its continuation, and to enable a distinguished resident faculty scholar to share his/her knowledge more broadly with and beyond the academic community.

Dr. Madanat is an accomplished researcher, respected mentor and valued University leader. She serves as director of the School of Public Health, a core-investigator of Institute for Behavioral and Community Health, and a principal investigator of the SDSU/UCSD Cancer Partnership. Her research on health disparities and obesity prevention has had an invaluable impact on the field of public health and has been cited by congress to enact health policy changes. She leads the evaluation of several large NIH-funded center grants at the university, and has published nearly 90 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and books.





Director and Professor Hala Madanat Gives Keynote Address at the 5th International Conference on Public Health

July 19, 2019Hala Madanat, PhD Co-Lead Principal Investigator and director and professor in the School of Public Heath at San Diego State University presented the keynote address at the Fifth International Conference of Public Health in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on July 10. The title of her talk was “Breaking Barriers to Achieve Health Equity Now!”




Mentor Spotlight: Elva M. Arredondo, PhD

April 18, 2017Elva M. Arrendondo, PhD was featured by the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) in a blog series celebrating mentors nominated by Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program scholars for having made a difference in their career development. Dr. Arrendondo was nominated by Lilian G. Perez, a fifth-year PhD Candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health at UC San Diego and San Diego State University.




Celebrating 21 Years of the CURE Program Recognition Ceremony Honorees

June 27, 2017Elena Martinez, PhD, was recognized as a CURE Service to the Profession Honoree at an NCI CRCHD ceremony recognizing individuals across six categories — Champions, Emerging Scholars, Pacesetters, Mentorship, Service to the Profession, and Lifetime Achievement. Honorees included CURE scholars representing the continuum of research careers, mentors committed to ensuring that the next generation of researchers is prepared for research career independence, and champions who enhance the reach of the CURE program.




Cancer Moonshot℠ Blue Ribbon Panel

April 4, 2016Elena Martinez, PhD, Co-Lead Principal Investigator of the SDSU-UCSD Cancer Center Partnership, was invited to be a member of the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel, composed of leading experts from a broad range of scientific areas, including biology, immunology, genomics, diagnostics, bioinformatics, and cancer prevention and treatment. Members also include investigators with expertise in clinical trials and cancer health disparities, as well as representatives of cancer advocacy groups and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. A Blue Ribbon Panel of scientific experts was created to advise the presidentially-appointed National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB).



Look for Dr. Martinez beginning at 2:20 in the video!