The University of Iowa College of Public Health is pleased to announce the recipients of the college’s 2024 Outstanding Alumni Awards: Vijay Golla and Daniela Moga.

Golla, who earned a doctoral degree in occupational and environmental health from the University of Iowa, is now vice provost for research and health sciences and professor of health and behavioral sciences at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Moga, who earned a doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of Iowa, is now the Larry H. Spears endowed chair in pharmacogenetics, associate professor of pharmacy practice and science, and assistant dean for research at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy.

This award recognizes College of Public Health alumni who have made distinguished contributions to the field of public health and demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to the mission, vision, and values of the college.

The awards will be presented at a special event at the college on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. A virtual option will also be available.

About the 2024 award recipients

Vijay Golla received a doctoral degree in occupational and environmental health in 2007 from the University of Iowa College of Public Health, an MPH in 2003 from Western Kentucky University, and a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery in 2001 from Andhra Medical College, N.T.R. University of Health Sciences at King George Hospital in India. He is currently vice provost for research and health sciences, and professor of health and behavioral sciences at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. He is also adjunct professor in environmental and occupational health and primary care and rural medicine at Texas A&M School of Public Health and School of Medicine respectively. He is very passionate about worldwide public health and has especially dedicated his life to preventing occupational and environmental exposures and disease.

Under his leadership, Texas A&M faculty have greatly expanded funding, enhanced laboratory facilities and research equipment, and increased faculty awards by 106% between 2022 and 2023. He has been highly effective in increasing hands-on research experience for students. Research projects are also changing the way public school students learn in their classrooms and creating pathways for students in the surrounding communities to successfully pursue a university education, especially in health sciences.

Previously at Western Kentucky University (WKU), Dr. Golla started as assistant professor of public health and advanced to professor and associate dean for research in the College of Health and Human Services. His substantial teaching and mentoring load and robust administrative, service, and research program demonstrate his skills to teach both basic and advanced courses and lead research on a vast array of topics. At WKU, he directed the CDC/NIOSH Training Grant in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. He published important peer-reviewed research papers and technical reports that are frequently cited by others. He received numerous awards in the areas of research, service, and academic achievement and obtained many grants to support his students. He is well respected by his colleagues and students and developed an outstanding reputation as a valued collaborator.

In 2022-2023, he served as the president of the Association of Texas Graduate Schools, showing his willingness to take on varied tasks to support the academic mission of multiple universities.

Daniela Moga received a doctoral degree in epidemiology in 2012 from the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and an MD degree in 1997 from Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She is currently the Larry H. Spears endowed chair in pharmacogenetics, associate professor of pharmacy practice and science, assistant dean for research, and an affiliated faculty member in the Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Moga is also jointly appointed as associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and serves as faculty associate with Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

She is well-known for her innovative work in optimizing medication use in older adults to improve cognition and related outcomes. She has collaborated extensively with the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. One notable study used a multidisciplinary, patient-centered medication management intervention to delay prodromal dementia symptom progression.

Moga has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in important journals in her field and five book chapters. She has given 20 international and 14 national presentations; many have been major talks on the importance of medication management and the role of pharmacoepidemiology in deprescribing research. Her extraordinary body of scholarly work has been supported by grants from funding agencies like the National Institute on Aging, the US Deprescribing Research Network, and the US Food and Drug Administration.

She has served as a mentor for a vast number of students and postgraduates in the Colleges of Pharmacy and Public Health and the Schools of Business and Economics and Policy and Administration. She has also mentored faculty members both at the University of Kentucky and at other institutions.

She has extensive leadership in the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE), including being inducted as fellow of the society and selected to represent the organization in several research guideline development initiatives. Her scholarly contributions and leadership in the main professional organization for pharmacoepidemiologists have contributed to the improved health of the public.