The University of Iowa College of Public Health is pleased to announce the recipients of the college’s 2026 Outstanding Alumni Awards: Wei Lyu and Patcharawan Srisilapanan.

Lyu, who earned a doctoral degree in health services and policy from the University of Iowa, is now assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Srisilapanan, who earned a master’s degree in preventive medicine and environmental health (now part of the Department of Epidemiology) from the University of Iowa, is now professor and dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Phayao in Thailand.

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, September 23, 2026, from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. A virtual option will also be available.

About the 2026 award recipients

Wei Lyu received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in health services and policy from the University of Iowa and a Master of Science in policy economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration in the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At UAB he is also an associate scientist in the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education and the Center for the Study of Community Health, and a scholar in Lister Hill Center for Health Policy. Before joining UAB, he was an assistant professor in the Division of Health Systems Management and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis.

Dr. Lyu is an economist and health services researcher whose work evaluates how health insurance, payment, and care-delivery policies affect access to care, health care utilization, and health outcomes. His research is grounded in causal inference and the analysis of large administrative and survey datasets. His current research agenda focuses on Medicaid and Medicare policy, safety-net providers, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), oral health and dental care access, and care delivery for medically underserved populations.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic his research received national attention. His study found early state-level mask mandates were associated with slower growth in cases. The article drew widespread interest among public health officials and policymakers, was cited by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and informed government orders and public health guidance. It ranked #1 among Health Affairs’ most-read articles of 2020 and received extensive media coverage.

His scholarship focuses on Medicaid policy and oral health, including ACA Medicaid expansions, adult dental benefit expansions, coverage continuity, and how public insurance affects access, utilization, outcomes, and disparities. This work is particularly important given wide state variation in adult dental benefits and persistent barriers for low-income adults. He is also examining FQHCs’ role in oral health care, dental-related emergency department use, and safety-net provider performance amid broader health policy changes.

Dr. Lyu has published more than 35 peer-reviewed research articles in leading journals across health services research, health economics, public health, pediatrics, and oral health. As of May 2026, his work has been cited more than 2,000 times according to Google Scholar, reflecting the broad scholarly and policy relevance of his research.

He also teaches and mentors graduate students in health care economics, health policy, public health, and quantitative research methods.

Patcharawan Srisilapanan earned a Master of Science in preventive medicine and environmental health (now part of the Department of Epidemiology) in 1984 from the University of Iowa, a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University College London in 1997 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Chiang Mai University in 1982. She is currently professor and dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Phayao in Thailand. Her work bridges dentistry and public health, transforming geriatric oral health policy, education, and primary health care systems across Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Previously she served as dean at Nation University and as director of the Center of Excellence in Dental Public Health and professor at Chiang Mai University. She has led national professional societies, including serving as president of Thai Dental Public Health Society and vice president of Thai Society of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine.

She has led efforts to integrate oral health into primary care for older adults, contributing to early implementation of the Royal Denture Project, expanding access to prosthodontic care. She chaired the group that developed Thailand’s 2021 Oral Hygiene Guidelines for Dependent Older Adults, now widely used in long-term care and community settings. To enable early management of potentially malignant disorders and safer extractions, she co-initiated an effort to integrate laser dentistry into primary care for older adults in rural Thailand. In collaboration with Khon Kaen University, she advanced the translational application of clinical technology into community-based public health systems.

As founder and chair of the fundraising initiative that created the Bright Smile Learning Center, she established an oral health education and service model for children with disabilities that serve about 300 students each year.

She has supervised oral care and surgical support for cleft lip and palate across Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, impacting more than 1,500 children and established clinics that provided comprehensive, continuous care to over 1,200 children since 2004.

Dr. Srisilapanan has presented and published over 150 scientific works nationally and internationally and received international recognition. She served as one of Thailand’s official delegates to the World Health Assembly in 2000. In 2021 she received the Thailand Person of the Year Award in Medicine and Public Health.

She has maintained academic ties with University of Iowa faculty and, at a pivotal stage in Thailand’s geriatric dentistry development, organized a one-day academic program for dental faculty, public health dentists, and long-term care providers.