University of Iowa Master of Public Health student Isabella De Soriano is the inaugural recipient of the Craig Zwerling and Nancy Sprince Award for Social Justice. The scholarship announcement was made by Edith Parker, professor and head of community and behavioral health, in a special presentation on Oct. 24.

The new scholarship, endowed by a gift from Nancy Sprince, professor emerita of occupational and environmental health, and Craig Zwerling, professor emeritus of occupational and environmental health, is designated for a qualified, well-deserving graduate student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, who is pursuing an interest in addressing health disparities and alleviating social injustice.

De Soriano is a second-year MPH student planning to graduate in May 2017. She is from London, England, and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa in medical anthropology. De Soriano says this is where she developed a passion for intersectional feminist issues. Her honor’s thesis focused on the medicalization of women’s sexuality and how this influences interactions between society and women’s bodies.

De Soriano says she decided to pursue her master’s in community and behavioral health with the goal of reducing health disparities through community engagement and social action. As an MPH student, she has been involved in many projects, including her current work at the UI Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC), where she helps train students and community members to facilitate discussion groups using a feminist process, with the aim of building community and ending isolation. She also facilitates cultural humility and diversity trainings on campus. In addition, she has worked with Dr. Barbara Baquero, assistant professor of community and behavioral health, to improve healthy food choices in local communities. After graduation, De Soriano plans to establish an organization to address public health issues in prisons.

Drs. Sprince and Zwerling, two longtime University of Iowa faculty members, served in senior leadership roles in the UI College of Public Health during a period spanning more than 20 years.

Zwerling, an occupational medicine physician and injury epidemiologist, led groundbreaking research in areas ranging from on-the-job injuries to motor-vehicle crashes to workplace drug testing. Throughout his 21-year career at the UI, he directed the Injury Prevention Research Center and served as the first head of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health from 2000 to 2010.

Sprince, an occupational medicine physician who specialized in respiratory diseases, directed the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety and the UI’s occupational medicine residency program during a 17-year career at the UI. Her research focused on prevention of occupational lung diseases and the prevention of physical injuries from farm work.

In remarks during the scholarship presentation, Sprince congratulated De Soriano on her deep commitment to social justice.

“I am so impressed by Bella’s dedication to helping build a better, more just world,” said Sprince. “Social justice concerns motivated Craig and me throughout our careers, and it is very gratifying to know that students such as Bella and others in the College of Public Health are continuing this important work.”