2025 Impact Awards Gallery - The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Each year, The Graduate School honors graduate students in programs throughout our University for their powerful discoveries that contribute to a better future for people and communities in North Carolina. We're pleased to present 13 Impact Awards for 2025.

The longstanding Impact Award recognizes discoveries with a direct impact on our state in the present time.

The 2025 Impact Award winners describe their research

Understanding the health impacts of wildfire smoke on vulnerable communities

Aleah Bailey

Toxicology

Understanding North Carolina farmworkers’ experiences through storytelling

Sarah Blanton

Romance studies

Preventing maternal morbidity through prenatal care

Laura Chaves Cerdas

Public policy

Laura Chaves Cerdas

Improving transportation systems for NC patients experiencing mental health crises

Jeremy Fine

Health policy and management

Ecological practices to promote NC oyster populations

Nicholas Funnell

Ecology

Nicholas Funnell

Improving flood hazard models for hurricane risk assessment

Lauren Grimley

Earth marine, and environmental sciences

Building psychological resilience among active-duty military service members

Kenneth Harris, III

Social work

Kenneth Harris, III

Addressing burnout among North Carolina healthcare professionals

Elizabeth Kwong

Biomedical and health informatics

Elizabeth Kwong

Impact of racial disparities on NC breast cancer survivors

Olufeyisayo Odebunmi

Health policy and management

Olufeyisayo Odebunmi

Improving transportation for Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina

Annie Oommen

City and regional planning

Improving health outcomes through collaborative public health leadership

Courtney Peragallo

Public health

Courtney Peragallo

Health impacts of environmental hazards on migrant farmworkers

Sarah Perry and Charlotte Robbins

Public health

Sarah Perry and Charlotte Robbins

Impact of representation in children’s literature on North Carolina kindergarteners

Jennifer Stone

Speech and hearing sciences