The National Academy of Medicine announced on Oct. 16 the winners of the 13th annual DC Public Health Case Challenge. This year鈥檚 challenge topic was 鈥淪ustaining the Mind and Body: Preventing Multimorbidity of Mental and Physical Chronic Disease Development Among District of Columbia Residents.鈥 The competing teams were invited to design sustainable, feasible public health solutions to prevent or delay mental and physical multimorbidity in an underserved D.C. population. The challenge required proposed solutions to focus on primordial, primary, or secondary prevention; address multiple levels of the Social Ecological Model; and consider chronic disease risk across the life course.
Chronic conditions such as mental illness, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and HIV/AIDS are a considerable public health burden in the District of Columbia. Nearly half of D.C. adults ages 18鈥64 reported at least one chronic condition in 2023, and citywide averages can mask substantial differences in health risks and outcomes across communities. Mental and physical conditions can also interact and compound over time, underscoring the importance of prevention before multiple chronic conditions become established.
Teams from local universities 鈥 each with up to six members from at least three disciplines 鈥 had two weeks to develop innovative, feasible solutions with a hypothetical $3 million budget to be used during a four-year span. Proposals were evaluated by a panel of experts for interdisciplinarity, feasibility, creativity, equity, and practicality.
The 2026 Grand Prize winner was the team from Howard University, which included Isis Fuller, Nakiah Gipson, Zoe Thomas, Rakchhya Uprety, and Morgan Seymour, with faculty advisers Pamela Carter-Nolan, Briana Jeffreys, Elaine Meredith, and Monica Ponder. Their solution, 鈥淭he Village Forward: Primary and Secondary Prevention of CVD and Serious Mental Illness During Re-Entry,鈥 focused on adults returning to D.C. from federal prison, a transition that can disrupt both physical and mental health care. The team identified strengths and gaps in existing reentry resources and proposed paid peer health navigators with lived experience of incarceration to connect participants with cardiovascular and mental health screening, primary and behavioral health care, and other community supports.
Three additional prizes were awarded:
The Harrison C. Spencer Memorial Interprofessional Prize was awarded to the team from George Mason University for 鈥淒.C. Health Ambassadors: Targeted Prevention of Multimorbidity of Obesity and Depression in D.C. Middle Schoolers.鈥 Focused on middle school students in Wards 7 and 8, the proposal combined an in-school education program 鈥 adapting the existing FRESHFARM FoodPrints curriculum for older students 鈥 with an after-school health ambassadors club and caregiver education and resources. Team members were Alexander Beltran, Ryan Michael Campbell, Isabel Gripp, Ariana Mendoza Maldonado, Ruqaya Nadeem, Prachi Singh, and their faculty advisers Iulia Fratila, Laura Santacrose, and Evelyn Tomaszewski.
One Wild Card Prize 鈥 for a bold choice of population and health topic and understanding of the target population 鈥 was awarded to a team from University of Maryland, Baltimore, for 鈥淏LOOM (Belonging, Life Skills, Optimism, Optimal Mental Health),鈥 a project focused on supporting adolescents with autism as they transition toward adulthood. The 10-week after-school program proposed combining social and emotional skill-building with education on healthy relationships, consent, and sexual and reproductive health, as well as health screenings and referrals. Team members were Imraina Alam, Diana Russell Campbell, Jamie Guillergan, Sumiya Hashemi Miah, Janice JaeEun Nam, Mar铆a Ana D铆az Paredes, and their faculty advisers Greg Carey and Rebecca Hall.
A second Wild Card Prize 鈥 for an innovative solution to the case 鈥 was awarded to a team from American University, whose proposal 鈥淧roject H.E.R. (Health Empowerment Re-Entry)鈥 aimed to support women returning to Wards 7 and 8 following incarceration. Beginning 60 days before release, the program paired participants with peer navigators and proposed 24/7 鈥渟mart health pods鈥 along existing mobile health routes to provide low-barrier access to harm reduction supplies, medication, HIV screening and prevention resources, and connections to care during the first 90 days after release. Team members were Frank Baning, Melissa Chimunye, Katherine Mena, Sabrina Rios Sacramento, Delanie Smothers, and Christina Trinh, and their faculty adviser was Melissa Hawkins.
The 2026 Case Challenge judges were:
- Carlos Blanco, director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
- Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs, National Association of County and City Health Officials
- Jeanette Contreras, executive director, Organization for Latino Health Advocacy
- William Freeman, associate director of clinical quality measurement and informatics, American College of Cardiologists
- Makeba T. Green, professor and chair, Department of Social Work, Bowie State University
- Julie Pavlin, former senior director of the Board on Global Health, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Sue Pechilio Polis, vice president for government affairs and public relations, Lutheran Services in America
The DC Public Health Case Challenge, launched in 2013, aims to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning around a public health issue of importance to the Washington, D.C., community. The challenge is co-sponsored by the National Academy of Medicine鈥檚 Kellogg Health of the Public Fund and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine鈥檚 Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, with additional support from its Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education.
