The Katie Memorial Foundation (KMF) is pleased to announce that the recipient of The 2008 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship is Nicole Kellier, Ph.D candidate in Epidemiology at the Robert Stempel School of Public Health at Florida International University (SSPH). On March 7, 2008, Nicole was publicly recognized by KMF and FIU as the scholarship recipient at a March 7th FIU alumni event in Miami, FL.
(Nicole Kellier (right, in blue scrubs) with South Florida care providers participating in the 2008 Jamaica Medical Mission Trip. Nicole is the recipient of the KMF 2008 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship.)
From June through August of 2008, Nicole supervised a group of public health students in Jamaica, as part of The 2008 Jamaica Medical Mission Trip, an annual medical mission trip to provide free health service to those in need who cannot afford to pay for care. Additionally, the group studied the incidence of prostate cancer in Jamaica, which is the highest in the world, as well as two other chronic diseases, diabetes and hypertension, which contribute heavily to the health burden among Jamaicans.
(The 2008 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship partially funded this cancer-screening activity in a low-income community in Jamaica.)
Of her experience, Nicole told KMF:
The 2008 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship supplemented the cost of my group’s travel to Jamaica, the printing of our education materials, and our delivery of cancer-screening activities. My group implemented an educational program that addresses lifestyle changes to promote better health. We put together a diet and exercise intervention for underserved communities.
(Nicole Kellier, recipient of the 2008 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship, presents a nutritional poster designed and distributed to low-income communities in Jamaica. The poster’s production and distribution was funded by the scholarship.)
While carrying out this intervention we made a point of assessing current dietary intake, current physical activity levels, and barriers to adopting recommended activities. The majority of the population served included low income communities with limited resources. Rather than recommend that our clients obtain foods that they cannot afford, we discussed ways of modifying or being creative with foods they normally eat, while incorporating exercise into their daily routine. We also recommended initiation of leisure physical activity for those who were not physically active and also discussed ways to incorporate ‘exercise’ into their daily activities. Finally, we scheduled the Jamaican Cancer Society (JCS) to come to one of our sites and provide free cancer screening and cancer-related educational activities.
(Nicole Kellier, second from right, with FIU participants and professors during the 2008 Jamaica Medical Mission Trip.)
Nicole Kellier currently works as a teaching assistant in the epidemiology and biostatistics department of SSPH. Previously, she has worked as a nursing administrator, pediatric oncology research coordinator, cancer epidemiology associate, and infectious diseases research assistant. Since 2005, she has served as the research coordinator for the Annual Jamaica Medical Mission. She is a volunteer for the American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, and Southeast Florida Cancer Control Collaborative. Nicole received her master’s degree in public health (epidemiology) from George Washington University in 2003.
You can contact Nicole via email.
Application materials for The 2009 Katie Evans Memorial Scholarship will go online on this page of the KMF website in January 2009.
The Katie Memorial Foundation is a 501( c )(3) federally tax-exempt charitable nonprofit organization. The KMF taypayer identification number is 74-3250765.
