Rogie Royce Carandang, PhD, awarded funding to transform maternal and child health training for MPH students

The UT Shine Academy Awards and Grants Committee has announced that Rogie Royce Z. Carandang, PhD, MPH, MSc, RPh, faculty in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Kate Marmion School of Public Health has been selected to receive a 2025–2026 Shine Academy Small Grant for an innovative project aimed at revolutionizing how future public health professionals are trained. 

Carandang's project, titled "Innovating Maternal and Child Health Education: A Community-Engaged Workshop Integrating Community Health Workers and Implementation Science for MPH Students," will bridge the gap between academic training and real-world community health practice.

The initiative brings together Master of Public Health students with community health workers through hands-on workshops, incorporating implementation science principles to better prepare the next generation of public health leaders to address maternal and child health challenges.

Carandang will be formally recognized at the 2026 Shine Academy Innovations Conference, scheduled for February 26–27, 2026, themed "Flourishing on the Shifting Sands of Changing Educational Landscapes." The project's findings will be presented at the 2027 conference.

The Shine Academy Small Grants Program supports faculty across UT System institutions in developing innovative educational programs in health sciences.