Edward M. Kennedy Scholars Award in Health Policy Research

As part of The Medical Foundation's 50th anniversary celebration in 2007, the Board of Directors committed resources to create two new Awards in honor of Senator Edward Kennedy. Senator Kennedy's forty year commitment to improving health care for all Americans is consistent with The Medical Foundation's mission to help people live healthier lives through prevention, health promotion and support of biomedical and health policy research. Philip Caper, M.D., a Board member who served on Senator Kennedy's staff in the 1970s, spearheaded this initiative.

The Kennedy Scholars Award was developed to support a junior faculty investigator working in a Massachusetts academic research institution whose research is dedicated to improving the delivery of effective health care services at the community and population levels. In 2008, Dr. Amy Lischko received an award in the amount of $100,000 to support her project, "Using Geographic Variation to Identify and Reduce Over-treatment in Massachusetts." Dr. Lischko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She holds a D.Sc. in health services research from Boston University and a B.S. and Masters of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. With support from the Kennedy Scholars Award, Dr. Lischko will continue to work toward her long-term goal to bridge the gap between research and policy by making academic research more accessible to policymakers.

The Kennedy Scholarship Awards were created to support two outstanding high school students in the Boston area who are interested in pursuing careers in the fields of medicine, science, public health or the allied health sciences. From 54 scholarship applications, two talented high school graduates each received a $10,000 college scholarship award. The Award recipients were Huajin Li of John O'Bryant High School for Science and Math and Paoli Roman of Fenway High School.

The Kennedy Scholars Awards are postponed until additional funding resources can be obtained to continue these important programs. If you are interested in contributing to these awards, please contact Dr. Sally McNagny by or phone at 617.279.2240 ext. 704.