Dr. Criselle Angeline C. Peñamante, an academic staff from the Department of Psychology under the College of Science, was chosen by the Boston Congress of Public Health (BCPH) as one of the recipients of the 2024 40 under 40 Public Health Catalyst Awards.

The award “recognizes the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, activists, intellectual provocateurs, authors and directors who inspire and catalyze us all to a more just and equitable world.”

BCPH is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make public health accessible through the lens of social justice and envisions itself as transcending the traditional boundaries of academia and medicine by supporting emerging and established thought leaders, researchers and advocates committed to social justice and health equity, and democratizes access to evidence-based public health thought through their Harvard Public Health Review Journal. BCPH was established in August 2021 by Dr. Candice Carpenter and Dr. Circe Gray Le Compte where they conduct educational and policy-related training, a television series, and a fellowship program.

Peñamante, who is currently at the final stages of her Master of Science in Global Health Delivery at the Harvard Medical School (HMS), teaches psychology and psychiatry courses in the College of Science and Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

For her second master’s degree, she is a Global Health Research Scholar in the HMS Program in Global Primary Care and Social Change, and a Graduate Student Researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry. She previously earned her B.Sc. in Psychology, M.A. in Clinical Psychology, and Doctor of Medicine degrees at the University of Santo Tomas.