The 2025 John P. Wyatt MD Environment & Health Symposium was a resounding success and has become an annual cornerstone event! It brought together leading universities, researchers, policymakers, faculty, students, and community members to explore the most pressing issues facing the environment and human health. Made possible by the continued generosity of the Wyatt family, the symposium honors the legacy of Dr. John P. Wyatt and his pioneering environmental clinical research on air pollution and lung pathology. This year's symposium centered on the theme Environment + Health + Policy, continuing its mission to serve as a vital source of knowledge, collaboration, and impact for the communities across Kentucky.
Keynote Speaker, Ellen Hahn, PhD, RN, FAAN was awarded the 2025 John P. Wyatt, MD Environment and Health Symposium Award for Outstanding Contributions to Environment and Health. Dr. Hahn was presented her award by Kacy Allen-Bryant, MSN, MPH, RN, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky.
Ellen J. Hahn is a retired Professor from the Colleges of Nursing and Public Health at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hahn is currently Associate Director of AppalTRUST (Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team), and past Director for UK-CARES (Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences P30 ES026529) and BREATHE (Bridging Research Efforts and Advocacy Toward Healthy Environments) and held the Marcia A. Dake Endowed Professorship in the College of Nursing. Dr. Hahn led the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Core within the NIOSH-funded Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center. She was associated with UK’s NCI-designated Markey Cancer Center as a Faculty Associate and participated in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program. Her academic journey includes an undergraduate degree in nursing from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Arts in Health Education from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Science in community health nursing from Indiana University. She completed her PhD in health policy and community health with a minor in substance abuse and family at Indiana University School of Nursing in 1992. Through her leadership as founder of the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy, Dr. Hahn significantly contributed to public health by helping over 50 Kentucky communities become smoke-free. Her research has been pivotal in demonstrating the positive health outcomes and economic neutrality of smoke-free workplace policies. Among her accolades, Dr. Hahn was named a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2011, recognized as the 2012 UK Provost’s Public Scholar, and served as an Ambassador for Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR). In 2021, she was honored with the Faye Glenn Abdellah Leadership Award from FNINR.
The panel of experts featured Ryan Salzman, Project Director of OneKYAlliance, and Shavonnie Carthens, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky, who spoke on environmental health and policy. Natasha Dejarnett, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville, moderated the facilitated discussion titled “Moving Research to Policy.”
Ryan Salzman, PhD, is Project Director at the OneNKY Alliance. He works on a wide range of public interest projects, including the advancement of smoke-free policies, bike trail development, shared governance initiatives, and maintaining a presence in the KY state capitol through OneNKY Frankfort. Ryan spent over a decade in higher education where he was a professor of political science, teaching and researching around issues relevant to democracy in the US and abroad. He is politically and civically active in his personal life, having just completed 5 terms on Bellevue (KY) city council with numerous other community and nonprofit engagements.
Prof. Shavonnie R. Carthens is an Assistant Professor of Law in the J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky. Her scholarly interests examine issues of public health law, environmental health law, and health equity, with a focus on how legal interventions might improve access to healthy living environments for marginalized communities. She also researches and writes at the intersection of legal literacy, patient protections, and health disparities among incarcerated populations. Her commitment to community engaged scholarship is evidenced through her work as a partner of the Louisville’s Environmental Health Literacy Coalition, as a member of the Kentucky Resources Council’s Environmental Health and Justice Working Group, and investigator for the Universal Basic Neighborhood Project sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Only 10 students were selected to showcase their research through 3-minute Lightning Talks using just 3-slides… illustrating the impact of their research on the 3-themes: environmental quality, human health, policy, or all 3.
Presentations were evaluated by a panel of judges and all student presentations were eligible for cash prizes.
1st Place: Meredith Swallom - 4th year PhD student, Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Kentucky
2nd Place: Marissa English - 2nd year student, Masters of Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology & Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky
3rd Place: Katie Christensen - 3rd year student, BS in Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology, Dept of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Food & Environment, University of Kentucky
People’s Choice, 1st Place: Reagan Witt - 5th year student, Ph.D. Candidate, Dept of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Kentucky
People’s Choice, 2nd Place: Meredith Swallom - 4th year PhD student, Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Kentucky
People’s Choice, 3rd Place: Hannah Brown - 2nd year student, Masters of Health Promotion, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky
This fellowship honors Dr. John P. Wyatt, M.D., who was director of the University of Kentucky Tobacco and Health Research Institute from 1974 until January 1980. Dr. Wyatt was a pathologist who received his M.D. from the University of Manitoba in 1938 and completed his medical training on a fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Before coming to UK in 1974, he was professor and head of the departments of pathology at the University of Manitoba and St. Louis University where he was involved in black lung research. Dr. Wyatt was a pulmonary diseases researcher who published over 100 articles covering viruses and diverse lung injuries. The John P. Wyatt, M.D. Traveling Fellowship is awarded biennially.
