MCDD PUBLIC HEALTH TRAINEE RECEIVES A DISTINGUISHED ESSAY AWARD (MD UCEDD)

06/08/2018


Meredith Nicholson, a trainee at the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute, is the 2018 recipient of the MSPH Distinguished Essay Award through The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health. Her essay is titled "Mental Health Disparities of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Asexual (LGBTQA) Autistic Adults Compared to Heterosexual & Cisgender Autistic Adults" and was selected for the award out of all submitted master's essays in the department.

The master's essays and presentations are culminating experiences for which students in the department apply newly honed skills and put their academic and personal experiences in perspective within the broader context of public health. Nicholson is a proud member of both the LGBTQ and autistic self-advocate communities. She is currently working with Dr. Christopher Smith, the Director of the MCDD and one of her master's essay readers, to pursue publication of her work. Additionally, she presented her poster "Differences in Self-Reported Outcomes of Health & Well-Being Among Adults Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as Children Compared to as Adults" at AUCD's 2017 Conference in Washington, D.C. Nicholson graduated with a master of science degree in public health on May 22, 2018.