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Established in 2013, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. UVA Health Award is presented annually to a student, faculty, or staff member of UVA Health who embodies Dr. King's values and teachings in cultural competence, healthcare disparities, or fostering an environment of inclusiveness, in accordance with the institution's mission and values. 

This year’s awardees include Mariana Araujo, Dr. Perry Bradford, Dr. Cathy Campbell, Jacqueline Carson, and Dr. Richard Merkel. These five were honored at a ceremony on Tuesday, March 8. That event was recorded and can be watched here. (Passcode: T=ebTu8y)

Past award recipients include Pamela Ross, MD (2013); Michael Moxley, MD (2014); Dorrie Fontaine, PhD, RN (2015); Joel G. Anderson, PhD, HTP (2016); Fern Hauck, MD, MS, and Charles Lewis (2017); Eric Carson, MD, and Max Luna, MD (2018); Ishan Williams, PhD, Preston Reynolds, MD, and Franck Azobou Tonleu (2019); Randolph Canterbury, MD (2020); Zahra Alisa, Taison Bell, MD, Rudolph Beverly, Mark Fleming, MD, Milania Harris, Ebony Hilton, MD, Sana Syed, MD, UVA Housestaff Council of Diversity/Inclusion, Tiana Walker, B. Cameron Webb, MD, and Leigh-Anne Webb, MD (2020).

Mariana Araujo and Dr. Larry Merkel, Jr. 

In his nomination letter, Zachariah Dameron, MD, Residency Training Director, Vice Chair, Clinical Services, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, says: “With all these various efforts Larry and Mariana have taken part in local, regional, and national conferences to present their experiences to a larger audience. Larry and Mariana feel strongly that improvement of mental health in marginalized populations requires bidirectional efforts. That it is very important to know the various communities, how they perceive their needs, and to work to facilitate their achieving their goals. Furthermore, the knowledge and experience gained from these efforts needs to be disseminated to the larger society. It is equally important that the larger white community learn to appreciate and respect the various minority populations.”

What does this award mean to me?
Mariana Araujo, MA, Program Manager, Division of Outreach, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, says, “The MLK Health System award to me represents the importance of working not for but with the communities we aim to serve. As an immigrant, a sense of belonging does not come easily, so this recognition brings me a lot of joy and serves as a reminder that we all belong. This also shows our hope to systemically cultivate an environment where community partnerships beyond the walls of the hospital are the norm not the exception. I'm grateful to the Latinx community leaders whom I am lucky enough to build bridges with and reimagine what health equity really means."

Larry Merkel, Jr. MD, PhD, Director of Outreach, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, says, “I am very touched to receive the MLK Health System Award. Being an older white male who was raised in the deep South and who has strived since adolescence to get past the racial ideas that were bred into my bones, this is a wonderful acknowledgement that I have had some success in moving past my background and that I have been able to help this nation in some small way become more equitable and just.”

Dr. Perry Bradford

In her nomination letter, Brittany Behar, MD, says, “Dr. Bradford is truly passionate about changing our UVA community and the greater medical community, to make them more aware of inherent biases that exist against under-represented minorities within the medical field. She has written several papers trying to highlight this … Her passion for improvement and change has pushed her to speak out both in the literature and on webinars advocating for the importance of recognizing bias and eliminating it.”

In another nomination letter, Comfort Elumogo, MD, says, “Perry is an individual who promotes constructive change on issues surrounding diversity/implicit bias in the medical field. Through her efforts, she acquired expertise in developing diversity initiatives. Even more commendable is her ability to inspire others in promoting equity. Motivating her peers to address implicit bias and challenging her colleagues to foster inclusion within the medical community.  

What does this award mean to me? 
Perry Bradford, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Plastic Surgery, says, “Anything that bears the name of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brings to mind the fulfillment of a vision (i.e., The Dream) through sacrifices made to help advance others beyond yourself. I am elated to be a recipient of the 2022 MLK Health Systems Award. As a Black female plastic surgery resident, there are very few people in the field who look like me or come from a diverse background. Given the impact that my community and mentors had on me, I understand the importance of being more than a trainee — that through giving back and mentoring others, we reach for better as a community.”  

Dr. Cathy Campbell

In their nomination letter, Emma McKim Mitchell, PhD, MSN, RN, Associate Professor of Nursing, Director of Global Initiatives, and Ha Do Byon, PhD, MS, MPH, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing, say, “Dr. Campbell’s scholarship and clinical research have centered on hospice services, palliative care decision-making, and improving end-of-life outcomes. Specifically, she has developed her program of research with populations traditionally vulnerable to decreased access to these services, addressing the health of rural populations, highlighting racial/ethnic perspectives, and incorporating global experiences with palliative care and end-of-life care. … Recently, she and a PhD student wrote a case study examining the unique social and spiritual needs of a transgender woman dying of esophageal cancer. This case study followed a hospice volunteer who worked with a transgender-identified woman through art to express her spirituality in the last 6 months of her life.”

What does this award mean to me?
Cathy Campbell, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, Department Chair for Acute and Specialty Care Nursing, says, “To be honored by my colleagues for my work as a teacher and researcher is very humbling. Health equity work as always been a part of my practice. I grew up as a social worker's daughter and those issues were always front and center in my life. I teach a course called ‘Cells to Society’ to the first-year undergraduate students. Every week in class I guide the next generation of nurses to explore health-equity challenges and seek possible solutions. I leave class on Thursday afternoons just vibrating with excitement because the students are very passionate about changing the world and creating a compassionate, equitable health system that works for all. And I am honored to be able to contribute to that vision.”

Jacqueline Carson

In her nomination letter, Wendy Horton, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, UVA Medical Center, says, “Ms. Carson has dedicated her time and energy to bridge the gaps in our healthcare system and the disproportionately vulnerable patient populations, including those experiencing homelessness. To this end, Ms. Carson has created an innovative and effective homeless consult service to serve the homeless population. This service aims to provide an easily adaptable framework that can be translated to other settings such as nursing homes, group homes and jails in order to expand healthcare access for vulnerable populations in any community. This is a testament to her deep commitment and distinct passion for inclusivity in healthcare access.

What does this award mean to me?
Jacqueline Carson, SMD22, says, "I am so immensely honored to be receiving the MLK Health System Award, but even more grateful that all the amazing work that is being done to better our community is being highlighted. By coordinating with our community partners, I hope we continue to support and advocate for the community we serve to make UVA and Charlottesville the best place it can be for us and our neighbors.”