Dr. Peck selected to deliver prestigious public health lecture

Magda Peck, Sc.D.

Magda Peck, Sc.D., professor of pediatrics and public health, has been selected for the John C. MacQueen Lecture Award for her innovative work in the field of maternal and child health (MCH).

The award is one of the most prestigious honors given by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), one of the nation’s leading public health groups advocating for quality health care for women, children and families. Dr. Peck was honored on Feb. 24 at the 2009 AMCHP annual conference in Washington.

Each year, the awardee of the John C. MacQueen Lecture Award is invited to deliver a dynamic and inspirational lecture at the Annual MacQueen Lecture Luncheon during the AMCHP conference.

“To join former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman on the list of MacQueen awardees was a tremendous honor.” Magda Peck, Sc.D.

Selection for the award is based on the individual’s contributions and advocacy to the maternal and child health field and for their efforts in trying to establish and maintain a healthy community.

The John C. MacQueen Lecture Award is named in honor of Dr. MacQueen, the former director of the Iowa Child Health Specialty Clinics, the state’s program for children with special health care needs.

“It was so sweet to deliver this year’s lecture to my maternal and child health colleagues from across the country,” Dr. Peck said. “To join former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman on the list of MacQueen awardees was a tremendous honor.”

Two prominent United States senators — Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) — also received major awards at this year’s AMCHP conference.

In 1990, Dr. Peck founded CityMatCH, a national public health organization headquartered at UNMC. CityMatCH, whose members include leaders and public health organizations from the 200 largest cities in the country, is dedicated to improving the health of women, children and families in urban areas.

Dr. Peck’s innovative work through CityMatCH has advanced the field in translating research into practice and created new strategies for building local capacity to use data to inform practice and policy.