School of Public Health

PH-CARES Changemakers is a University of Memphis School of Public Health initiative to creating opportunities for students of public health to ideate with innovative, out-of-the-box, creative solutions for the public health needs here in Memphis and beyond.

21 Public Health IDEAS Mini Grants

All students of the School of Public Health are eligible

Awards Up to $750

September 5, 2025

Application Announcement

September 15-17, 2025

Orientation Session

September 26, 2025

Initial Submission

October 5, 2025

Submission Deadline

October 21, 2025

Awards Announced

February 13, 2026

Interim Report

March 6, 2026

Final Report

March 27, 2026

Final Presentation

Tackling public health challenges requires innovative, data driven and evidence-informed decision-making. We need to foster innovation and public health entrepreneurship in public health solutions to produce lasting social or systems change.

The broader objectives of this initiative are:

To fund creative public health ideas that advance University of Memphis SPH-CARES framework towards advancing good health and wellbeing of the individuals, families and the communities we serve both here in Memphis and beyond.
To promote the development of initiatives and programs that support and/or sustain relationships with community organizations and entities.
To equip students with problem-solving, team-building and leadership skills necessary to engage with others in ways that foster innovation, data-driven, evidence-informed interventions, dialogue, enable understanding and promote resilience.

Eligibility

Changemakers is open to all the University of Memphis School of Public Health students.

Commitment

You are required to attend three virtual or face-to-face workshops on how to translate ideas into implementation.
Interim Progress Reporting will be assigned per changemaker.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to all the students who are pursuing their public health undergraduate, graduate or doctoral education here at the University of Memphis School of Public Health. When applying, think about the following questions:

What public health problem are you planning to address?
What is your proposed innovative Idea to address the public health problem that you have identified?
How do you plan to execute the innovative idea?
Which, if any, community partners are you planning to engage in your idea? How do you plan to engage these community partners?
Do you plan to involve any other students as part of your idea implementation?
How would you measure the success of your implementation?
What is the tangible outcome that you plan to accomplish through this innovative implementation?
How do you plan to scale and sustain the idea that you proposed?
How do you plan to allocate the resources?

One of the requirements of the awards is for the inaugural cohort to attend three virtual or face-to-face workshops on how to take their ideas to implementation and to provide interim progress reports.

"Awarded Projects"

Cardiac Health

HeartSmart901 Social Media Campaign and HeartHub Workshops

- Charllote Boateng, PhD Candidate - Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Environmental Health
AED Access and CPR Readiness in University of Memphis and Memphis
- Rachel Ann Beauchamp, Master in Public Health
Early Detection of Pediatric Heart Conditions
- Arielle Sloan, Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Digital Health

Dance for Life Project

- Sharmila Acharya, PhD Candidate - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Sickle Cell Disease Mental Health Coalition
- Ombeni Idassi, Master in Public Health
Online Mental Health Forum for Memphis Youth
- Kalthum Othow, Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Mental Health

Dance for Life Project
- Sharmila Acharya, PhD Candidate - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Sickle Cell Disease Mental Health Coalition
- Ombeni Idassi, Master in Public Health
Online Mental Health Forum for Memphis Youth
- Kalthum Othow, Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Health Education

9P9 Prevention Campaign - 9 Practices to Combat 9 Leading Causes of Death in US
- Mohammad Morshad Alam, PhD Candidate - Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Environmental Health
Create Virtual, Educational Zoom Sessions for Pregnant People
- Bhavya Pundir, PhD Candidate - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Increasing Doula Support and Post-Partum Education in Shelby County
- Amaree Austin, Master in Public Health
Experiential Workshop to Increase Empathy Toward Disabilities; "Live a Day as Disabled Individuals"
- Mohammad Faisal, Master in Public Health
Sugar Smart Education Campaign and Educational Toolkit
- Regina Pratcher, Master in Public Health
Start Public Health Education Club with Curriculum in Ciyota Secondary School Kyanwali, Uganda
- Jeanbaptist Nizeyimana, Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Community Health Jamboree
- Shania Robinson, Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Sexual Health

PeerPower Memphis: Peer-to-Peer HIV Testing
- Cristobal Valedebenito, PhD Candidate - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Youth Sexual Health Workshop and Digital Campaign
- Brandy Bonnah Swati, Master in Public Health
SALUDame Bilingual Podcast
- Laura Rodriquez, Master in Public Health

Submission guidelines

To apply for this opportunity to be part of the inaugural cohort of public health changemakers, please submit a 2-pager concept note to sphdean@memphis.edu (single-spaced, Arial font 12 size) by 11:59 PM on October 5, highlighting the following:

Is the public health problem identified as of high significance?
Is the idea proposed feasible, implementable, and creative and innovative?
Is there any plan to engage community partners?
Is the implementation plan clearly outlined?
Are the outcomes of the idea proposed clearly measurable?
Will the project result in a tangible, demonstrable product that can be utilized by the community?
Has the resource spending been adequately planned?

Submissions are closed for 2025-2026

Awards Review Criteria

We are excited to hear about your public health innovations to address pressing public health challenges. We are committed to translating excellence in public health education towards the greatest community impact. The best public health ideas will be selected based on the following criteria: