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Anna Maria Siega-Riz, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and professor in the departments of nutrition and biostatistics and epidemiology, received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina (UNC) department of nutrition at an event held in her honor on Friday, Jan. 17. A former professor and associate dean at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Siega-Riz earned a bachelor’s degree in public health from UNC, a master’s degree in food and nutrition from UNC-Greensboro and a doctoral degree in nutrition and epidemiology from UNC.

“Dr. Siega-Riz was the unanimous choice for this year’s award,” says UNC nutrition department chair Beth Mayer-Davis. “Her research program has made an incredible impact on the understanding of nutrition during pregnancy and continues to evolve in innovative ways. Throughout her career she has been involved in high level national committees while also serving in significant leadership roles in academia. She spent much of her career at UNC – while we were sad to see her move on it has been exciting to watch her next steps as dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the �������� Amherst.”

As part of the event, Siega-Riz presented a lecture highlighting her research titled “Coming Full Circle: 30 Years of Advancing the Field of Nutrition During Pregnancy.”

“I was honored and humbled to see so many colleagues, former students and friends who turned out for the event,” says Siega-Riz. “My years at Carolina both as a student and faculty member were key to my development as a researcher because of the excellent learning environment, mentorship and opportunities for growth that were available to me.”