Rutgers School of Public Health faculty, Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa and Michael Anestis, have been named 2026 recipients of the New Jersey Health Foundation Excellence Awards.
Pérez-Figueroa, the Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Population Health, and Global Public Health and associate professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health, received the 2026 Excellence in Teaching Award. The award is presented by the foundation to faculty who have demonstrated outstanding teaching capabilities during the academic year.
“I am honored to receive the 2026 Excellence in Teaching Award,” Pérez-Figueroa. “For me, teaching is an opportunity to build the capacity of the next generation of public health leaders to address critical health inequities. I am committed to fostering inclusive, participatory learning environments where students engage diverse perspectives and contribute to advancing solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our communities.”
Anestis, a professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health and Executive Director of the school’s New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, received the 2026 Excellence in Research Award. The foundation has awarded the research prize to faculty who have performed outstanding research in their respective areas of study.
“I am excited to have my research recognized by the New Jersey Health Foundation,” says Anestis. “Firearm suicide prevention has been my life's work, with much of that research focused specifically on our service member and veteran communities. Even though suicides account for well over half of the firearm deaths in the US each year, suicide is often left out of our gun violence prevention conversations. To have my work recognized with this generous honor means the world to me and to my hopes of reshaping how we talk about gun violence in America.”
“Dr. Pérez-Figueroa and Dr. Anestis represent the very best of public health as educators who inspire and researchers who innovate,” said Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. “At its core, public health is about people. Drs. Pérez-Figueroa's and Anestis's work reflects our shared commitment to always lead with humanity - whether in the classroom, in our research, or in the communities we serve. This recognition underscores the profound impact of that approach.”
