As part of the University’s of Pittsburgh’s second observance of One Health Day, the Schools of Health Sciences awarded financial awards student sustainability research and for the Sustainability in Healthcare Challenge, focused on promoting environmental, economic, and social sustainability in healthcare.
2025 Sustainability in Healthcare Challenge Winners
4 winners were announced for the 2025 Sustainability in Healthcare Competition. 1 project was awarded the grand prize of $50,000 and 3 projects received $25,000 each. Congratulations to the 2025 winners!
$50,000 Award
- Flipping the Paradigm: Using lessons from a comparative assessment of surgical supplyuse in high and low resource settings to develop a Green OR pilot at UPMC – Drs. Jennifer Makin, Nat Jones, Noe Woods, Amanda Artsen, Pamela Moalli, and Neha Shetty
$25,000 Awards
- DRDIN-MPS: A Sustainable, Patient-Specific Microphysiology Platform for Diabetes DrugDiscovery – Drs. Ipsita Banerjee, Chandan Sen, Michael Boninger, Raghunath Bommana Reddy, and Erin Parlow
- Reducing Lab Plastic waste through Reuse of “Single-Use” Consumables – Dr. David Gau,Dr. Melissa Bilec, Grace Tuan, and Dylan Shields
- Closing the Loop: A Multi-Layer Mask System to Capture, Convert, and NeutralizeAnesthetic Gases – Drs. Nitin Agarwal, Shaunak Patil, Janam Patel, and Ayesha Waheed
Student Competition: Sustainability in Healthcare Winner Announcement
Participants at One Health Day voted on the best posters in each category during the poster session. The winners were announced at the end of the day. Additionally, two funding awards were given to students who submitted a video of a sustainability project idea. Congratulations to the 2025 winners!
Sustainability in Healthcare Student Research Presentation & Poster Competition Winners
Research Presentations
- Characterizing the Patient Population of Interfacility Helicopter Transfers to UPMC Facilities – Rami Homsi, School of Medicine
- Developing a Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Inventory – Trent Stross, Computational Biology
Research Poster
- Prototyping a Sustainable Pulse Oximeter for Pediatric Cases – Natalie Ceccarelli, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
Sustainability in Healthcare: Student Education Poster Competition
Winning Poster
- From Waste to Whitening: Using Eggshell-Derived Hydroxyapatite as a Sustainable Alternative to Amalgam and Composite Fillings – Maahi Soni, School of Public Health
Sustainability in Healthcare: Student Implementation Poster Competition
Winning Poster
- Composting Used Animal Food and Bedding – Kelly Barko, School of Medicine
Sustainability in Healthcare: Student Research Competition
Winning Projects
- Incorporating a Sustainability Framework in Bioengineering Laboratory Educations – Aqsa Owais & Tyler Johnston, Bioengineering
- Eat Well & Waste Less: Sustainable Cooking and Composting Education for Health Science Students – Cynthia McMahan, School of Medicine
Learn more about 2025 One Health Day on the Office of Sustainability in the Health Science's website.