KU School of Medicine-Wichita professor receives the Doren Fredrickson Commitment to Public Health Award
Elizabeth Ablah, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, accepted the award from Sedgwick County during National Public Health Week.
The Sedgwick County Commission proclaimed the second week in April as National Public Health Week and announced Elizabeth Ablah, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, professor in the Department of Population Health at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, as the 2026 recipient of the Doren Fredrickson Commitment to Public Health Award.
Each year during National Public Health Week, the award is given in honor of Doren Fredrickson, M.D., Ph.D., a clinician, educator and researcher who served as Sedgwick County health officer from 2002 to 2008 and was one of the founding members of the Department of Preventive Medicine (now Population Health) at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. The award has special meaning for Ablah, who previously worked with Fredrickson.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award, made especially meaningful by the fact that it was through nomination by colleagues and friends and established in memory of a former colleague and mentor,” she said.
As noted by the county, Ablah has protected and improved the health of Sedgwick County citizens for more than 25 years. Her research on water contamination has led to reforms and led many municipalities to make changes, giving thousands of people access to clean, safe drinking water.
Ablah also used her research and advocacy to help create public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was described by the county as "data-driven, humble, kind, brilliant, passionate and beyond deserving of this recognition."
"Elizabeth’s dedication and enduring commitment to the Wichita community and KU School of Medicine–Wichita are evident in all that she does," said Laura Tatpati, M.D., professor and dean, KU School of Medicine-Wichita. "Learning about her parents’ influence — particularly that her mother was the first Ablah to graduate from the Master of Public Health Program at KU School of Medicine–Wichita — makes her lifelong devotion to public health even more meaningful."
At left: Elizabeth Ablah, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, left, talks with her mother, Carol Ablah, and Laura Tatpati, M.D., dean of KU School of Medicine-Wichita.