Ph.D. student receives prestigious research award

Libby MacQuillan

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. student Libby MacQuillan has been selected to receive an All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award, one of the most significant honors that Western Michigan University bestows upon its graduate students. The award recognizes Libby's distinctive doctoral research.

MacQuillan's dissertation explores the prevalence of gestational diabetes in Michigan, and breastfeeding behavior after gestational diabetes-complicated pregnancy in Kalamazoo County and throughout the state of Michigan.

Students who receive All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Awards and the Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards for 2017 will be honored at a reception sponsored by the Graduate College, the Graduate Studies Council and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee on April 27. In addition, the awards are also acknowledged at commencement ceremonies when the recipients graduate.

Libby earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University in 2001, a Master of Arts degree from WMU in 2010 and will complete her doctoral degree in 2017. She holds completed certificates of training in Adult Weight Management and Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

About the Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Awards

A long, rich history surrounds the Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Awards, which were granted for the first time in 1985, to honor outstanding achievement in research and creative activities. In 1998, the Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards were born through the collaborative efforts of the Graduate College and the Graduate Studies Council.