Photo, left to right: María Ana Díaz Paredes, Sumiya Hashemi Miah, Diana Russell Campbell, Janice JaeEun Nam, Imraina Alam, and Jamie S. Guillergan
The 2026 interprofessional University of Maryland, Baltimore team took home the Wildcard Prize on Oct. 16 at the 2026 D.C. Public Health Case Challenge, hosted by the National Academy of Medicine. Congratulations to the team on their hard work, collaboration, and dedication to their project at this very busy time of the semester. The six team members represented five UMB schools:
- Imraina Alam, MPH candidate, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)
- Diana Russell Campbell, MSW candidate, University of Maryland School of Social Work, MPH candidate, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
- Jamie S. Guillergan, MSN and MPH candidate, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and UMSOM
- Sumiya Hashemi Miah, MS Physician Assistant Studies candidate, University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies
- Janice JaeEun Nam, MS, JD Candidate, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
- María Ana Díaz Paredes, MSN candidate, UMSON
This year’s case topic was “Sustaining the Mind and Body: Preventing Multimorbidity of Mental and Physical Chronic Disease Development Among D.C. Residents.” The UMB team developed an education, socialization, and outreach program called BLOOM (Belonging, Life Skills, Optimism, and Optimal Mental Health) to address the mental health, social, and reproductive health needs of D.C. teens with autism spectrum disorder. The judges were impressed with the innovative nature of the solution presented, the target population, and the educational topics tackled. Students won a cash prize and may have future opportunities for publication or dissemination of their solution.
Diana Russell Campbell served as team captain. Rebecca Hall, JD, managing director of the Law and Health Care Program at Maryland Carey Law, served as the team’s primary advisor, with the support of longtime advisor Gregory B. Carey, PhD, associate professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, associate dean for biomedical and health profession pathways and workforce development, assistant dean for student research and education, and director of PRISM and UM Scholars Student Research Program at UMSOM.
Other team advisors included participants from last year’s team: Jake Kim, UMSOM MD/MPH candidate, Class of 2027; Hannah Lowe, Maryland Carey Law JD candidate, Class of 2027; and alumni Byron Cheung, JD '25, MSHCM, Maryland Carey Law.