TCOM student Emma Brilleslyper honored with the 2026 Excellence in Public Health Award
Emma Brilleslyper, a dual-degree student at UNT Health Fort Worth, has been selected
as the 2026 Excellence in Public Health Award winner by the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee.
Brilleslyper is set to graduate in May from UNT Health Fort Worth's Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and from the College of Public Health with a Master of Public Health.
“I was really excited because it’s something that you are nominated for by other people, and that means somebody else looks at what we have been doing and sees that it’s useful, important and worth recognition,” Brilleslyper said.
The award recognizes medical students’ contributions to public health.
Brilleslyper, who will graduate from TCOM in 2026, plans to pursue obstetrics and gynecology and will complete her residency in Columbus, Ohio, at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. This past year, she focused on women’s health, specifically medical mission trips that TCOM students conduct annually in West Texas counties along the U.S. border. She aimed to gather information to help current and future students in the TCOM Office of Rural Medical Education.
Her yearlong project, part of her public health internship, was titled “Sexually Transmitted Infections and Contraception: Examination of Needs and Knowledge in Rural Texas.”
“I created a survey that we used during the medical mission trips last spring and summer to ask about attitudes and knowledge related to contraception and sexually transmitted infection prevention,” she said. “These are all health deserts, so we were trying to figure out how to provide women’s health services, what people knew and what their attitudes were.”
Brilleslyper anticipated that the patient population and responses would differ from those in urban settings. Some of the towns where surveys were conducted — Sanderson, Van Horn, Terlingua and Marathon — are isolated communities in the Big Bend region of Texas. One goal of the project was to help future students navigate sometimes uncomfortable conversations with patients about these topics.
“Asking about sexual health and contraception can be very sensitive for patients, and it is important that medical students learn how to talk to their patients about all aspects of their health,” Brilleslyper said. “It shouldn’t be just OB-GYNs asking these questions. I want to provide information to our ROME students so they are prepared to have these conversations. They may be the only physician that patient sees, and if they don’t ask, who will?”
Her findings showed a significant need for improved literacy and education on these topics.
“It’s such a unique patient population, and as far as we know, nobody has ever asked this of them,” Brilleslyper said. “There is a lot of confusion about contraception, and there is a general desire for more resources.”
Brilleslyper has already developed resources for future students participating in medical mission trips. She created a prenatal care handbook for both students and patients that explains what prenatal care is and where to access it across the counties served.
“Whoever is out there, we put their contact information on a list that can be accessed, and medical students can share that information as well,” Brilleslyper said.
The benefits of her work are twofold: supporting local communities and preparing future TCOM students.
“I couldn’t be happier for her,” said Maria Crompton, DO, DipABLM, TCOM’s director of rural medical education. “Emma dedicated herself to this work with incredible care and commitment, and I’m elated that she’s receiving such well-deserved national recognition. Her work is already helping guide our planning for community education and additional services for these trips. It has also helped learners become more comfortable discussing sexual health with patients.”
Brilleslyper’s interest in public health developed while studying abroad in 2017, where she observed different health care systems and ways to improve them.
“That’s why I pursued the MPH,” she said. “It gives you a broader perspective on everything that impacts a patient’s life. You can’t treat anything in isolation, and you also can’t treat a person separately from their support system. As DO students, we learn to treat the body as a unit, but we also learn to understand patients’ perspectives, communicate effectively and respect what matters to them. That leads to better outcomes and stronger relationships.”
“Physicians have an opportunity to be part of the community in a way that not many other professions do.”
She is also keeping her career options open. After seeing her mother survive ovarian cancer — diagnosed incidentally during surgery for another condition — Brilleslyper is considering pursuing a gynecologic oncology fellowship. She hopes to contribute to the development of improved screening methods for ovarian and other cancers affecting women.
If her yearlong project is any indication, Brilleslyper is poised to make a significant impact in medicine and public health.
“Your leadership and hard work demonstrate your passion and dedication to public health within the medical profession,” said CAPT Michael Bartholomew, MD, FAAP, physician chief professional officer, in a congratulatory letter. “Your accomplishments clearly support health promotion and disease prevention, the cornerstones of the U.S. Public Health Service’s priorities and goals to protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation.”