Assistant Professor Jamie Zelazny, PhD, MPH, RN, earned one of five Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Awards for 2025.
Each year, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award recognizes outstanding public service contributions by University of Pittsburgh faculty members. For this award, public service is defined as the use of university resources “to address social problems and to improve the general welfare of humankind.”
Zelazny has gone above and beyond the traditional duties of a faculty member in her research and outreach addressing youth mental health and suicide prevention.
She has given over 150 presentations throughout Western Pennsylvania to educate students, parents, and teachers on youth mental health awareness. To assist school nurses in Pennsylvania, Zelazny, in partnership with the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is developing an online training addressing youth suicide prevention. She has also chaired the committee that developed a position paper on the topic for the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.
On the Pitt campus, Zelazny served as faculty advisor, assisting students in the creation of the annual University of Pittsburgh American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Campus Walk.
Her research seeks to harness technology to identify factors that may predict youth suicide risk, including social media and mobile sensing. Zelazny will be awarded a grant of $3,000 to support further public service activities.
“Through my volunteer work with AFSP, I saw the glaring need to support youth who have experienced a suicide loss,” Zelazny said. “Along with several fellow volunteers, I was trained as a support group facilitator by AFSP for youth suicide loss survivors. I am so grateful for this funding, which will be used to create a grief camp specifically for youth suicide loss survivors. The inaugural ‘Camp Rise Up’ will be held on April 26, 2025.”
Learn more about Camp Rise Up, Zelazny’s efforts to prevent youth suicide, and award listings for this year’s and past years’ Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award.