McMaughan selected as New Investigator of the Year

Darcy McMaughan, Ph.D., assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, has been selected as the 2015 New Investigator of the Year by the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA).

McMaughan has led projects on measuring care needs for people living with disabilities, on antibiotic stewardship for frail older adults living with disabilities, and chronic pain and quality of health for people living with disabilities including children with intellectual disabilities.

She is currently leading a $2 million dollar project for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to develop the State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) Kids Screening and Assessment Instrument (SK-SAI) for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other complex health conditions. As Director of the Program on Disability Research and Community Based Care at the school, McMaughan has created a community-based board comprised of people with disabilities, academics focused on disability research, families of children with disabilities, and professionals from a variety of fields (from nursing to criminal justice) who work towards improving the health and wellness of people living with disabilities.

McMaughan will receive the award at the APHA Annual Meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in Chicago, Illinois.