Ambrose Maritim and Amos Kosgey were two of four students nationally to be recognized by the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs as Student Research Competition winners. For this honor, Martim and Kosgey both received $1,000 and an all-expense paid trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the National Environmental Health Association’s 81st annual meeting in July.
Maritim’s presentation “Household Treatment in Relation to Total Coliform and E. coli Densities in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya” was carried out in 2016 with faculty mentor Jason Marion. Martim’s presentation spotlighted water quality issues and the benefits and deficiencies in point-of-use water treatment methods impacting 421 persons across 77 households.
Kosgey’s presentation “Antibiotic Residues in Milk from Milk ATMs in Eldoret, Kenya” was supported by a mini-grant to Marion by the EKU Office of Sponsored Programs. Kosgey’s work assessed antibiotic residues in 80 milk samples. Kosgey observed detectable antibiotic residues in 29% of samples from mobile milk vending machines used by local dairy farmers and 24% of samples from street vendors. None of the 25 commercial samples had detectable antibiotics. Antibiotics assessed were tetracycline, beta-lactams, sulfanimides, and gentamicin. Kosgey and Marion’s work has been shared with Kenyan milk experts and is undergoing minor revision for re-consideration in November by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Now, four years after arriving at EKU, Maritim will graduate this fall with a B.S. in Environmental Health Science, and five years later, Kosgey will graduate with a M.S. in Public Health, specializing in Environmental Health Science. Kosgey graduated in less than four years with his B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science. Both students are completing their cooperative education/internships and will graduate this December.
Kosgey (2012-17) and Maritim (2013-17) were two of EKU’s top distance runners over the past five years. Kosgey was the 2014 OVC Male Cross Country Runner of the Year, a three-time NCAA All-Southeast Region selection in cross country (2014-16) and a three-time OVC gold medalist on the track. Maritim was the 2014 OVC individual cross country champion and a three-time NCAA All-Southeast Region selection in cross country (2014-16). Both helped lead the EKU men’s cross country team to three consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships (2013-15).
EKU has had tremendous success in recent years in grooming scholar-athletes from Western Kenya. Luka Ndungu (BS 16’) is completing his M.S. in Environmental Science at Florida Gulf Coast University and Elkana Kurgat is completing his PhD at the University of Arizona in Public Health specializing in Environmental Health Sciences. Maritim’s presentation built upon the work of previous EKU scholar-athletes Peter Sigilai (MPH 13’) and Ben Cheruiyot (MPH 13’), who are both actively serving in the U.S. Army.
“There are no words to describe or even summarize how the university has changed my life for the good,” Maritim said.
“Meeting so many different people with varied backgrounds and the same goal of protecting public health was interesting to me,” Kosgey said. “Playing sports and being part of the great tradition at EKU is something I enjoyed, especially meeting the many different people from all different walks of life. Both my professors and coaches have made a large contribution to my life and after five years at EKU, I am glad to call it my second home. Interacting with professors interested with my work and encouraging me to do research has broadened my growth and understanding in public health and that is as important as anything else in life.”
“These students are my peers – I learn more from our Kenyan students than they learn from me,” Marion said. “Amos, Ambrose, and all of our students from Kenya absorb information like a sponge and attack serious public health problems in their home communities with the same level of determination that has made them champions as athletes and as scholars. They bring joy to my work and provide me with a higher purpose and I will forever be grateful for my experiences with these students. We are family now for life and we have further to go in addressing public health problems here in Kentucky and abroad.”
For more information about EKU’s Master of Public Health-Environmental Health Science Program, visit www.mph.eku.edu or call 859-622-7566. For more information on the Environmental Health Science program, visit www.eku.edu or call 859-622-6343. The environmental health science program is the largest accredited undergraduate program in environmental health science in the eastern United States.
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Steve Fohl
Associate Director of EKUSports Communications
