Saratoga High School Grad Named Researcher of the Year
Photo via the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
ALBANY — Dr. Stacy Pettigrew, a 1992 graduate of Saratoga Springs High School, was recently named the 2025 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) Researcher of the Year.
Dr. Pettigrew is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Director of The Collaboratory in Albany’s South End.
“Her work exemplifies excellence in scholarship, innovation in public health practice research, and deep, sustained community engagement,” said Joseph J. Carreno in an email sent to ACPHS colleagues.
Over the past year, Dr. Pettigrew submitted 18 extramural grant proposals and secured five competitive awards totaling $393,580. Her projects tackle urgent public health priorities, including opioid harm reduction, chronic disease management, and food insecurity. Notable initiatives include the Food Farmacy, which operationalizes the concept of food as medicine, and a telehealth blood pressure monitoring program managed by a public health pharmacy technician—both offering scalable models for public health innovation.
Dr. Pettigrew has recently published extensively in high-impact journals such as Science of the Total Environment, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and the Journal of Cleaner Production. She has integrated students into grant-funded research, co-authored peer-reviewed publications, and helped launch the careers of young professionals.