Cindy Prins, an esteemed associate professor of medicine at the University of Central Florida (UCF), is doing remarkable work to enhance the field of Infection Prevention. Not only through her personal research focused on nursing homes, but also through her mentorship of medical students, she is a stalwart proponent of securing safer healthcare spaces.
Prins has been recognised as a fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) – a notable distinction that represents the pinnacle of achievements for a scientist concentrating on innovative methodologies for thwarting infectious diseases. With a membership exceeding 15,000, APIC is a preeminent professional grouping for those working in infection prevention.
As one of the 39 fellows selected globally in 2025, this accredits Prins’ dedication to not just APIC, but to her professional commitment in infection prevention as stated by Marie Wilson, an APIC’s fellow and an infection prevention specialist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. Prins began her journey in the healthcare sphere as a virologist but found her calling in epidemiology due to her interest in the public health sector, specifically examining healthcare-associated infections and strategies to prevent their spread.
Prins’ practical involvement in infection prevention was reignited during the COVID-19 pandemic when she served as the infection preventionist for the entire UCF campus. This, alongside her association with the APIC Communications Committee disseminating crucial infection prevention information, has played a crucial role in expanding her local community influence that she held as a department faculty member at the University of Florida Shands Hospital and later at the UF Department of Epidemiology.
Upon joining the UCF College of Medicine’s population health sciences department as an associate professor of medicine in 2023, Prins has made significant strides to uplift infection prevention in nursing homes. This has been achieved through her research and her mentorship of UCF medical students involved in infection prevention research.
At present, Prins is working on a pioneering initiative of testing a shoe insert for contact tracing in nursing homes in collaboration with a company. This innovative technology is predicted to be highly effective, especially for patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, given their occasional difficulty in recollecting their contacts.
Furthermore, she serves as a mentor for the UCF College of Medicine’s Focused Inquiry and Research Experience module, impelling medical students to embark on research during their initial two years of medical school. Currently, she is steering a student towards scrutinizing new protocols stipulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services targeted at curtailing the spread of infectious diseases.
Prins’ illustrious career, her determined zeal for infection prevention, innovative research, and dedicated mentorship, unequivocally affirm her commitment towards crafting safer healthcare environments and raising the next generation of infection prevention experts.
Source: https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-epidemiologist-receives-fields-highest-honor/