During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wactawski-Wende was the recipient of the 2020 UB President's Medal which recognizes "outstanding scholarly or artistic achievements, humanitarian acts, contributions of time or treasure, exemplary leadership or any other major contribution to the development of the University at Buffalo and the quality of life in the UB community."
[2] After spending five years as a research scientist at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center[3] Wactawski-Wende joined the faculty at her alma mater, the University at Buffalo, as an assistant professor.
[4] In 1993, she was part of the team that spearheaded UB's successful bid to become one of the federally funded study's 16 original vanguard clinical centers.
[5] In 2011, UB recognized Wactawski-Wende with their Distinguished Biomedical Alumna Award for being a "nationally recognized epidemiologist who has played a leading role in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a landmark study that has changed the understanding of health in postmenopausal women.
"[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wactawski-Wende was the recipient of the 2020 UB President's Medal which recognizes "outstanding scholarly or artistic achievements, humanitarian acts, contributions of time or treasure, exemplary leadership or any other major contribution to the development of the University at Buffalo and the quality of life in the UB community.