WASHINGTON -- Dr. E. Joanne Angelo, a Tufts University assistant professor of psychiatry and medical doctor, was one of three recipients named for the 2011 People of Life Awards, presented during an Aug. 8 ceremony at the annual Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference in Atlanta.

The People of Life Award recognizes those who have answered the call outlined by Pope John Paul II in "The Gospel of Life" (Evangelium Vitae, 1995) by dedicating themselves to pro-life activities and promoting respect for the dignity of the human person. It is bestowed to a practicing Catholic in honor of his or her significant contributions in service to the culture of life.

As a physician, researcher and mentor, Angelo has been an advocate for post-abortion healing and a defender of the elderly and dying. Trained at Tufts University School of Medicine, Angelo has published extensively throughout her clinical practice in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. She has taught at Cornell, Harvard and Tufts medical schools and served as an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts from 1974 to the present. Angelo has held leadership positions in several medical societies, as well as in University Faculty for Life and Women Affirming Life. For 14 years, she has served as a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), presented the awards. Over 100 diocesan, state and national Catholic pro-life leaders from across the country attended the private awards dinner at the conference, sponsored by the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.

The other honorees were Mimi Eckstein, who served for 20 years in the Archdiocese of Denver as the Respect Life director and currently runs the Gabriel Project there, and Magaly Llaguno, an international advocate for life since 1972 that works largely with Hispanic audiences.