Member Insight: Brenda Heaton

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist?
As part of my undergraduate degree requirements in Health Sciences, I took an introductory course in epidemiology. I liked the course generally, but it was when I was preparing my class presentation on the topic of misclassification that I felt the sparks start to fly. Continued research experiences fanned the flame, and the fire was blazing after taking Tim Lash’s ‘Modern Epidemiology’ course, TA’d by Matt Fox, during my MPH degree at Boston University.

What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years?
With an increasing ability to generate and harness data that can improve our understanding of population health comes the question of how we train epidemiologists to navigate this rapidly changing landscape. We need to think carefully about how we train epidemiologists so that they can nimbly apply core epidemiological principles across a wide variety of problem domains, effectively evaluate emerging approaches to data generation, skillfully assess an expanding set of tools and methodologies available to analyze data, and productively collaborate with data and other computational scientists.

Do you have any pets?
I have three adorable children (3, 6, and 8 years old). 😊

Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back?
SER is my methodological home and a place of connection. It is a place where I can stay connected to my roots as I grow in my chosen areas of research focus, a place where I can deepen relationships through reconnecting with former classmates, students, and colleagues, and a place where I can build new connections and collaboration through a shared foundation.

Outside of epidemiology what do you enjoy doing?
I recently moved to Utah from Massachusetts and am very much enjoying the dirty sodas and the mountains. We’ve also discovered the magic of Disneyland, being so close to California, and the National Parks are amazing. Come visit!!

What is something that not many people know about you?
I have a freakish ability to remember exactly what I or someone else was wearing during a given interaction. I won’t remember the date, location, or many other details, but the outfit details often hold a lot of clues about when and where something might have occurred.