Member Insight

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist?  It really came down to one class in undergrad and my interest in getting an MPH. As a BSPH student at UNC, I was able to take some master’s-level courses at Gillings. One of them was a graduate-level epi course I took as part of my nutrition curriculum—and I loved it. Data analysis felt much more natural to me than working in the lab. I had originally decided on getting an MPH along and a medical degree and decided, focusing in on an MPH in epidemiology and never looked back. Over time, my original goal of becoming a physician shifted toward becoming a PhD-trained epidemiologist where I am about defend my dissertation in November 2025. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years?  One of the biggest challenges ahead is communicating and practicing good science in a world where trust in scientists has crumbled. As public health professionals, I think can do a better job of meeting the public where they are—listening to their concerns and engaging in real dialogue. Sometimes there’s this expectation that “because it’s science,” people will just accept it. Rebuilding trust […]

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). 😊 […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I pursued an MPH in epidemiology because I was interested in learning about public health broadly, and I fell in love with epi methods coursework! As a student researcher and data analyst, I then had the opportunity to work with incredible mentors and learn more about social and lifecourse epidemiology, which led me to realize that I wanted to become a social epidemiologist. Do you have any pets? I have a grey house cat with adorable socks named Theo. He loves cuddles and poking holes in my shirts (to be fair, I provoke him). Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I joined SER because my mentor encouraged me to. But I keep coming back because I have found the annual meetings to be incredibly supportive of student work and I very much look forward to hearing about the research being done by the field more broadly.   What advice do you give students who want to become epidemiologists? You can take an epidemiology degree in many different directions, and it can be as interdisciplinary as you’d like it to be. I love that our field spans governmental and […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? In college, I was a Biology major and conducted laboratory-based research in infectious diseases. However, having grown up in Nepal, I was always attracted to the idea of global public health, without fully understanding the diversity of career options available in public health. I was fortunate to take an epidemiology class and knew that was exactly my field. I then chose a graduate school where I could get advanced training in both lab-based microbiology/immunology as well as epidemiology, and have since focused on global epidemiology studies that often incorporates lab-based variables (e.g. microbiome, inflammation). What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? While the increasing collaboration between experts from different fields in recent times have been exciting, I think one major challenge will be how to manage these collaborations. For example, in my own research area, there is often collaboration between epidemiologists, clinicians, biostatisticians, lab scientists, and bioinformaticians. The epidemiologist is often at the center of these collaborations yet will have limited expertise in these other fields. The challenge will then be to balance learning new skills (e.g. specific skill sets within these other fields […]

Where is your academic home base?  I have been a faculty member at McGill University since 1990. Given my focus on cancer epidemiology, I have primary and joint appointments in the Department of Oncology and the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health. My interest in cancers associated with human papillomavirus infection has also rewarded me with cross-appointments in ObGyn, Dentistry, and Pathology. McGill is in Montreal, Canada. It is an Ivy-League caliber university. My American colleagues say McGill is the Harvard of the North—Montrealers like to say that Harvard is the McGill of the South. Montreal is one of the nicest cosmopolitan cities you can visit. Canadian in spirit, yet decidedly French at heart, Montreal boasts a cosmopolitan flare that is internationally renowned. Montreal is well known for its quality of life, safe streets, friendly atmosphere, gourmet restaurants, and sidewalk cafes. It hosted major epidemiology events, including the International Epidemiological Association’s World Congress of Epidemiology in 2002 and the 2010 North America Epidemiology Congress. What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I was trained as a microbiologist but always liked epidemiology because it allows me to observe health risks from a population perspective. When I had the opportunity […]

Introduction Hello! My name is Lisha Lin, and I am a PhD candidate in Epidemiologic Science at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. My research area mainly focuses on investigating the intricate interplay between the epigenome at different levels and health risk factors, including social, psychosocial, and neighborhood structure. What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? Growing up in a Chinese family with two healthcare workers, I always think about questions logically and enjoy analyzing their inner connection. I was familiar with the hospital’s atmosphere, where diseases and deaths are happening every day. At that time, I wanted to promote health and make fewer people suffer. In college, I chose Preventive Medicine as my major because I liked the concept of finding ways to promote health not only individually but also at a population level. In my fourth year, I studied Epidemiology and was fascinated by different epidemiological methods used to deal with various data types. Therefore, I went to the University of Michigan School of Public Health to further train myself in Epidemiology! What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? Misinformation and lack of trust between scientists and […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I decided to become an epidemiologist due to an early interest in doing HIV research.  After obtaining my Master of Public Health degree, I decided to work for a couple of years doing public health research at the Boston Public Health Commission, and desired to obtain more advanced research and analytical skills.  Therefore, I enrolled in and graduated from the PhD in Epidemiology program at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I think the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years is the misinformation and disinformation with respect to evidence-based science. Do you have any pets? No 😊, but would like to get a German Shepherd someday. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? SER was referred to me by a colleague as a great association/organization for epidemiologists.  As I wanted to learn more and have additional opportunities for networking with other epidemiologists, I decided to join.  What keeps me coming back are the opportunities available for learning, networking and leadership development. What advice do you give students who want to […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist?I was working towards my PhD in Theoretical Mathematics when several of my family members passed away in one year. Those tragic events made me think more about helping people via my own career. This is how I decided to study also biostatistics and epidemiology, and I went to pursue and received my PhD in Cancer Epidemiology. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? We are all very connected across the globe via travel and the internet. Having access to data from other countries is essential to better understand the factors leading to the various health issues currently impacting many. Unfortunately having access to international datasets and databases is not always easy, and establishing international collaborations can be challenging at times. Do you have any pets? Not currently. I love animals and believe that they are very intelligent and can teach us a lot. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I joined SER because of its outstanding reputation and the opportunity it presents to connect with epidemiology researchers from all over the world. I keep presenting my and my students’ research […]