Member Insight

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I have always been interested in science and helping people, but it wasn’t until I took an elective field epi course during a summer in undergrad that I decided to pursue a career in epidemiology. My “aha!” moment was when I learned I could combine all of my interests in human biology, nutrition, and statistics towards improving health of populations. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I can’t say what the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists will be, but some areas of concern are combating the spread of scientific misinformation, finding more effective ways of communicating with the public to establish and sustain trust in public health messaging and data, and creating a culture of inclusiveness in everything we do. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a fluffy black cat named Chanel. She is just as chic as her name suggests. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? Initially, I joined SER as a PhD student to take advantage of all the educational and professional development resources, and to grow my professional network. I keep coming back because of […]

Estela Blanco, PhD, MPH, MA 1-line introduction: I am an environmental epidemiologist originally from California, who lives and works in Santiago, Chile. What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I had no idea what epidemiology was until I met an epidemiologist—a wonderful mentor, María Luisa Zúñiga. I studied Latin American Studies as an undergraduate and the stars aligned when San Diego State University started a new joint master’s program in Latin American Studies and Public Health. I was hooked! What big epidemiology issue have you been thinking about lately? I am constantly thinking about consequential epidemiology. I try to reflect on whether I am asking the most important question. Do you have any pets? Yes! We have a pug, Rosie. She is a good dog, but will eat absolutely anything left on the floor: food crumbs, bits of plastic, and paper—she loves paper. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I joined to be part of a larger epidemiology community and it has not disappointed. SER provides so much interesting content year-round. The variety continues to surprise me as well. Just the other week, I attend a session on capitalism and health that was very thought […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? After studying actuarial science for six years, I chose to pursue a master’s and doctoral degrees at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a strong wish to have a wider impact on promoting population health. At Harvard, I completed my master thesis evaluating the associations between abnormal climate conditions and the risk of dementia hospitalization. This project was the starting point of my career. Knowing that my research could help understand how our environment impact human health and promote healthier community really inspired my passion to become an epidemiologist. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? In my research area there are several pervasive but commonly ignored obstacles to sound epidemiologic evidence, including measurement error, confounding bias, complexity of mixtures, selection bias. These obstacles render our research unreliable. In practice, the related consequences and study design issues should be treated more seriously especially when drawing causal determinations and policy implications. Do you have any pets? Not yet. We’ve taken care of friends’ dog and two rabbits a number of times and we love them. Now we’re thinking about bringing a new member into […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? It was a very roundabout journey. I had an undergraduate degree in psychology but couldn’t jump straight into a graduate program for financial reasons. I spent several years working in bars, nightclubs, and non-profits before landing a job as a research assistant with a fantastic group doing work in pediatric palliative care. This brought me into a really exciting interdisciplinary space with clinicians, nurses, social workers, and (you guessed it!) epidemiologists. As soon as I heard the phrase “social determinants of health,” I was sold. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I think this is an opportune moment to capitalize on the pandemic-induced interest in our field, for better or for worse, and think more about how to effectively equip students with essential skills, translate findings, and optimize bridges between disciplines. Do you have any pets? I have an enormous black cat named Myers (after Michael Myers). I also have a child, who is sort of like a pet but not named after a horror icon. Missed opportunity. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I initially joined SER because […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I first learned about epidemiology in an undergraduate biology course called ‘Insects and our Health’ when the instructor brought in a former EIS officer to talk about outbreak investigation. From the description, I thought it was the perfect mix of biology, math, and medicine and was convinced that I needed to move to Atlanta and prepare for a future career at the CDC. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I never thought I would be saying this, but now that medical research has been made into a matter of political ideology and a form of political allegiance, I think we are going to encounter many obstacles in the near term. The importance of science communication and messaging cannot be underscored. Do you have any pets? Yes – two 5-year old Labrador Retrievers, Grant and Sherman. They keep me active and are the best office mates. If you can’t tell from my photo, I take being a dog mom seriously and with a great sense of humor. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I was introduced to SER (and SPER) […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? After my undergraduate degree, I worked in a local public health department as a health promoter. While I enjoyed interacting with members of the community, I found that there was never time between falls prevention seminars, active transportation meetings, and flu shot campaigns to consider the evidence. Particularly in small regions, I saw that public health practitioners often lacked access to the resources and time to implement evidence-based practice. I decided to do my MSc in epidemiology to gain skills in understanding the science underlying public health. It wasn’t a huge leap from public health practice to epidemiology, and I quickly fell in love with psychiatric epidemiology. I have been enormously privileged to study and work alongside inspirational researchers in Canada, the UK, Sweden, and more. I am thrilled that I have found a career where I get to ask questions, read widely, and make beautiful charts and graphs. What could be better? What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? Epidemiologists will undoubtedly face interesting and challenging questions in the coming years. I expect that epidemiologists will need to grapple with the complex ways […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I was working as a HIV doctor in Nigeria, in a rural area with HIV prevalence of 10%, where the epidemic was primarily driven by mother to child transmission of the virus. Through a combination of targeted, data driven public healthcare and improved community participation in healthcare, my team and I saw HIV prevalence in the community drop from 10% to 4.7% within 4 years and massive improvement in the overall health of the community. This was the start of my journey in public health and epidemiology, and an interest in all the ways data could be used to address health inequities and improve the health of populations. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? The public’s distrust of all things public health, and a lack of understanding of what epidemiology is, and how our processes work Do you have any pets? No pets now, unfortunately. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I love the sense of community and oneness SER fosters among its members, as well as the opportunities provided for growth as an epidemiologist. What advice do you […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I was raised in a family that believed in careers of civil service, so I always knew I wanted a career where I could prompt change that would positively impact people’s lives. Prior to college, I began working in an HIV vaccine laboratory and believed my research path would be biomedical. However, during my first year in college, I took an elective “Foundations of Public Health” course that ignited my passion in public health and prompted me to declare my major as Community Health with a focus on socially marginalized populations. In doing so, I quickly found that shifting my lens from individual- to population-level health outcomes better aligned with how I understood the world and health inequities. Part of the course series was an Introduction to Epidemiology course. I was drawn to epidemiology’s multidisciplinary qualities, investigative nature, and quantitative core and also how it is underpinned with social justice goals and missions. Once I started to imagine the health and social impact I could have, I was hooked! What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? In light of the pandemic, there has been […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I had always been interested in understanding the multi-factorial causes of disease for the purpose of prevention. So epidemiology appealed to me because it was a fantastic tool to help us understand the interlinks between various exposures, be it chemical, psychosocial, or community-based structures. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I think trust in the public health system has been impacted by the COVID-19 response. There were plenty of inconsistent and confusing messages worldwide that did not factor in human behavior, and it will take a lot of effort and effective communication strategies to gain trust again. Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I wanted to join a society of epidemiologists who were at the cutting edge of science and methodology. I was also impressed by the strong researchers in SER who were committed to breaking down racist structures by defining and measuring them using epidemiological tools. What advice do you give students who want to become epidemiologists? To be open to interdisciplinary research and read studies outside their own specialties. What is something that not many people know […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? After college, I worked for an educational and support non-profit that provided resources to Latinx and African American survivors of breast cancer. Part of my job was reading current findings in the literature and conveying them to a lay audience. This exposed me to the kind of studies and work that epidemiologists do. I didn’t even know about the field before then! It seemed like a career path where I could focus on social justice and also lean on my analytic strengths. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? The pandemic a really thrust epidemiology into the public discourse. This has coincided with growing distrust of public institutions and propagation of misinformation by some. Clear and compelling communication has always been a challenge and now more than ever, if we want to hold the public’s trust in order to improve public health, we will have to contend with this. Do you have any pets? No, but I have two boys and they are covered in dirt, eat things off the floor, are not fully potty trained. Why did you join SER? What keeps you […]