Member Insight

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 […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I have been involved in research since I was a student at medical school, and I soon realized that our questions were more complicated than the methods we used to address them.  So, I reached out to my colleagues at the Department of Epidemiology in my University (University of Ioannina, Greece), and I realized the power of using appropriate methodology to answer complex questions. It became also obvious to me that sometimes we are asking the wrong questions. So, I decided to study Epidemiology that opened a whole world that I knew I had to pursue. I still have more my first copy of Modern Epidemiology with handwritten notes all over it!  Another fundamental reason that made me decide to become an epidemiologist is the ability to make a population-wide impact. When practicing medicine, you can prevent and treat disease one individual at a time. Epidemiology has the power to make an impact at the population level for a happier society. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? The number one challenge is research funding. Regarding topics, there are three concurrent challenges for epidemiologists: […]

What sparked your decision to become an epidemiologist? I have always been interested in mental health, but more as a public health issue than from the perspective of a clinician, so psychiatric epidemiology was the perfect way to pursue this interest. I like thinking about how different factors influence our mental health and resilience across the life course, generations and social contexts, and epidemiology is a great way to look at this. What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing epidemiologists in the next five years? I think the pandemic highlighted the challenge of distrust of science and the ease with which misinformation can spread and affect people’s behaviour. For example, the fact that there is measle outbreak in London, where I live, points to this issue. It’s quite discouraging and a huge challenge that epidemiologists and scientists more broadly will need to tackle. Do you have any pets? I have a 13-year old black Labrador named Higgy (full name Higgs Boson). Why did you join SER? What keeps you coming back? I joined originally SER when I was a student to attend the annual meeting. What keeps me coming back are all of the excellent resources available from […]

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 […]