The mission of the SER-Student & Post-Doc Committee (SER-SPC) is to facilitate the educational experiences and professional development of students in epidemiology-related disciplines by providing information, resources, and networking opportunities; facilitating student exchange of research ideas; and providing service to the SER and advancing and promoting the SER-SPC.
Catherine Lerro
President
Catherine is an epidemiologist studying occupational and environmental exposures and cancer risk. She is currently a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, where her research evaluates the effects of pesticides and persistent chemical exposures on cancer risk and relevant biomarker endpoints. She received her PhD in environmental epidemiology and her MPH in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health. She earned her BA in Public Health Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, and previously worked at the American Cancer Society.
Contact
National Cancer Institute
Division of Cancer Epidemiology
and Genetics
catherine.lerro@nih.gov
John Pamplin II
President-Elect
John R. Pamplin II is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and a predoctoral fellow on the NIMH T32 Psychiatric Epidemiology Training grant at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. John’s research interests lie at the intersection of social epidemiology and psychiatric epidemiology, with a particular interest in studying the shared social experiences of people of color in the U.S. and the implications of these experiences for mental health. Specifically, John is interested in the conceptualization and measurement of racism and its consequences for mental illness. Prior to his doctoral studies, John earned a B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College and an MPH in epidemiology with a certificate in the study of Social Determinants of Health from the Mailman School of Public Health.
Contact
Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology
Jrp2166@cumc.columbia.edu
Dana Pasquale
Past-President
Dana recently completed her doctorate in infectious disease epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Duke University Department of Sociology where she is studying social networks and health. Dana’s main research focus is understanding where to intervene in sexual networks to prevent HIV and syphilis transmission. Most of her work is within the domain of applied epidemiology and uses methods which are not traditional in epidemiology. She has an MPH in health behavior and a BA in anthropology.
Contact
Duke University
Department of Sociology
dkp20@duke.edu
Julie Petersen
Education Co-Chair
Julie is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health. She is interested in how the application of novel analytic methods may aid in gaining new insights in the study of pregnancy and early human development, including the etiology of birth defects. She also has a passion for teaching. Julie has an MPH with dual concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics and a BA in psychology with minors in applied statistics and music, both from Boston University.
Contact
Education Co-Chair
Contact
Rebecca Barry
Internal Affairs Chair
Rebecca is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on rurality, access to care, suicide, and suicide attempts. She previously completed an MSc in Epidemiology at Queen’s University.
Contact
University of Toronto
Rebecca.Barry@mail.utoronto.ca
Robert Orellana
Media Chair
Robert Orellana, PhD, MPH is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University College of Public Health. He has also received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. In his dissertation, Robert investigated the epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile within the healthcare setting. His research interests include healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. Robert’s postdoctoral work focuses on infectious diseases in marginalized populations. Robert has previously worked in clinical epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, and clinical trials.
Contact
The Ohio State University
orellana.4@buckeyemail.osu.edu
Precious Esie
Program Co-Chair
Precious Esie is an Epidemiology PhD student at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and will be a pre-doctoral fellow in the Psychiatric Epidemiology Training program beginning Fall 2019. Broadly speaking, she is interested in studying mechanisms through which social structures influence mental health outcomes. Her current work focuses on disentangling the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression in IPV-endemic settings. Prior to Mailman, she earned her MPH in Epidemiology from Emory University and her BS in Mathematics from Loyola University New Orleans.
Contact
Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health
pie2104@cumc.columbia.edu
Matthew Mietchen
Program Co-Chair
Matthew is a PhD candidate in the School for Global Animal Health at Washington State University. His interdisciplinary research is focused on mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, specifically the transmission of healthcare-associated infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in both hospital and community settings. He is interested in studying specific population interactions that affect pathogen transmission using models. His current work involves developing an inter-specific contact network involving companion animals and studying pathogen transmission throughout a community. Matthew earned a B.S. in Biology from Westminster College (SLC) and then his MPH from the University of Utah’s Division of Public Health in 2009. After receiving his MPH, he worked as a HIV/STI epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health until 2017 when he decided to pursue his doctoral degree.
Contact
Washington State University
matthew.mietchen@wsu.edu