News, updates, and information for current students and alumni of the Department of Epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health
Category : News/Events
The Department of Epidemiology’s, student-led COVID-19 journal club will be continuing on a bi-weekly basis this fall on Mondays from 12:10 – 1:00PM, starting on August 31st.
See the flyer below to learn more about the journal club and if you are interested in joining click here to sign up for the listserv or email one of the students leaders to be added to the listserv.
Category : Post-Grad Student Opportunities
**Application Deadline is Friday August 21st**
Opportunity Description
Applications are invited for two Cancer Research UK funded DPhil Studentships to work within the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) Secretariat at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health. These posts provide an opportunity for those with a good degree in a mathematical/science subject or medicine to develop their research skills within one of the world’s leading medical research units. We would welcome applications from people with an interest in the design and analysis of clinical trials and the application of statistics to improving treatment of breast cancer and other diseases.
The two proposed topics are:
1) A comparison of individual patient data (IPD) over meta-analyses of published data: implications for clinical trial design and the utility of different endpoints for early breast cancer trials
Contact Information: For informal discussions regarding this project, please contact either Robert Hills (Robert [dot] Hills [at] ndph [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk) or Richard Gray (Richard [dot] Gray [at] ndph [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk )
2) Predictive and prognostic factors in early breast cancer and long-term side-effects of therapy
About EBCTCG
Since 1985, EBCTCG has conducted large-scale individual patient level meta-analyses of local and systemic treatments for early breast cancer. The findings, published in high profile journals, have been cited in over 25,000 other publications, and provide the evidence base for most international breast cancer treatment guidelines.
EBCTCG sits within the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) which brings together over 500 staff from world leading research groups, with around 100 students on taught Master’s and Doctoral programmes. NDPH conducts large-scale epidemiological studies and clinical trials in China, Mexico, India, Russia, in addition to the UK and other developed countries. These studies provide reliable evidence on the burden, determinants and best treatments of the major causes of premature death and disability. The research has a global span and impact, with collaborations from more than 50 countries, and students and researchers work on several of the world’s largest and most detailed observational epidemiological studies such as UK Biobank, China Kadoorie Biobank and the Million Women Study and collaborative meta-analyses.
The NDPH’s research programmes provide training in all aspects of population health research, from statistics and epidemiology to health economics, health services research, health policy and promotion, and ethics.
Our student-led Research Student Group arranges a wide range of activities outside the day-to-day research work our students undertake, from social events to seminars and journal clubs. Our students are also invited to a wide range of Departmental events and groups, including our Early Career Researchers Network.
We offer students generous allowances for expenses such as attendance at relevant conferences, training courses, and fieldwork.
Application Information
Category : #WeAreEmoryEPI
The Emory EPI Outbreak Response Team, led by Department Vice Chair Dr. Jodie Guest, has been working diligently this summer to support Hall County’s COVID-19 response through a variety of initiatives. Their efforts have centered around bringing free COVID-19 testing to communities at higher risk of transmission, including Hispanic & Latino poultry plant workers in northeast Georgia and Black communities in rural parts of the state.
Earlier this summer, Dr. Guest wrote a PROspective article in which she explained how relationship-building, actively listening to community members, and intentionally soliciting feedback have been essential strategies throughout her career to successfully engage in community partnerships. Despite having no prior connections to Hall County, when the call for assistance came in, she was able to build a successful partnership based on her work in similar communities by finding a shared goal. They are striving to, “change the course of the COVID-19 epidemic in a hard-hit community that already was struggling with generations of disparities and inequities.”
The Outbreak Response Team also includes eight EPI MPH students. They have spent this summer assisting with testing events at poultry plants in Hall County, doing community outreach to increase COVID-19 awareness, and providing support for families who are struggling during this time. Testing events involve a consenting process; conducting lab tests like nasal swabs, blood spots, and blood draws; and providing educational resources to participants. In May and June their team also worked with the Gainesville City School District to deliver meals and masks to children from lower income families. While delivering meals they also distributed educational flyers and activities for parents and children to learn more ways to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.
Despite the challenges of working and communicating with participants in full PPE outside in the hot Georgia summer, this group of students has thoughtfully considered ways to engage with the community and use their public health skills to effectively teach people about prevention strategies. For example, in the last few months many of them have gained a new appreciation for the importance of eye contact and body language when trying to connect with participants while wearing masks.
This week we spoke with two members of the outbreak response team about their experiences working at the front line of the pandemic and what they have learned about community-engaged public health work.
Alicia Jaramillo-Underwood
Alicia graduated from Georgetown University in 2010 with a psychology major and Spanish minor. After undergrad, she worked a variety of office jobs in Washington DC and Denver before coming to Rollins.
“I’ve been most involved with Spanish interpretation at our testing events, which has been an amazing way to keep in touch with my Colombian heritage. I have also been providing the team with weekly updates on COVID-19 case counts in specific counties of interest around Georgia, giving me basic insights into presenting epidemiologic data.”
“My biggest takeaway about doing community-engaged public health work is how humbling it is. There is a big difference between being in the classroom learning about bias, SAS, and risk ratios and being in the field interacting with people who rely on us for our public health knowledge and skills. It’s a responsibility I never took lightly, but this has brought it to a whole new level.”
As the summer is concluding, Alicia is looking forward to diving into her second year EPI courses and applying what she will be learning about epidemiologic modeling to COVID-19. She is excited to learn about how models are made so that she can better educate her family and friends about the changing trends and predictions surrounding the pandemic.
Saarav Patel
Saarav received his Pre-Med Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Global Public Health, with a minor in Spanish, from New York University in 2019.
“Conducting participant-based, in-person research is one of my passions because of how it allows me to directly connect with the communities we are aiming to help. Participants are able to see me as a friendly face, and I can see them as a human rather than just a row in a spreadsheet. Seeing children excited to pick out a mask in their favorite color or watching friends learn how to properly social distance is what validates our hard work at the end of the day.”
“Working long hours in full PPE on extremely hot days does get difficult, but the impact of our work keeps morale high. I am always excited for another testing day because of how well our team works together, even in the face of the pandemic. This work has solidified my intentions to continue working in community-based research.”
In his second year at Rollins, Saarav is looking forward to starting work on his Capstone and beginning the job search process. In the future, he is hoping to combine the skills he has gained through the field-work this summer with his experience working with urban LGBT populations in sexually transmitted infection prevention.
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of Emory EPI responds, stay tuned for another feature on members of the Emory EPI Outbreak Response Team later on in this series, and for more highlights of the incredible work our students have been doing this summer to put their epidemiology skills to use responding to the pandemic and supporting the most severely affected communities.
Category : Alumni
Opportunity Description
The Domestic WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) Epidemiology team is looking for ORISE Fellows to join its surveillance program. The ORISE Fellows will:
Qualifications:
Organization Description:
The Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch works to maximize the health, productivity, and well-being of people in the United States and around the globe by preventing domestic and global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related disease. The Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch (WDPB) is in the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED) in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at CDC.
To apply:
Category : News/Events
Summary
Michelle A. Williams, Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is pleased to present “When Public Health Means Business” featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, moderated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN, and introduction by Lawrence S. Bacow, President, Harvard University.
This online event was recorded on August 5th, 2020 and is presented jointly by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the New England Journal of Medicine and hosted by The Forum at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
About the Speakers
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, answered questions from Harvard Chan faculty and other COVID-19 experts, going narrow and deep on questions about the pandemic that you won’t hear anywhere else. This conversation was moderated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN.
About the Webinar Series
“When Public Health Means Business” is a multi-part series that virtually convenes luminaries from the realms of finance, industry and health to map a new path forward and ensure a better, safer future for all. Jointly presented by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the New England Journal of Medicine, and hosted by The Forum at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
How to Watch
Click here to watch a recording of this event.
Category : APE/ILE Student Opportunities
Opportunity Description
The Winship Research Informatics shared resource (WRI) at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University is looking for second year MPH/ EMPH students who are interested in (Applied Practice Experience, APE) opportunities with National Cancer Database (NCDB) research projects.
The nationally recognized National Cancer Database (NCDB)—jointly sponsored by the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society—is a clinical oncology database sourced from hospital registry data that are collected in more than 1,500 Commission on Cancer (CoC)-accredited facilities. NCDB data are used to analyze and track patients with malignant neoplastic diseases, their treatments, and outcomes. Data represent more than 70 percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases nationwide and more than 34 million historical records.
Projects Description
The projects provides valuable opportunities (which could also be counted towards the APE) for MPH/ EMPH students to gain practical experiences with getting familiarized with national cancer registry data, communications on research designs and analytic findings, statistical analyses, and understandings of research cycle of public health analyses. The research questions were proposed by clinicians from Winship Cancer Institute, aiming at evaluating the treatment outcomes of the latest cancer management strategy, consolidating effectiveness of treatments from previous case series reports, exploring incidence and epidemiology of rare cancers, etc.
The projects are intended for abstract presentations such as American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and journal submissions, so there are also plenty of authorship opportunities for conference abstracts and manuscripts for academic journals. According to the feedbacks from the students graduated in the past years, analytic experiences and authorships gained from participating in the projects, have added significant advantages in their job seeking and further academic developments. The operations of the projects are remote friendly, and have fully evolved into remote mode as responding measure to the pandemic of COVID-19.
Requirements
Second year MPH/ EMPH students with good oral and written communication skills, some experience with cancer data analysis, solid understanding of statistical tests and models (Chi-squre, ANOVA, log-rank test, logistic regressions, Cox-proportional hazard models, time dependent Cox models, etc.), some experience with SAS macros, formats and ODS are also required.
How to Apply
Please send resume to Renjian Jiang, MD, MPH, MS (rjiang7 [at] emory [dot] edu) if interested.
Category : Alumni
Opportunity Description
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with Ponce Health Sciences University/Ponce Research Institute (PHSU/PRI) has been working in southern Puerto Rico since 2012 to conduct sentinel enhanced surveillance for acute febrile illnesses. In 2017, CDC and PHSU implemented a community platform, Communities Organized for the Prevention of Arboviruses (COPA), to detect incident infections with tropical arboviruses and evaluate interventions to prevent infection. The ongoing COPA cohort was expanded to investigate COVID-19 epidemiology. The COPA COVID-19 or COCOVID cohort study will enroll and follow-up with participants over a 1-year period in order to investigate the frequency and role of asymptomatic and mild infections, risk factors for infection, illness severity, immune response to infection, viral shedding and household transmission dynamics. This investigation will help inform epidemiologic models, evidence-based public health policy, and development and evaluation of vaccine and therapeutics. Join a fantastic team of epidemiologists, medical officers, laboratorians, modelers and public health specialists working on exciting interdisciplinary applied public health research.
Position Details
Duty Location: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Duties and Responsibilities
Qualifications
Application Information
Category : Academic Student Opportunities
Fall MDP Course Opportunities
Graduate and advanced undergraduate students are welcome to request enrollment in the courses below. To do so, please email rebeca [dot] quintana [at] emory [dot] edu, with Topics Enrollment Request as the subject line. Include the class number and your student ID in the body of the email. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis. In the event of full enrollment, a waitlist will be maintained through Wednesday, August 26.
Available MDP Courses
MDP 514R: Applied Development – Elements of Advocacy
Cultural, political, and social change require an understanding of the various components that comprise effective advocacy. In addition to exploring the elements of persuasive advocacy, the course will equip students with the skills to analyze audiences, construct compelling arguments, and effectively present their ideas.
MDP 514R: Applied Development – Land and Race: Rethinking development in the USA
This course shifts the focus of development studies from overseas to the United States. We will draw on historical and contemporary cases to explore how domestic policies, institutional practices, and dominant ideologies have blocked development of marginalized communities within the United States. Additionally, we will examine how some communities have used radical reimaginings of racial identities and land-based strategies to resist and create new models of development.
MDP 585R: Special Topics – Decolonizing Development
Is it possible to engage in equitable and ethical development, when the structure of foreign aid is built upon foundations of the colonial state? What does a decolonized development sector actually do? Analyzing case studies, readings, and current events, this course leans into these questions.
Category : Academic Student Opportunities
Opportunity Description
The International Graduate Students and Scholars (IGSS) group, is a student-led organization that strives to support international students across Emory and bring all students together to participate and learn about diverse cultures across the world.
IGSS will be hosting an international graduate student mentor/mentee program to help the incoming international students have a smooth and enjoyable transition.
If you are a second year student interested in becoming a mentor for this program, please click here and fill out the linked form.
Category : Student Opportunities Work Study
Description
The Emory College Department of Sociology has an opening for an MPH student to serve as a TA for a Fall 2020 undergraduate class (Introduction to Sociology). TAs are expected to work 10-12 hours per week (more some weeks, less in others). A TA is needed for SOC 101 – Introduction to Sociology. The course meets synchronously online Tues 2:40-3:55PM and there is a second asynchronous session per week. The instructor is Tony Healy.
Position Details
How to Apply
If you are interested (or might be in a future semester), and to learn more, please contact Ellen Idler, DGS Sociology: eidler [at] emory [dot] edu
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