#InsideAPE – Summer Spotlights
Category : #WeAreEmoryEPI
Now that the semester has officially ended and students look excitedly toward applying the skills and knowledge they have honed over their first year of epidemiology training, the Confounder Team is excited to reintroduce a familiar #IamEmoryEPI segment: #InsideAPE. We will be profiling students on a biweekly basis throughout the summer to share the important work they are doing, as well as their creativity and resiliency in adapting their APE project plans during the current pandemic.
While we look forward to reading about all of the exciting, new projects our students will be working on in the coming months, let’s look back at some of the great projects our Class of 2020 students worked on last summer:
Christina Chandra (GLEPI ’20) & TREAT Asia/amfAR
“My project is called “Assessing Barriers and Facilitators to Integrating Mental Health Services and Related Guidelines into HIV Clinical Care among HIV Providers in Bangkok, Thailand” and… As the principal investigator, I am responsible for everything from study design, IRB compliance, data collection, and data analysis.”
Christopher Elmlinger (GLEPI ’20) & Tennessee Department of Health
“My role has primarily been researching and updating the state’s 12 Vital Signs and the associated intervention strategies and policy recommendations that local health councils can pursue. Tennessee’s Vital Signs are a set of 12 metrics selected to measure the pulse of health in Tennessee (examples include preventable hospitalizations, infant mortality, youth obesity, and access to parks and greenways). “
Cassie Kersten (GLEPI ’20) & CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine
“For my project, I am collaborating with the Division of Adolescent and School Health to examine the presence of policies and procedures in public school districts that would facilitate the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in the case of a pandemic. By examining these factors in relation with geographic region, urbanicity, district enrollment size, and socioeconomic status indicators, we hope to identify opportunities for improving pandemic preparedness and response plans in school districts.”
Madison Hayes (GLEPI ’20) & World Bank Group & CSIS
“This summer, I am splitting time between two organizations, CSIS and the World Bank Group, where I research topics related to global health security. I contribute to the writing of new publications and multimedia through drafting and editing of products including topical analysis, reports, discussion papers, commentaries, and website content.”
Alejandra Alvarez (EPI ’20) & World Water Relief
“The main goal of my APE is to implement a WASH themed summer camp for the youth in San Rafael. I am in charge of making lesson plans which include the activities and discussion questions that will engage the youth in WASH topics that directly affect them. … My other responsibility for the summer is to look through the logs and see how WASH behaviors and attitudes, such as how often school children wash their hands and whether or not a school bathroom has soap, changes throughout the school year.”
Be sure to tune in every other week for stories about how our students are addressing pressing public health challenges through their APEs!
