#WeAreEmoryEPI: Meet Catherine Bennett

Catherine Bennett is a MD/MPH student involved in mental health and chronic disease research at Rollins and Emory’s School of Medicine. She was kind enough to tell us more about her current projects and other interests! 

Tell us a little bit about your academic history/where you went to school.

I graduated from Davidson College in 2015 with a B.S. in Biology and minored in French. I am currently in the dual MD/MPH program here at Emory and will graduate next May.

What are your primary research interests?

I am primarily interested in the intersection of chronic disease, serious mental illness, and the social determinants of health.

How have you been navigating the work (& learn) from home experience during the COVID-19 outbreak?

I have found that setting both a weekly and daily schedule helps me see the big picture of what I need to accomplish as well as all of the details I need to focus on for the week. I also try to get outside and take a walk as often as I can to clear my head and to step away from my computer screen.

Are there any exciting projects that you are currently working on that you’d like to share with us?

I am currently working on my APE project with Dr. David Goldsmith, a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine. We are examining medical comorbidities among patients with psychotic disorders who are taking different antipsychotic medications. For my thesis, I worked with Dr. Michael Goodman in the epidemiology department and Dr. Benjamin Druss in the health policy and management department to examine the association between electronic cigarette use and psychological distress.

What is your favorite part about earning your MPH at Emory?

The people! I love being surrounded by faculty members and colleagues who are kind, compassionate, humble, and brilliant, who want to use their public health knowledge for the greater good.

What advice do you have for 1st year MPH Students?

Go to lectures, lunchtime meetings, chairs’ chats, and grand rounds. The faculty at Emory have so much to offer, and you never know what might pique your research and future career interests.

What books are you currently reading, or what podcasts are you currently listening to?

My next book is going to be A Lab of One’s Own, a memoir about women in science. Early in the pandemic, I reread Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain.

What are three fun facts that you want people to know about you?

1. I love to cook and bake; working through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is my current pastime.

2. I lived in Luxembourg for a year in between college and my graduate studies and worked at the Luxembourg Institute of Health on a Fulbright Grant.

3. I love musical theater!

Thanks to Catherine for chatting with us this week! See you all next week for another edition of #WeAreEmoryEPI!