#WeAreEmoryEpi: Meet Dr. Jodie Guest!
Category : #WeAreEmoryEPI
Meet Dr. Jodie Guest! Dr. Guest has been an RSPH faculty member since 2015 and is the Senior Vice Chair of the Department of Epidemiology. She has led several outbreak response, advisory, and leadership teams throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and is on the Atlanta Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board. Read more to learn about her work with PRISM Health at Rollins!
Tell us a little about your academic history/where you went to school.
I went to Baylor for my undergraduate degree in communication disorders and concurrently got a Paramedic degree at Texas A&M and a post-bac nursing degree. I got my MPH in epidemiology and my PhD at Emory.
What are your primary research interests?
My research varies from HIV and COVID-19 prevention and care to science communication to applied work in communities with inequitable access.
How did you begin working with PRISM Health?
I was the previously the Director of the HIV Research Department at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and moved to Emory full time to work with PRISM Health on HIV prevention studies and to do more teaching and mentoring with students.
What are some current initiatives, projects, or publications with PRISM Health that you are excited about and would like to share with us?
I am working with one of my doctoral students on a women’s prediction model to help guide who is most in need of PrEP to prevent HIV.
What has been the most rewarding part of working with PRISM Health?
Tell us about any classes that you’re teaching/have taught in the past.
I teach EPI 530 in the fall. I love this class as it is where I discovered my love for epidemiology. In the spring I teach HIV Epidemiology, a deeper dive into methods we use, stigma, and advances in our research field. I also taught Emory’s University Course last year called Pandemic Reflections comparing the AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics. I would like to teach that class again soon. I am also working on a new certificate program in Science Communications.
What advice do you have for students?
What are three fun facts that you want people to know about you?
- I talk to my animals.
- I love to cook and throw dinner parties.
- I led 6 hours of karaoke in a small 4 gate airport while waiting for a plane to be fixed.
How have you been spending your free time?
What is one place in Atlanta that you would recommend people to visit?
Thank you for sharing with us, Dr. Guest! Dr. Guest can be found on Instagram and Twitter @jlguest, and you can read more about her extensive experience here. Stay tuned to see who we talk to next on #WeAreEmoryEpi!
