Finding inspiration at the intersection of public health and data science

Soumik Purkayastha, MS ’21, PhD ’24

Biostatistics

April 15, 2024

A native of India, Soumik Purkayastha, MS ’21, PhD ’24, first made a connection with the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 2005.

Purkayastha was born in Chandannagar, a town about the same size and population as Ann Arbor, in the state of West Bengal. He spent most of his childhood with his parents in Kolkata or with his grandparents in Chandannagar. 

A visit to Ann Arbor when he was in fourth grade would leave an indelible impression on Purkayastha and set him on a path toward a career in public health.

“My father visited the Department of Biostatistics during his sabbatical year,” he said. “My mother and I were able to join him for a few months here in Ann Arbor. Later, when I was applying to graduate programs in the United States, the program here was very attractive because not only was it a great program, but I felt a personal connection to the school and the town at large.

“Back in 2005, I had no way of knowing I’d be spending a good chunk of my 20s in Ann Arbor, but now I can look back and connect some dots.”

For Purkayastha, one of the most interesting things about public health is how he keeps learning about exciting ways in which public health and data science intersect.

“It’s encouraging to see how the integration of data science in public health contributes to improved health outcomes,” he said. “In many ways, I feel our work is meaningful and well-received not just in clinical circles but also by policymakers and the media.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Purkayastha had an opportunity to work on spatio-temporal forecasting of infectious diseases. His areas of focus included infection rates in India, comparing and understanding how different transmission models work, as well as developing a transmission data-driven framework to help inform public health policy.

“What I enjoyed the most was getting to learn from epidemiologists, biostatistics, economists and policy experts at a time when we were all confined to our apartments,” Purkayastha said. “It was a time when all of us struggled, yet our collective efforts at understanding what was going on in the world around us gave me a sense of purpose—and I cherish that.

“I think working in public health gives me a sense of direction on what to do with my skill set while also finding meaning in the work I do.”

Purkayastha will graduate in May with a PhD in Biostatistics from the Department of Biostatistics at Michigan Public Health. He earned a Master of Science in Biostatistics from Michigan Public Health after receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Statistics from St. Xavier’s College and the Indian Statistical Institute respectively, both of Kolkata, India.

Driving change with biostatistics

He found meaning in working with the student organization STATCOM: Statistics in the Community.

“I’m proud to say that my department is home to STATCOM, a community outreach program provided by graduate students at the University of Michigan,” Purkayastha said.

The program offers the expertise of graduate students—free of charge—to nonprofit governmental and community organizations in the areas of data organization, analysis, and interpretation.

“I have been very fortunate to find meaningful consulting work with a host of community partners,” he said. “From 2022-23, I had the honor of serving as co-president of STATCOM. It has been both challenging as well as rewarding. I expect to continue with STATCOM until I graduate.”

A few of STATCOM’s recent projects include partnerships with:

• The Michigan Center for Youth Justice (MCYJ): STATCOM’s partnership with the MCYJ revolves around understanding the patterns of special investigations and violations occurring in juvenile justice facilities throughout the state.
• The Detroit Housing Commission (DHC) and Poverty Solutions (PS): STATCOM has been working with the DHC and PS to investigate evictions among families with children in Detroit to reduce accompanied and unaccompanied youth homelessness rates.
• Stand with Trans (SWT): STATCOM is collaborating with SWT to identify gaps in—and further improve—online resources that are designed to empower and support transgender youth.

Purkayastha also worked as a research assistant at the University of Michigan, studying diabetes.

“I worked with doctors and clinical experts to study diabetic foot ulcers,” he said. “They’re a major cause of amputation in US adults. With diabetes prevalence rising, understanding how these ulcers behave is crucial not only from a surgical perspective but also from a preventive viewpoint. It was a wonderful experience getting to apply my technical skills to real diabetes data to derive insights through statistics and visualization tools. I learned a lot about the disease from medical professionals as well.

“I think the work biostatisticians do is helpful for practitioners and policymakers as we learn more about disease prediction and prevention. Most importantly, the work we do in public health must be accessible and informative to the public. I think it’s incredibly important that we use all our skills to advocate for public health initiatives, policies and practices.”

In addition, Purkayastha had an internship with Apple in California, where he learned about language models.

“The future of language models in medicine, and public health is incredibly exciting,” he said. “I was also fortunate to receive the Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for my final dissertation year. It allowed me to focus on developing new research projects and spend a lot of time thinking about cool, new ideas.”

Working in public health is ‘incredibly rewarding’

After graduation, Purkayastha will join the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh as an assistant professor in the fall. He will be engaged in methodological and applied public health research in addition to teaching and mentoring younger students in public health education and research.

“Soumik is a terrific example of the best of Michigan graduates; His dedication to translational biostatistics is inspiring,” said Bhramar Mukherjee, the John D. Kalbfleisch Distinguished University Professor of Biostatistics and Siobán D. Harlow Collegiate Professor of Public Health. “His work is grounded in solid theory and computation but has profound public health impact. He has been an amazing student leader through his work in departmental committees and through our flagship student organization STATCOM. I look forward to his scholarly career after graduation. I know he will make a difference.” 

Purkayastha said he thrives on the satisfaction of knowing that his efforts in public health are making a positive impact on the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

“I feel it can be incredibly rewarding on a personal level for many others as well,” he said. “I have seen firsthand how the work we do translates to changes in governance and policy making. Further, there is an increasing need for health data scientists, who use their data skills for the public good. And it’s not just biostatistics, public health offers a wide range of career paths and specialties, including epidemiology, health education, policy development, environmental health and global health. This diversity allows individuals to find roles that align with someone’s interests, skills and passions, creating opportunities for personal and professional growth.

“I’m satisfied with my career choices so far. Working in public health allows me to focus on a lot of things I’m interested in while building something useful for communities at large. It’s a good feeling, and I wish that for everyone.”

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