With growing experience in epidemiology and health policy, master’s student Payton Watt is pursuing her passion for improving health in lower income populations. She continues to examine a pandemic that revealed flaws in US health care and how better policy can ensure access to basic needs.
Socioeconomic status, overcrowding, institutional racism, political partisanship, and global economic inequality are all social factors that determine the disease risk for individuals and populations. And understanding those factors from all angles—from biology to sociology—can help us reduce that risk.
Kaitlyn Akel combines her study of history and biology with her passion for public health to protect entire populations. From urban health to vaccine hesitancy to environmental health, Akel’s work connects academic and cultural insights to provide broader understandings of community health.
Max Salvatore's recent work with the University of Michigan School of Public Health has helped model the impact of COVID-19 on India's population.
Marie O’Neill, professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, uses this idea as a basis for her long-standing research on environmental and occupational exposures—and how they affect human health. We spoke to Marie to learn more about her research and community-based work.
Two epidemiology alums found love here on campus while earning their master’s degrees. When their wedding plans are interrupted by a global pandemic, their community of health colleagues help them get married in a unique ceremony fit for these hardworking frontline heroes.