This concentration seeks to enhance the understanding of Public Health, encourage multidisciplinary approaches to health, and inspire future physicians to employ evidence-based medical and public health approaches to improve outcomes for patients and populations. Concentration leaders assist students in understanding public health principles in domestic and international environments, studying in health issues among underserved populations and learning the skills necessary to be successful in designing, conducting, and publish public health research studies. 

Curriculum

Students attend monthly meetings split into two sessions: a didactic/presentation session on public health and a discussion session on student research projects. The didactic/presentation session consists of faculty or student presentation on public health topics. Topics covered include but are not limited to: qualitative and quantitative research methods in health sciences, evolution of public health, selected disease topics from a public health perspective (i.e. infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, MCH, etc.), US and international health care, and need for inter-professional medical and public health education and practice. During the second session, the faculty leaders work with students on their projects employing an interactive discussion format. This session covers topics such as creating a research question, strengths and weaknesses of study designs, IRB applications, and data analysis.

This concentration requires a Capstone Project. In addition, students are encouraged to complete a summer scholarly project related to a public health topic of their choice; this may be used to satisfy the Capstone requirement. Students are also encouraged to participate in advocacy and research presentations; locally, nationally, and internationally.

Opportunities 

●        Assistance in developing the skills necessary to create, conduct, and publish research in a public health area of   interest.

●        Opportunities to participate in domestic or international public health seminars, field experiences, and research.

●        Participate in workshops and case studies on outbreak investigation and control.

●        Understand risk factors and determinants of population-level health outcomes and the methods to estimate and   measure their impact.

Examples of Student Scholarly Work

“Advertising and other factors associated with herpes zoster vaccine uptake: a cross-sectional survey”  

“Sepsis education in Khon Kaen, Thailand” 

“Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis usage in men who have sex with men” 

“Treatment of psychosis in the setting of hypothyroidism: a case report and systematic review”

Faculty Leadership

Ricardo Izurieta, MD, MPH, Dr.PH
Rahul Mhaskar, MD, MPH, PhD
Ismael Hoare, PhD