Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009 - (Page 24)

Snapshots of Public Health Research According to a September report in the Washington Post, student interest is driving the creation and growth of public health majors and minors in colleges across the country, with 137 schools now offering such programs. There’s no mistaking the trend: public health is a hot field attracting some of the brightest minds. Susan Casper Environmental Science and Engineering University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health I got into public health because of its focus on preventing illnesses, rather than simply treating them. Many people around the world lack access to clean air and drinking water. Since human health depends on the environment, many illnesses can be prevented just by cleaning our air and water. I use computer models to study how future environmental changes might affect air pollution levels. For instance, what impact might temperature increases resulting from climate change have on air pollution? Most greenhouse gases have no direct effect on human health, but a warmer planet may mean, among other things, more air pollution, which is linked to asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease. I also study how potential government regulations might affect air pollution levels. If we control the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by cars and industrial plants, might there be an added benefit of reducing air pollution emitted from the same sources? Answers to these types of questions may help lawmakers decide how best to protect our environment and our health. I hope to help provide these answers. Kurt Christensen Health Behavior and Health Education University of Michigan School of Public Health I’m interested in making groups of people healthy rather than just individuals, and I want to help people avoid getting sick in the first place. I was particularly drawn to health behavior and health education because I’m fascinated by the way people make decisions that affect their chances of developing disease. Every day, there seems to be the discovery of another January/February 009 To find out why, we asked five Ph.D. students at some of the country’s best graduate programs in public health three simple questions: What drew you to public health, what does your research focus on, and what do you hope to accomplish? In their answers, you’ll see a recurring drive to help people— and a wide range of ways they’re doing so. David Katz Epidemiology University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine Throughout most of college, I was preparing myself for a career in molecular biology research. Toward the end of my time as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins, however, I realized that I wanted a career where I could work to improve the health of disadvantaged populations more directly than I could by researching the molecular biology of infectious diseases. I saw public health as a way to decrease the impact of infectious diseases through both research and applied work. My primary research has two parts: to determine whether HIV infection affects mothers’ ability to protect their infants from infectious diseases through the transfer of passive immunity, and whether treating these women’s infections during pregnancy and breastfeeding, beyond the current recommendations, can improve this protective ability. I have also studied issues related to preventing mother-infant HIV transmission in Kenya, as well as how local U.S. health departments help people diagnosed with STDs inform their partners that they tested positive, an important strategy for preventing the spread of these diseases. Through a career in epidemiology, I hope to improve the health of mothers and children in developing countries, particularly through effecting change in HIV prevention and treatment and immunization policies. 4 imagine Hot Topic

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009

Imagine Magazine - John Hopkins - January/February 2009
Contents
Letters
Big Problems
In My Own Words
Witness to a Pandemic
An Ounce of Prevention
Of Math and Measles
Predicting the Next Pandemic
Medicine, Medicine Everywhere
Food Matters
Looking for a Challenge? Try Summer College!
CTY: The Real Deal
Hot Topic
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Middle Ground
One Step Ahead
Exploring Career Options
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Sudoku
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009