harvard school of public health phd epidemiology

Population Health Sciences

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You will be part of a program that is at the vanguard of integrating both the social and life sciences. You will be able to choose your path of interest from a program anchored in our cohort-driven model and built on the research and proven knowledge of our five fields of study—environmental health, epidemiology, global health and population, nutrition, and social and behavioral sciences—all viewed through the lens of statistics, health determinants, and social justice.

In this fully funded program, you will have access to the resources of 13 Harvard schools, including Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Harvard Medical School, as well as have the opportunity for in-person coursework at MIT, Tufts, and Brown.

Examples of PHS doctoral dissertations explore critical areas such as air pollution, novel epidemiologic methods in HIV research, health system quality improvement interventions in Africa, obesity and food insecurity, eviction and children’s health in the United States, and epidemic preparedness and response.

Graduates have gone on to fellow and postdoctoral positions at Harvard, Yale University, and University of California, San Francisco. Others have gone on to careers at the CDC, Pfizer, Takeda, Genentech, and various consultancies.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the PhD Program in Population Health Sciences and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Environmental Health | Epidemiology | Global Health and Population | Nutrition | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the PhD Program in Population Health Sciences.

Academic Background

Although a previous graduate degree is not required, applicants should have successfully completed coursework in introductory statistics or quantitative methods. Preference will be given to applicants who have either some relevant work experience or graduate work in the chosen field of study after completion of a bachelor’s degree. Applicants are required to select a field of study in their application and indicate an area of specialization. Secondary interest in an additional field of study may also be indicated in the application and statement of purpose.

Writing Sample

A writing sample is required as part of the application and should be a term paper, senior thesis, master’s thesis, first authored report or manuscript, research report, or similar work. It should be no longer than 10 pages, single-spaced; citations and references are not included in the page limit.

Statement of Purpose

Describe your reasons and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree in your chosen program of study at Harvard. What experiences led you to your research ambitions? Concisely state your past work in your intended field of study. Briefly indicate your career objectives. Your statement should not exceed 1,000 words. Please ensure that your statement of purpose covers the following points:

• your motivation in seeking doctoral-level training in population health sciences in your chosen field of study at Harvard
• a self-assessment of any past research experience and analytical skills
• a description of your current research interests and a suggestion of up to three faculty members whose work most closely matches your research interests
• your career aspirations.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional GRE Subject Test: Optional iBT TOEFL minimum score: 100 IELTS minimum score: 7.5

See list of Population Health Sciences faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

Population Health Sciences

The Program in Population Health Sciences offers doctoral training that builds on multiple disciplinary perspectives to understanding origins and determinants of health and disease across populations, and developing theoretical and methodological skills to conceptualizing and evaluating population-level interventions to address health inequalities. The program is a joint collaboration between the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health to offer a Ph.D. in population health sciences. Students in this program will belong to one of the following fields of study: Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Global Health and Population, Nutrition, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

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Harvard t.h. chan school of public health research administration.

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EPI: Epidemiology

Adelina butuzova, bonnie cordeiro, shameka fahie, lydia flagg, jeff gorman, beth hodshon, tricia hopkins, audrius ivanauskas, molly lyons, kai mcdougall, oneita person-hunt, stephen st. cyr, sokharat (ethan) um.

Michael Mina

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(Former Bio) Dr. Michael Mina, MD, PhD was an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a core member of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics (CCDD). He was an Assistant Professor in Immunology and Infectious Diseases at HSPH and Associate Medical Director in Clinical Microbiology (molecular diagnostics) in the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He is currently serving as Chief Science Officer at eMed Digital Healthcare.

He earned his MD and PhD degrees from Emory University, with doctoral work split between CDC, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit in Johannesburg, South Africa and the Emory Vaccine Center. He completed his post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (of infectious disease dynamics) with Prof. Bryan Grenfell and at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Genetics with Prof. Stephen Elledge. He completed his residency training in clinical pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School.

Michael’s research combined mathematical and epidemiological models with high-throughput phage-display based serological laboratory investigations, including development of new technologies and statistical pipelines to better understand the population and immunological consequences and patterns underlying infectious diseases. Much of the work towards new technology development was performed in close collaboration with Steve Elledge at HMS. Major themes of his lab included (i) development of new approaches (laboratory and statistical methods) to enable extremely high-throughput serological surveillance of infectious pathogens; (ii) use of high-complexity antibody profiling and epidemiological data to understand the pathogenesis of vaccine preventable diseases, with a specific focus on measles infections and vaccines; (iii) elucidating broad unintended / heterologous effects of vaccines to alter transmission patterns of unrelated infectious pathogens – using serology and dynamical models; and (iv) understanding the life-history of infectious pathogens across ages, genders, geographies and times. In addition to his interests in infectious diseases, his research also explored more fundamental questions of immunity and immune repertoires: how they form, how they persist, how they are passed on and how they become perturbed during natural life-events.

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Offered By: Department of Epidemiology

Onsite | Full-Time | 4 – 5 years

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About the PhD in Epidemiology Program

The doctoral program in Epidemiology is anchored in public health and population research and analysis. Students approach research using epidemiologic methods to understand complex human health problems. The PhD requires two years of coursework followed by two (or more) years of research. Students are required to complete a teaching training curriculum and serve as a teaching assistant for methods and topical courses. Additionally, students must complete a written comprehensive exam, a practice oral exam, a preliminary exam, multiple oral and poster presentations, and a final dissertation including presentation and defense.

PhD in Epidemiology Program Highlights

Train with renowned faculty.

100+ faculty across 8 research tracks in epidemiology

Access to wide range of coursework

Explore your interests with a wide variety of courses taught by our faculty

Write and publish

All of our doctoral students get training in writing papers and proposals through didactic learning and mentoring

Participate on research teams

The School is the leading recipient of NIH research funding among U.S. schools of public health, providing robust hands-on research opportunities

What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree In Epidemiology?

Sample careers.

• Epidemiologist
• Faculty Member
• Science Director
• Health Commissioner

Curriculum for the PhD in Epidemiology

Browse an overview of the requirements for this doctoral program in the JHU Academic Catalogue and explore all course offerings in the Bloomberg School Course Directory .

Current students can view the PhD in Epidemiology requirements in the student handbook on the Epidemiology portal site.

Research Tracks

The Department's current research tracks in the PhD program include:

Cancer Epidemiology offers a rich, vibrant and dynamic environment for masters and doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows to actively participate, learn, explore and conduct cancer-related population-based and clinical research. The track has a long and successful history of training masters and doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. Past students continue to conduct population-based cancer research and have made successful transitions to positions in academia, government and private sector organizations.

Cardiovascular and Clinical Epidemiology focuses on the use of epidemiologic methods in clinical research and practice as well as interdisciplinary training on the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. The program integrates knowledge on all aspects of the disease: biology, behavior, treatment, and prevention. Training emphasizes active participation in research and translational epidemiology using a collaborative approach, which is enhanced by the close relationships between the Department of Epidemiology and clinical departments of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Clinical Trials and Evidence Synthesis offers students a unique educational experience in clinical trial and evidence synthesis methodology. Methods are applied to a variety of clinical areas including respiratory-, eye- and infectious diseases, and mental health. Student-faculty discussions, journal clubs, research-in-progress meetings, seminars and active participation in research add to both the depth and breadth of the program.

Environmental Epidemiology concentrates on the impact of environmental exposures on health and disease states in human populations. This track integrates epidemiological methods, assessment of environmental exposures and understanding of specific disease processes to identify the health consequences of environmental exposures. Environmental Epidemiology provides basic information for risk assessment, risk communication, and environmental health policy decisions and has a central role in identifying, implementing and evaluating strategies for the prevention and control of environmental exposures. Training in Environmental Epidemiology emphasizes active participation in large population research projects, with close collaborations across the School and with national and international collaborators.

Epidemiology of Aging focuses on the determinants of physical and cognitive health, disease, and function in older adults. Offers multidisciplinary training in methods and theories needed for the study of older populations. Strong ties exist with several multi-departmental training grants and programs. This training program also is connected to numerous large research projects.

General Epidemiology and Methodology offers research and training opportunities in almost all areas of chronic disease epidemiology, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diseases of childhood and includes advanced methodology training in epidemiologic methods as well as providing individualized or customized training in statistical epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology and social epidemiology.

Genetic Epidemiology focuses on the study of genetic and environmental factors, and their interaction in disease and normal variation. Emphasis is on understanding the methodology and approach to designing, executing and analyzing genetic studies. Training is broad-based and collaborative and encourages participation in research from faculty in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Institute of Genetic Medicine, and the School of Medicine.

Infectious Disease Epidemiology provides training in the fundamentals of infectious disease epidemiology with an eye toward preparing graduates to work in teaching, research and practice. The program emphasizes principles and methods that can be used to understand the dynamics and control of transmissible diseases by all classes of organisms. The curriculum builds on the faculty's extensive and diverse experience researching and combating infectious diseases, ranging from hospital acquired infections, to neglected tropical diseases and sexually transmitted infections.

Admissions Requirements

For general admissions requirements, please visit the How to Apply page. This specific program also requires:

Prior Coursework

College-level math through pre-calculus, a biology course, and one additional science course

Prior Graduate Degree

Not required, but highly recommended

Prior Work Experience

One year of full-time work experience in a related field

Standardized Test Scores

Standardized test scores are  not required and not reviewed  for this program. If you have taken a standardized test such as the GRE, GMAT, or MCAT and want to submit your scores, please note that they will not be used as a metric during the application review.  Applications will be reviewed holistically based on all required application components.

All full-time PhD students will receive the following support for the first four years of the program: full tuition, individual health insurance, University Health Services clinic fee, vision insurance, and dental insurance.

Need-Based Relocation Grants Students who  are admitted to PhD programs at JHU   starting in Fall 2023 or beyond can apply to receive a $1500 need-based grant to offset the costs of relocating to be able to attend JHU.   These grants provide funding to a portion of incoming students who, without this money, may otherwise not be able to afford to relocate to JHU for their PhD program. This is not a merit-based grant. Applications will be evaluated solely based on financial need.  View more information about the need-based relocation grants for PhD students .

Questions about the program? We're happy to help.

Academic Program Manager Frances S. Burman [email protected]

Epidemiology PhD Program

This program provides students with an advanced level of academic preparation to conduct research, teach, and mentor students. This includes concentrated training in epidemiological concepts and methodology and the completion of a research-based dissertation. Due to the wide range of ongoing faculty research within the department, students have the ability to select an  area of emphasis  on which to focus and to conduct research under the mentorship of an epidemiology faculty member. 

Please note that the Epidemiology PhD program can be adapted to have an applied focus. Through elective coursework, internship opportunities, and the dissertation, PhD candidates can obtain the essential skills required for public health practice.

Requirements

• 72 credits, about half coursework and half research
• Coursework in epidemiology, statistics, and statistical packages
• Coursework in public health foundations and research ethics
• Advanced coursework in clinical trials and grant writing
• Teaching assistant experience
• Advanced dissertation research and coursework in an area of specialization

Find full program information within the Student Handbook and Forms .

Recent Dissertation Titles

Browse titles in D-Scholarship , the institutional repository for research output at the University of Pittsburgh.

Competencies

Graduates will be able to...

• Identify, evaluate and synthesize key studies in the scientific literature for a given topic area
• Develop a research proposal suitable for funding
• Apply quantitative and critical thinking skills to analyze longitudinal data in epidemiologic studies
• Conduct epidemiological data analysis in a relevant topic area

Doctoral Program Contacts

Tina Costacou, PhD Associate Professor and Director of the Doctoral Degree Programs 130 North Bellefield Avenue, Suite 337 412-383-2062 [email protected] Amy Rhodes Director of Student Services 5116 Public Health 412-624-3060 [email protected]

MD/PhD Joint Degree

Through the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) students undertake a physician-scientist training program tailored to their specific research interests, spending an initial two years in University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, followed by three years of research at  Pitt Public Health, and a final two years of medical training.

Epidemiology News

Mortality landscape in the global burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors study

Affiliations.

• 1 Chair of Nephrology, A.I. Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation; Department of Nephrology Issues of Transplanted Kidney, Academician V.I. Shumakov Federal Research Center of Transplantology and Artificial Organs, Moscow, Russian Federation; Moscow City Nephrology Center, Moscow City Hospital 52, Moscow, Russian Federation. Electronic address: [email protected].
• 2 IRCCS, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo, Italy.
• 3 IRCCS, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Bergamo, Italy; Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy.
• PMID: 24084027
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2013.09.002

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) is an initiative that involved 486 scientists from 302 institutions in 50 countries, under the leadership of a consortium formed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington, World Health Organization, the University of Queensland School of Population Health, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Tokyo and Imperial College London. The study has provided a state of the art understanding of the burden of 67 risk factors and their clusters, 291 diseases and injuries on global, regional and national levels in period from 1990 to 2010 for 187 countries. GBD 2010 estimates covered both mortality (expressed in number of deaths, years of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality) and morbidity (mainly expressed as years lived with disability (YLD)), while the incidence and prevalence were not reported for majority of causes so far, although they were accounted and used for YLD calculations. Finally, each disease and risk factor was presented in terms of the disability-adjusted years of life (DALY) that is merely a sum of YLL and YLD. The major published results of GBD 2010 cover global and regional levels for all diseases and risk factors. Reports focused on specific conditions are also available. At country-level detailed estimates are published for UK, China and USA, and data on other countries are accessible only as aggregate partial representation via web-based tools.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Global health; Mortality; Risk factors; The Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study.

Publication types

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Meet Our Fall 2024 Doctoral Cohort

We are thrilled to introduce our Fall 2024 doctoral cohort! They are 17 individuals whose training and background are highly diverse, but who share a passion for all that public health at CUNY SPH means. Please join us in welcoming them to our community.

Timnit Berhane Community Health and Health Policy

Timnit Berhane, MPH, was born and raised in the beautiful city of Asmara in Eritrea. After completing her bachelor’s in applied biology, she moved to the US, where her journey in public health officially began. Her first encounter with public health was in the advocacy sphere in Eritrea, where she volunteered in maternal and women’s reproductive health campaigns. Timnit went on to obtain her master’s in public health from Ohio University and has since been working on health equity and community engaged research. Currently, she splits her time between the Institute for Health Equity Research and the Office of Gender Equity in Science and Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her future interest area lies in exploring community-based mental health interventions in migrant communities.

Outside of work, Timnit loves finding coffee shops with a nice ambiance and drinks to work, read a good book, or just relax with friends. She also has a passion for plants, stemming from her experiences in a flowering plants class during undergrad, where she undertook the challenging task of collecting 20+ rare and endemic plants in Eritrea.

Aishwarya Sharma Community Health & Health Policy

Aishwarya Sharma is a passionate public health advocate, driven by a commitment to community empowerment and health equity. Armed with a Master of Public Health from Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and dual degrees in Psychology and Public Health from the University of Texas at San Antonio, her journey is fueled by a pursuit of knowledge and improved health outcomes. Currently, she serves as a Health Education Associate at Mount Sinai, where she crafts educational materials and fosters open conversations on sexual and reproductive health with youth. From academia to community outreach, her work is guided by a dedication to fostering healthier, more equitable futures for all.

Jacqueline Cortez Community Health & Health Policy

Jacqueline Cortez Lainez is a doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, concentrating in Community Health and Health Policy. Her research interests include preventable chronic illnesses, specifically, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and respiratory illnesses. She earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a BS in Biology from St. John’s University. Throughout her research experience, she has contributed to several study interventions that aim to mitigate health disparities particularly within low-income and underserved communities.

Elizabeth Izampuye Community Health & Health Policy

Elizabeth Izampuye hopes to combine research with community and hospital engagement to reduce maternal health disparities. Her interests lie in examining barriers to prenatal and postpartum care, exploring how hospital interventions can lessen these barriers, and using qualitative and community-based participatory research methods. She obtained a BS in Health, Society, and Policy from the University of Utah and an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Yale School of Public Health.

Nicolas Makharashvili Community Health & Health Policy

Bringing over a decade of experience, Nicolas specializes in designing and managing evidence-based public health and social development programs, particularly focused on preventing violence against children. As Director of Safe Futures Hub, he leads collaborative efforts with prominent organizations such as the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Together for Girls, and WeProtect Global Alliance to generate and mobilize knowledge in combating childhood sexual violence. In his prior role as Senior Program Officer at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Nicolas played a key role in disseminating and scaling up evidence-based interventions aimed at ending violence against children, collaborating closely with influential stakeholders including WHO, UNICEF, CDC, and others

Deirdre Flynn Community Health & Health Policy

Deirdre Flynn has held finance, strategy, and operations roles working across a broad range of social service, consulting, and finance organizations primarily focused on healthcare services. She currently works as a Senior Healthcare Payment and Finance Advisor at the New York City Department of Health in the Bureau of Equitable Health Systems. Previously Deirdre was a Director at Nonprofit Finance Fund, advising community-based organizations that address social drivers of health on contracting with health systems and payors to serve their clients. She holds an MBA in Healthcare Management. She loves her noisy family, reading, and New York!

Miles Avila Epidemiology

Miles Avila, MPH, is dedicated to improving patients’ lives by bringing critical medicines to those who need them. He graduated from Boston University School of Public Health in 2018 with an MPH in Biostatistics. Since 2018, Miles has been working as a biostatistician supporting and leading the statistical design and analysis of randomized controlled trials. Miles spent a few years working at CROs and learning in different therapy areas and study phases; since 2020, he has been working for AstraZeneca in the Vaccines & Immune Therapies Unit. In this role, Miles has led and supported the statistical design and analysis of clinical trials for COVID-19 medicines Evusheld (monoclonal antibody cocktail) and Vaxzevria (vaccine), both of which served as pre-exposure prophylaxis options against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. His work included conducting sample size and power calculations, assessing various analysis methods, and performing the statistical analyses that were critical to regulatory submission efforts. As a PhD student at CUNY SPH, he looks forward to expanding his statistical toolkit and giving back to the statistical community through methods research.

Allison S. Guarino Epidemiology

Allison S. Guarino, MPH (she/her), is passionate about using research and data analysis to understand the drivers of health inequities and improve reproductive health in NYC and beyond. Allison is currently working as a contracted Health Scientist from the CDC Foundation with the Perinatal and Infant Health Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her role, she provides scientific technical assistance and data analysis to the Perinatal Quality Collaborative program, specifically to sites serving pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorder and related mental health conditions. Prior to this, Allison was a Research Analyst at NYC DOHMH, studying programs for new mothers, babies, and their families. She also worked as an Epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, evaluating sexuality education programs, positive youth development programs, and clinical sexual and reproductive health services. As an upcoming PhD candidate in Epidemiology at CUNY SPH, she is excited to delve into traditional and emerging methods, as well as implementation science best practices to help guide research and policy. Allison obtained her MPH in Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health from Boston University School of Public Health and graduated magna cum laude from the Kilachand Honors College at Boston University. Outside of her professional and academic pursuits, Allison loves to run in Central Park, see new shows, and try new restaurants with family and friends.

Jose Mazariego Epidemiology

Jose Mazariego is currently completing his last semester as an MPH student at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to pursuing public health, he was a student at Baruch College where he studied Statistics and Quantitative Modeling. His dedication to public health springs from his fervor for statistical analysis and data, as well as a strong desire to give back to his community. As an immigrant from El Salvador, he has personally witnessed the challenges faced by the immigrant community across the United States, from inadequate healthcare to economic hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a research assistant at the Center for Systems and Community Design (CSCD), his work has centered on unraveling the myriad factors impacting the health of vulnerable populations, particularly in Harlem. His ongoing projects include investigating the impact of substance use, homelessness, and psychological distress on adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among people with HIV, alongside simulating the effects of Covid-19 on HPV vaccinations among adolescents in New York State. As he transitions into this PhD program in Epidemiology and an incoming fellow at the Center for Immigrant, Refugee, and Global Health, he aspires to leverage both his personal experiences and professional expertise to enact positive change in communities like his through research and evidence-based interventions.

Brett Martini Epidemiology

Brett Martini recently completed his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). There he nurtured an interest in infectious diseases, vaccine development, and vaccine-preventable diseases. During his tenure at YSPH, Brett participated in multiple research projects, such as developing accessible digital health tools and estimating different measures of vaccine effectiveness. In his roles, he assisted with evidence synthesis projects, provided support for clinical trials, conducted statistical analysis, and contributed to the creation of manuscripts intended for publication. Along with his research pursuits at Yale, Brett is finishing a two-year fellowship in clinical pharmacology at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Research and Evaluation. His projects at the FDA focus on furthering the development of biological products through clinical trial database management, PK/PD modeling and simulation, and analysis of immunogenicity data. As a PhD student at CUNY, Brett is looking forward to acquiring advanced knowledge in epidemiologic research and methodology to become a creative researcher studying infectious diseases and evaluating the impact of vaccination. Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, Brett enjoys cooking for (and with!) friends and family, exploring national parks, and rating movies on Letterboxd.

Kedie Pintro Epidemiology

Kedie Pintro, MS is interested in psychiatric epidemiology research with a focus on disparities and underserved populations. She currently works as a biostatistician at Massachusetts General Hospital and graduated with a master’s degree in neuropsychiatric epidemiology from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in biology and mathematics from CUNY Medgar Evers College. Projects she’s worked on have explored the impact of biological, social, environmental factors on psychological health outcomes as well as moderation of those outcomes. In her free time, Kedie enjoys listening to music, drawing, and playing team sports.

Eslam Abousamra Epidemiology Eslam Abousamra is a dedicated public health researcher passionate about infectious disease surveillance, data analysis, and enhancing public health intervention strategies. He graduated with a bachelors from Connecticut College in 2022 with honors studying molecular biology, applied statistics, and environmental studies and with a masters in Public health Epidemiology from University of Washington in 2024. He currently works as a graduate researcher at the Trevor Bedford lab within the Fred Hutch Research Center in Seattle where he researches infectious disease forecasting, surveillance, and the complex dynamics of respiratory viral interference. He also worked on various epidemiological research projects including studying addiction epidemiology specifically opioid research. He also had experience working in industry at Regeneron where he served in the digital biomarkers team and helped conducting clinical trials for digital end points. As an upcoming Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology at CUNY SPH, he is eager to learn more advanced epidemiological methods as well as earn various skills in infectious disease interventions and implementation science. His goal is to build tools to improve public health surveillance and infectious disease interventions. In his spare time, Eslam enjoys photography, being outside, hiking, and reading about technology and science.

Jean Yanolatos Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences

Jean Yanolatos holds a MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from New York University, and a Project Management Professional Certification. She has had a long career at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she currently is a Director of Research Program Management overseeing and directing projects from early-stage research through clinical development in Regeneron’s Obesity, Muscle, and Metabolic Disease projects. Jean has worked on efforts to discern disease biology, develop precision medicine approaches to define patient populations, and create treatments for obesity, lipodystrophies, metabolic-dysfunction associated steatohepatitis, type 1- and 2-diabetes, and muscular diseases. Her research interests include understanding disease mechanisms and prevention of obesity and other metabolic/nutritional disorders. In her free time, Jean occasionally paints and spends time with her husband and young son.

Claire Masters Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences

Claire Masters, MHP, has been based at Yale University for 10 years. She graduated from the University of Sydney School of Public Health in 2013 with a Master of Health Policy before relocating to the United States from her native Australia in 2014. With a background in healthcare administration, Claire initially worked in this field before transitioning to research. For three years, she served as a Research Associate at Yale’s Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, managing cardiovascular outcomes and quality measurement projects, before moving into her current role at the Yale School of Public Health as Associate Director for Health Care Management Education. Claire’s published research spans various aspects of public health, including digital health, cardiovascular outcomes, group prenatal care, perinatal mental health, and social determinants of maternal and child health. Through her doctoral studies, Claire is excited to contribute to a deeper understanding of the intersection of maternal and child outcomes and environmental determinants of health. In her spare time, she loves to run in Central Park, go swimming in the (Pacific) ocean, and go on adventures with her husband and son.

Neevetha Nadarajah Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences

Neevetha Nadarajah graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Arts in Climate and Society. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communications. She currently is an Associate Client Success Manager at EnergyHub, a software company that built a distributed energy resource management system (“DERMS”) to support utilities in managing their load during peak demand to mitigate overload in the electric grid. In this role, she strives to be the distributed energy resource expert for her client in the utility world. Alongside being a client advocate, she also is a part of EquityHub, her company’s employee resource group focused on finding solutions to make demand response more equitable and accessible to all. As a continuation of her work in the energy industry, her research will focus on the negative impacts of an unstable electric grid on marginalized communities, such as how blackouts and brownouts disproportionately affect these communities and the health impacts of peaker plants that are often situated in low-income neighborhoods. In her free time, she loves to bake sweet treats, challenge herself with new dinner recipes, dance, and go to Broadway musicals.

Recent News

Rollins School of Public Health Ranked Third in the Nation

The Rollins School of Public Health has risen to a No. 3 ranking among all accredited schools and programs of public health in the United States in U.S. News & World Report ’s 2024-2025 graduate school rankings , which were released earlier today. The reputation-based assessment is reflective of the school’s continued tradition of excellence as demonstrated by the school’s commitment to research, teaching, and academic rigor.

“We are so grateful to be recognized by our peers in this way, and to be included with so many high-quality programs, especially at a time when public health is so critical,” says M. Daniele Fallin, PhD, dean of the Rollins School of Public Health. “While we are happy with this result, rankings are but one of many indicators for success. In addition to these rankings, Rollins also excels in a number of critical areas, including our robust research funding portfolio, our award-winning faculty, our strong relationships with national and local organizations, and the caliber of individuals that make up our community.” 

Rollins has ranked in the top 10 for 20 years and was most recently ranked No. 4. In addition to its ranking as a school, Rollins also secured top spots for each of the programs individually ranked this year: environmental health science, social behavior, epidemiology, health policy and management, and biostatistics. 

Additional recent major achievements for the school include:

• Rollins ranked No. 5 nationally among schools of public health in National Institutes of Health funding, receiving more than $62 million in fiscal year 2023.
• Total research funding for the school in fiscal year 2023 was $179 million.
• Stephen Patrick will join the school June 1 as new chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management.
• The school recently crossed the six-month mark since the launch of its strategic plan and has made substantial progress toward achieving the six goals outlined in the plan. Progress updates will be posted to the strategic plan website later this month. 

Learn more about the Rollins School of Public Health

  *Rollins tied for third with Harvard.

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News & Highlights

Topics: Education & Training , Five Questions

Arrested Development: Stopping Cancer Before It Starts

Five questions with surgeon-scientist sonia cohen on harnessing epigenetics for cancer prevention..

As an oncology surgeon-scientist, Sonia Cohen , MD, PhD, has spent most of the last decade in clinical training. Nine years of surgical training and a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology left her little room for bench research – even though she knew that would eventually be part of her career path.

When it came time to obtain independent funding to start her own lab, our 2022  KL2/CMeRIT award was there to smooth the transition. The program provides two years of protected time for early-career clinician-scientists to pursue a research project of their choosing.

Cohen, an instructor in surgery and assistant in surgical oncology at Mass General Brigham (MGB), chose one of the hottest areas of genomic science: epigenetics. Her research focuses on understanding how changes in the structure and regulation of the genome give rise to cancer, with an eye toward developing prognostic tools and novel therapeutics based on new discoveries.

What is the specific knowledge gap that your K12/CMeRIT project seeks to inform?

The focus of my K12 is to understand how disruptions in the epigenetic regulation of cells give rise to cancer, and how that confers vulnerability to certain types of therapy, including oncolytic viruses.

Currently, only one oncolytic virus is FDA-approved, a herpes-based virus used to treat melanoma. It was developed empirically where, over time, people recognized that this virus could preferentially infect and destroy melanoma cells and other cancers. But the mechanisms by which that happens are really poorly understood.

Part of what allows cancer cells to survive is that something has gone awry in the immune cells’ ability to recognize and destroy a cancerous cell before it proliferates. Cancer cells take advantage of that. Yet that same vulnerability can enable a virus to destroy the cancer cell. We’re trying to understand that interplay.

Oncolytic viruses are a little bit like the ugly stepchild to cancer immunotherapy. They came into clinical use around the same time, so they haven’t received as much attention. Now, as we understand more about the role of the immune system in cancer surveillance and how cancer vaccines work in combination with the immune system, we can start to think about how to use oncolytic viruses to activate the immune system to attack cancer.

Your work as a surgeon-scientist encompasses both treating cancer patients and investigating the mechanisms that lead to cancer. How do those integrate in practice?

As a cancer surgeon, much of what I do is work in a multidisciplinary team to figure out how best to treat patients with cancer. My clinical focus is cutaneous oncology and sarcomas, and fortunately, we have effective tools for these cancers, so surgery is just one part of treatment.

“What excites me about epigenetics is that it’s uncharted territory. That’s true even for normal cells but especially when it comes to how cancers develop and how we might modulate that with targeted therapies.”

In both my clinical practice and research program, the goal is to tailor a patient’s therapy to exactly what they and their tumor need. If I can use surgery to help them, in combination with some other tools, I will. Otherwise, my job is to figure out when surgery is not appropriate.

In terms of the research, we need to understand who would benefit from therapies we have and who might need new approaches. Understanding how these cancers develop and who has a higher-risk or lower-risk cancer in terms of spreading or recurring allows us to tailor therapy to the specific needs of each patient to limit the risks.

What motivates you to pursue this line of research?

One of the first labs I worked in was focused on transcriptional control of cell development. That got me interested in the idea that every cell’s job is to receive signals–from the environment, from other cells, from hormones or other biochemical messengers–and then modulate its response via transcriptional programs. In cancer, that system breaks down.

I started my graduate work in Mike Greenberg’s lab at Harvard Medical School studying pathways related to DNA methylation in neurons. At that time, genes were largely thought of as these very stable inherited marks, and epigenetic factors allowed for some degree of regulation as the cell developed.

What we understand now is that the organization of the genome is actually much more dynamic than was historically appreciated. Epigenetics opens up a whole other level of regulation within the cell that we can target.

What excites me about epigenetics is that it’s uncharted territory. That’s true even for normal cells but especially when it comes to how cancers develop and how we might modulate that with targeted therapies.

You have not been heavily involved in bench research since you got your PhD almost a decade ago. What’s it been like to get back into the laboratory?

I did my PhD as part of an MD/PhD program prior to finishing medical school. After that I did five years of surgical residency, followed by two years of surgical oncology fellowship. That’s a total of nine years of clinical training with no real opportunity for time dedicated to bench work for more than a month or two over the summer.

The K12 career-development funding has been critical to having protected time to build my research program, start my lab, and transition to independent funding. It would be much harder to do this without that opportunity.

“The K12 career-development funding has been critical to having protected time to build my research program, start my lab, and transition to independent funding.”

I can’t overstate what an opportunity a program like this is for someone at the career stage I’m at, trying to move toward independence. It’s geared toward providing clinicians in translational science the opportunity, support, and resources to take the next step, all within the context of a peer group. We’re not pure basic scientists, and we’re not pure clinicians; we’re kind of a separate population trying to do something a little bit different. We’re a little weird in that sense; we don’t really fit anywhere.

What I like about being a clinician-scientist is that my clinical life and my science life are integrated. I get to see patients every day. I see the cancer up close. It’s been amazing to be able to think about translating what I’m seeing in the clinic to the science I’m doing every day and how that can ultimately help the patients I’m caring for. It’s what I’ve been working toward for the past 40 years or so.

What will be your next step after this K12 ends?

One of the great opportunities this has awarded me is to set up my independent lab space. During this funding period, I moved into my own laboratory space at Mass General Brigham (MGB) in the Jackson 9 translational labs.

So now, as I’m finishing up experiments and writing up the project funded by the K12, I’m also training members of my own lab to carry out experiments and move forward with the science.

In our translational lab, we have the great opportunity to use patient samples to test some of the hypotheses that come from these more basic experiments. My office is directly above the MGB operating room, and we have a wonderful group of people dedicated to taking tumor samples from patients with a broad spectrum of cancer types. We bring the samples up to the lab and run a number of different assays to test our scientific hypotheses directly in our patients’ tumor samples.

Going forward in my own lab, I’ll be taking some of these basic mechanisms that we’re interested in and really trying to translate them into therapies for our patients.

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Primary Faculty

• Alberto Ascherio Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
• Andrew Beam Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
• Kjetil Bjornevik Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
• Caroline Buckee Professor of Epidemiology
• Jorge Chavarro Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
• David Christiani Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics
• E. Francis Cook Professor of Epidemiology
• Issa Dahabreh Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Goodarz Danaei Bernard Lown Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Health
• Barbra Dickerman Assistant Professor of Global Cancer Prevention
• Rui Duan Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
• Heather Eliassen Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
• Wafaie Fawzi Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Sciences, and Professor of Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Global Health
• Edward Giovannucci Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
• Yonatan Grad Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Associate Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases
• Donald Halstead Lecturer on Epidemiology
• William Hanage Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Russ Hauser Frederick Lee Hisaw Professor of Reproductive Physiology
• Miguel Hernán Kolokotrones Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology Director of the CAUSALab
• Sonia Hernández-Diaz Professor of Epidemiology
• Albert Hofman Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology Chair, Department of Epidemiology
• Frank Hu Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
• Jeff Imai-Eaton Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Tamarra James-Todd Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology
• Karestan Koenen Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology
• Francine Laden Professor of Environmental Epidemiology
• Kyu Ha Lee Assistant Professor of Integrative Genomic Epidemiology
• Liming Liang Professor of Statistical Genetics
• Marc Lipsitch Professor of Epidemiology
• Yuan Ma Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
• Carmen Messerlian Assistant Professor of Environmental Reproductive, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology
• Murray Mittleman Professor of Epidemiology
• Lorelei Mucci Professor of Epidemiology
• Alkes Price Professor of Statistical Genetics
• Timothy Rebbeck Vincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention Director of the Zhu Family Center for Global Cancer Prevention
• James Robins Mitchell L. and Robin LaFoley Dong Professor of Epidemiology
• Joel Schwartz Professor of Environmental Epidemiology
• Stephanie Smith-Warner Senior Lecturer on Nutritional Epidemiology
• Mingyang Song Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Nutrition
• Meir Stampfer Research Professor
• Qi Sun Associate Professor in the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology
• Henning Tiemeier Sumner and Esther Feldberg Professor of Maternal and Child Health
• Tyler VanderWeele John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology
• Marc Weisskopf Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology
• Walter Willett Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
• Michelle Williams Professor of Epidemiology
• Paige Williams Senior Lecturer on Biostatistics

Secondary Faculty

• Ruanne Barnabas Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Heather Baer Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Deborah Blacker Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Julie Buring Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Carlos Camargo Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Grace Chan Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Brittany Charlton Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Daniel Chasman Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Lori Chibnik Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Nancy Cook Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Immaculata De Vivo Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Laura Dodge Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Alessandro Doria Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• A. Lindsay Frazier Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Felipe Fregni Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Bizu Gelaye Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Donald Goldmann Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Michele Hacker Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Marian Hannan Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Michelle Holmes Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Krista Huybrechts Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Monik Jimenez Instructor
• David Jones Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Jeffrey Katz Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Health
• Julie Lauffenburger Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• I-Min Lee Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• JoAnn Manson Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Ellen McCarthy Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Thomas McElrath Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Megan Murray Professor in the Department on Epidemiology
• Shuji Ogino Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Olivia Okereke Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Kathryn Penney Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Susan Redline Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Sereno Reisner Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Janet Rich-Edwards Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Paul Ridker Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Eric Rimm Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition
• Pamela Rist Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Elise Robinson Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Sebastian Schneeweiss Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Andrea Schwartz Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Howard Sesso Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Daniel Singer Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Jordan Smoller Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Kathryn Terry Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Sengwee Toh Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Sarinnapha Vasunilashorn Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Molin Wang Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology
• Jessica Young Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology

Adjunct Faculty

• Hugues Aschard Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
• Paolo Boffetta Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Layal Chaker Adjunct Lecturer on Epidemiology
• Graham Colditz Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Michelangelo Fiorentino Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Oscar Franco Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Jaap Goudsmit Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases
• Mohammad Arfan Ikram Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Vincent Jaddoe Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Michael Johansson Adjunct Lecturer on Epidemiology
• Kaumudi Joshipura Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Wayne Koff Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Kale Kponee Adjunct Lecturer on Epidemiology
• Peter Kraft Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Tobias Kurth Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Pagona Lagiou Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Kayla Laserson Adjunct Lecturer of Epidemiology
• Simin Liu Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Matthew Miller Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Stacey Missmer Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Anna Oberg Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Stefania Papatheodorou Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• K. Srinath Reddy Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Mauricio Santillana Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Eva Schernhammer Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• John Seeger Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
• Uwe Siebert Adjunct Professor of Health Policy and Management and Epidemiology
• Sonja Swanson Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology
• Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen Adjunct Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiologic Methods
• Unnur Valdimarsdottir Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
• Linda Valeri Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
• Alexander Walker Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology

Emeritus Faculty

• Hans-Olov Adami Professor of Epidemiology, Emeritus
• David Hunter Vincent L. Gregory Professor in Cancer Prevention, Emeritus
• George B. Hutchison Professor of Epidemiology, Emeritus
• Richard Monson Professor of Epidemiology, Emeritus
• Nancy Mueller Professor of Epidemiology, Emerita
• Donna Spiegelman Professor of Epidemiologic Methods, Emerita

News from the School

Bethany Kotlar, PhD '24, studies how children fare when they're born to incarcerated mothers

Soccer, truffles, and exclamation points: Dean Baccarelli shares his story

Health care transformation in Africa highlighted at conference

COVID, four years in