Personal Statement of Purpose
On that fateful day as I stood in my black and pink salmon graduation gown, I pondered on the skills I was equipped with in just 11 months of master 's study and I yearned for more. While these skills have enabled me to function as a research fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) post-graduation, I find myself seeking to enhance them and gain more knowledge. My attendance at professional conferences, registration in short courses, and seeking mentorship can attest to this fact. Thus, in my quest for continued academic and professional excellence, I deem it necessary to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in epidemiology and the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (JHSPH) will be the perfect academic environment in which to do so. Being my alma mater, I witnessed first-hand the quality education offered by the outstanding faculty. The opportunity to work hand in hand with renowned researchers who have made tremendous contributions to various research studies and the prospect of establishing a mentoring relationship with them is held in high regard. Also, the effort at promoting innovative research, cross-cultural diversity, and great alumni networks, are undeniable perks obtainable at JHSPH. No wonder JHSPH is ranked the best academic institution in the public health field nationwide!
Having gained some research experience during my year as a master 's student and at the FDA, my desire to engage in and carry out innovative and independent research has become reinforced. Therefore, it is with careful consideration, I seek to pursue a PhD in epidemiology with a concentration in General Epidemiology and Methodology. As a trained Doctor of Optomet...
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... my next research assignment at the FDA is on the opioid-use epidemic.
I believe that my resilience, commitment, resourcefulness, academic and professional background, in addition to my in-depth knowledge of scientific principles combined with my statistical ability to analyze data, makes me well suited for the epidemiology PhD program at JHSPH. I am confident that I would fit in very well with your institution, its culture, and its beliefs. Bearing in mind Malcolm X 's quotation as true: "Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today"; I strongly hope I 'm granted admission into the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, as this will help launch my career towards becoming a seasoned epidemiologist. Thank you in advance for your consideration of my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
...in the Twentieth Century”. American Journal of Public Health. May 2010. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2853635/. Web. 8 April 2014.
I have chosen the Global Health Pathway to further analyze the essential theme from a practical point of view and to recognize vital connections and relations with the coursework I have taken at Santa Clara University. The fundamental theme of the pathway emphasizes on the universal enhancement of public health, lowering inequalities, and prevention of chronic diseases. The overarching connection between the Global Health Pathway theme and the coursework I have taken is fundamentally providing global awareness of public health issues from a socioeconomic, environmental, and biological perspective to the general public. Courses such as Public Health Science 1: Human Health and Disease and Biology 179: Cancer Biology can illustrate a vital connection with the pathway theme. For example, Public Health Science 1: Human Health and Disease course focuses on the improvement of avoiding preventable diseases by designing specific interventions to target certain chronic diseases that are impacting a specific population. The course relates to the Global Health Pathway theme by highlighting multiple public health issues from a socioeconomic viewpoint and environmental perspective by providing awareness to the general population and finding solutions to prevent public health issues. In addition, the Biology 179: Cancer Biology course concentrated on the molecular perspective behind cancer and the processes in acquiring the disease. The course emerges with the Global Health Pathway theme by learning preventable processes to combat cancer and providing awareness to individuals from a biological perspective to prevent one in developing the disease. Both courses introduce a phenomenon of providing awareness of a certain public health issue to the ...
Miller, Matthew, Deborah Azrael and David Hemenway. Harvard School Of Public Health. 15 December 2012. 20 february 2013.
The Center of Disease Control and Prevention performs studies to acquire information about the health and wellness of the general public. Some of these studies include simple censuses that ask people about preexisting conditions, height, weight, age, and their family history and health. They also look to see how certain diseases affect a person’s body and how they can be dealt with. For example, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention would conduct studies of people in different age groups and family history hat already have heart disease. They then look to see if the cause of heart disease in the different age groups is influenced by any particular factors. They have found that the risk of heart disease is increased if a person has a genetic history of heart disease caused by hypercholesterolemia and by ingesting high fat foods, low exercise, and ingesting harmful products like alcohol or tobacco. The main fields that the CDC focuses these studies upon are Diseases and Conditions, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Environmental Health, Life Stages and Populations, Healthy Living, ...
Many epidemiologists usually specialize in one or more of the following specific fields, substance abuse, bioterrorism, injury, chronic disease, or infectious disease. Even though there are different areas of epidemiology that are available, they all
From there, “the minimum educational requirement to work as an epidemiologist is a master’s degree from a school of public health. Some jobs require a doctorate” (“Institute”, 2009 p. 23). Most jobs require a strong background in statistics and the master’s degree to have an emphasis in epidemiology. Any growth within the field usually requires a doctorate. However, simply having a master’s in public health does not guarantee a career in epidemiology. Many other factors are required or heavily encouraged. To determine these factors, current epidemiologists were asked how they achieved success in their jobs in a 2002 survey conducted by Ross Brownson, Jonathan Samet, and Stephen Thacker. The most common positive comments were “the choice of institution from which a scientist graduates, the choice of hot research topics, and hard work. For many persons, access to a strong mentor has been noted as one of the most important career advantages.” (Brownson et al., 2002). Many also stated that an intense curiosity was needed to be successful. In addition, due to the unpredictability of disease, epidemiologists must be willing to work unconventional hours. Therefore, epidemiology is not an easy career to begin. Nonetheless, it can be a very rewarding career. Most people choose epidemiology because they
...rplexed philosophers in all ages, to track to their sources the causes of disease, to correlate the vast stores of knowledge that they may be quickly available for the prevention and cure of disease- These are our ambitions. (The President’s council on Bioethics 1)
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in well-defined populations. The goal of epidemiology is to understand the causes of disease variation and limit disease, injury and death in a community by intervening to prevent or limit outbreaks or epidemics of disease and injury. Epidemiology provides the most compelling evidence for measuring environmental risk to humans. Epidemiologists are public health professionals who investigate occurrence of disease-or other health related conditions or events in specific populations. Epidemiology allows public health workers to organize, analyze & interpret statistical facts about health problems. The basic design strategies applied in epidemiological research can be generally categorized according to whether such investigations focus on reporting the distributions of disease or elucidating its determinants. All study designs involve descriptive and analytical type of comparison of exposure and disease status. Descriptive epidemiology focuses on the general characteristics of the distribution of a disease. Analytical epidemiology focuses on the determinants of a disease by testing the hypothesis formulated from descriptive studies to check whether a particular exposure causes or prevents disease.
After attending information session by Dr. Monica Allen, I found this program very fascinating because of the diversity of the program and various courses like ‘Health Promotion Planning and Evaluation’, ‘Community Organization and Health Promotion’, ‘Computational Public Health Statistics’, ‘Multicultural Communication for Health Professionals’ will be invaluable, as I want to prepare for a career where I can apply this to enhance current health care needs. Research conducted on HIV-AIDS by Dr. Edward Mamary, work done by Dr. Monica Allen as a public health educator closely matches my interests, I am looking forward to working with them. A variety of courses, a partnership with employers and professional health organizations will help me gain knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in this field. I am confident that I can match high standards of the department and make a significant contribution to the group’s
Learning is a continuous process and the day that you stop learning is the day that you start decreasing your rewards and lower levels of satisfaction. My ardent desire to acquire knowledge has motivated me to pursue higher studies at graduate level, and to take up a career in research in industry. I have taken this decision after carefully considering my academic background, profound interest in research and strong aptitude for problem solving.
Even though I initially started my journey in public health after graduating from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, I acknowledged my interest and enthusiasm when I was working on my research thesis during the final year of my college. I conducted a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of planned teaching program to control hypertension among adults residing in selected rural areas of Bangalore in India. It happened to be my first exposure to the field of public health where I had an opportunity to interact with Bangalore’s slum-dwellers and witness their lifestyle, their access to the basic needs such as water, sanitation, and essential nutrients which raised a serious concern on my mind. Upon completion of the research,
I develop and deliver technical solutions to collection of applications used by retail giants across the globe. My responsibilities have given me scenarios to put on my problem solving and interpersonal skills in real life situations. Frequent interactions with client aroused in me, an urge to get into a management consultant role. But, with time I realized that I have to upgrade my skill-sets and make myself more relevant and attractive to the job market. I also realized that I have to diversify my aspects of management such as leadership, entrepreneurship and finance etc. and Broad MBA will equip me with these skills and will increase chances of succeeding in my goals, manifold. After accomplishing virtuous knowledge of IT industry, I believe that Broad MBA program will help me learn more about business problems drawn from real-life scenarios and prepares me to take the next step toward career success. I believe Broad is more than just a place to learn. Through Broad MBA, I will not only shorten my learning cycle but also get a chance to learn from world class faculty, established curriculum and diverse peer groups. This innovative pedagogy will help me put the big foot forward towards my goals, build a professional and personal network and edify me as where to look for information and how to interpret it, when required. The Broad is well respected for the quality of its program, which has been recognized for its cutting edge design and delivery, with rankings that indicate its place among the top tier programs around the world. It will help me create a unique learning experience and it will be my passport to new world of opportunities. While global economic vagueness make me, insecure but I believe that now these challenges wil...
Reading the curriculum of your epidemiology track made me more fascinated with your program. I will have the great honor and passion to pursue a master in public health from such a prestigious and reputable school. My ultimate goal is to improve the practice and delivery of public health as a leader and teacher in the clinical setting. . I am excited to start my study with the hope to make a meaningful contribution to this field and to the
Epidemiology in the 21st century has great significance, as health problems become more global, a global approach to health is important. Addressing public health problems on a global basis is fundamental to public health, epidemiology and the understanding of disease frequency. Collaboration across the globe has proved to provide a better outcome for public health and the population (Pearce 2013). Descriptive epidemiology embraces a respectable position within the global approach to disease surveillance along with the frequency of diseases, investigating the causes and underlying causes of disease together with understanding the means to control the disease is epidemiology in public health. The idea of epidemiology is that diseases form patterns
Epidemiology research, understanding of study design and methods, hypothesis formation, and writing a scientific poster help me develop pertinent research skills to success in a future in biomedical science. I aim to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical science and continue in health science that will positively impact the population. I believe that public health can fit together with biomedical science to find insight to molecular mechanisms and complex understanding of what diseases are seen in research fields like epidemiology. I am passionate about public health and epidemiology foci of nutrition so working on a project to prevent and dec...