As an MPH student, Avalon Monti didn’t imagine one day using her public health skills to help prepare astronauts for future missions to Mars. Then, Monti saw an open position for an epidemiologist at NASA, and impressed the hiring team with the systems thinking skills she had developed at Cornell.…
Rohit Mashani has worked for the healthcare consulting company Veranex since graduating from the MPH Program. Veranex “provides end-to-end solutions” for clients developing new healthcare technologies, explains Manshani. According to its website, the company is a “MedTech conceptto- commercialization partner.” This means that Veranex has teams working with client companies…
Aly Trombitas never planned to be a nutritionist. Before coming to Cornell, she began her career with community nonprofits in food, farming, and environmental education. To take on more of a leadership role in the field, she knew she would need a master’s degree. When Trombitas found Cornell’s MPH Program,…
As a small, rural health department, Madison County Department of Health (MCDOH) relies on interns for extra support. Internships are “a win-win,” says MCDOH quality improvement coordinator Erica Bird. “We have a staff of about 30, so we really appreciate the extra hands, and students get to take what they…
In December 2021, a team of Cornell University MPH Program faculty were awarded a 2021-22 Engaged Research Grant from the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. The group, led by Lara Parrilla, lecturer and community and academic partnership manager, was one of two awardees this year. These grants are…
When Dr. Lorraine Francis, associate professor of practice with the MPH Program, arrived in Ithaca in 2019, she brought to the Cornell community 18 years of experience in Caribbean public health, including tracking disease outbreaks and helping Caribbean nations prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Last spring, Francis…
For children in high-poverty communities, school meals are often a critical source of nutrition, and can also help offset grocery budgets for low-income households. Responding to a need to address record low school meal program participation in Tompkins County, a team of Cornell MPH students and faculty partnered with Newfield…
Dr. Laura Smith first developed an interest in toxin exposure and the concept of “anti-nutrients” while working on a Cornell collaboration with the Great Lakes Cassava Initiative in 2009. Cassava, a starchy root vegetable that can be grown with relative efficiency, was encouraged by the international community as a source…
When Nyaradzo Sirewu and Avni Patel saw that Cornell’s Center for Health Equity (CCHEq) was looking for MPH students to build and pilot training that would help anyone take action against racism, they jumped at the opportunity. “After the George Floyd killing, people were reaching out to CCHEq, asking how…
When Anabella Pinton was first looking into public health programs, she was drawn to Cornell’s unique epidemiology concentration. “The specific focus on infectious diseases was special and intriguing,” she remembers, especially with its emphasis on animals, agriculture, and the environment. She also appreciated the smaller program size “to make connections…