After graduating from the Cornell MPH program’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology track in May 2020, Shane Conyers began a PhD program in Epidemiology. In addition to a full roster of coursework in his first year at Emory University, Conyers is already involved in two of his own research projects there, one involving participant surveys for syphilis diagnostics, and the other focused on mathematical modeling for rotavirus transmission. “A PhD will put me in a position to pursue my aspirations,” says Conyers, who wants to leads his own research teams one day.

Conyers’ journey to public health began with a dream to become a medical doctor, but after taking his first public health class, he realized that he could “help a lot more people by focusing on population dynamics,” rather than on individual patients. He wants to be a versatile epidemiologist, with research skills spanning qualitative and quantitative methods. “The MPH Program helped me tremendously with going into this PhD work,” says Conyers, citing his foundational coursework in applied epidemiology, biostatistics, and vector-borne and other infectious diseases. “My MPH research projects, applied projects and coursework were all pieces of the puzzle to create a foundation to understand the material.” In the MPH Program, Conyers took initiative to reach out to faculty across Cornell’s campus to get involved in research projects, like one investigating Zika virus vaccine technologies with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Conyers reports that while the PhD program is very fast-paced, he has learned so much already and “wouldn’t want it any other way.”

-Written by Audrey Baker