A Love Letter to Epidemiology

And the lessons I have have learned from it

My love for epidemiology and public health began in college where I was introduced to Sandra Steingraber (author Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment) and Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring). By the time I read And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, my heart belonged to public health.

I love diseases. Do you know what disease is pictured here? Hint: it is the bacteria responsible for the Black Death that killed between 25-200 million people in Europe in the 1300s.

Over the years, my love of epidemiology has only grown. And so today, on Valentine’s Day in the midst of a pandemic (that has dragged on), I’d like to take a moment to share some epidemiological love…

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It might be cliché, but I will begin with a poem (to set the mood) —

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Public health is the field
where we care for both me and you.

According to one of my public health heroes, Dr. Bill Foege —

The goal of public health is to ensure that we are all healthy; the science of epidemiology (from the Greek, meaning the study of what befalls a population) is used to help promote healthy lifestyles, research disease and injury prevention, and detect, prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. (In my opinion) It is the most exciting work, and probably why epidemiology had been named the “sexiest subspecialty in medicine.”

If we have learned anything over the past two years, it is (as former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said) —

"Health care is vital to all of us some of the time,
but public health is vital to all of us all of the time."

As an epidemiologist, I wake up each morning and go to work where I get to create healthy communities. Sometimes this means I am teaching epidemiology (or biostatistics) to the next generation of public health leaders; other times I am evaluating public health policies or programs, providing guidance to local schools, dreaming of establishing a local board of health in my community, coordinating clinical research, developing a health needs assessment/survey for my community, analyzing data, or translating science into practice. There is rarely a dull moment (even in non-pandemic times) and opportunities are abundant (read: never-ending).

And my work as an epidemiologist aligns with my core values as a human being.

I can (honestly and with conviction) say that my work as an epidemiologist is a calling.

Through my work in public health and as an epidemiologist, I have had the opportunity to lead, travel, and learn. I could tell stories for days — about developing surveys to understand the flu vaccine shortage in 2004, getting lost in rural Alaska, the game of “attack rate of concern” that I created with friends, and so much more. However, as I reflect on my love for epidemiology on Valentine’s Day, these three lessons, that serve as the North Star for my public health work, are worth sharing as the work of public health is NOT just mine.

Rather the work of public health must be shared by all of us.

The lessons that serve as my NORTH STAR —

FIRST — Spend your time developing a life philosophy.

Dr. Foege (pictured above) has preached the value of a life philosophy over a life plan for years. He often says in his talks to public health students —

“Avoid a life plan. You cannot imagine what will be invented in the future. You cannot imagine the opportunities that will be presented. You are entering a world of infinite possibilities, confusing ideas, and continous changes. A life plan will limit your future. Instead of a life plan, spend your time developing a life philosophy. And then you will have the tools to evaluate every fork in the road and what is truly important to you.”

My life philosophy is rooted in my mission to create healthy communities. And I use my core values as guideposts to help me navigate the projects and opportunities I want to work on. I am anticipating an uncertain future and (sort of) excited by the unknown. I am prepared for whatever comes my way!

SECOND — Collaboration is necessary to address the world’s wicked problems.

The wicked problems facing us today — COVID, climate change, poverty — cannot be solved by one person or through one way of thinking. We need to join forces and collaborate. The politicians must work with the scientists, and the scientists with the artists; the researchers need the poets; the qualitative researchers need the quantitative analysts. We need to work with each other and try to find ways of asking new questions and creating new ways of knowing.

Today’s problems are too big for one field of study, let alone one person.

And collaborations are successful when we each do our part. Dr. Foege often shares this story to illustrate the importance of collaboration + doing your part (however small) —

“If you follow basketball you may know the name Stacey King. His first year as a rookie in Chicago, he had a disastrous night where he made a single point. That night, Michael Jordan made 69 points. And after the game, a journalist needling Stacey King asked, ‘Could you comment on the game?’ And Stacey King said, ‘I will always remember this as the night I combined with Michael Jordan for 70 points.’

It may be a little contribution, but we each have to make that contribution.”

Third —

We are all connected as a global community — not just by technology and airplanes, but by the air we breathe, the water we drink, trash we produce, toxic substances we jump into the ground. We cannot say that is their problem, not mine.

We cannot be truly healthy until we are ALL healthy.

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While my love of all things diseases, epidemiology, prevention, and public health is deep and I don’t expect to all share in this love affair with me, I do hope that you will take these lessons with you —

1. Develop a life philosophy

2. Work hard (do your part), but you also must prioritize collaboration

3. Recognize there is no ‘them’ only us when it comes to health.

The work that we have ahead of us — from slowing the spread of COVID today to preparing for the next public health emergency — involves each of us. And while the epidemiologists and public health officials can lead this work, the work of public health has been assigned to each of us.

We are all public health.