Season 2 finale ends with a bang! Paris "AJ" Adkins-Jackson, PhD is a multidisciplinary health equity researcher and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University. She tells me how her career path moved from anthropology to studying impact of structural determinants of health on historically marginalized groups. She tells me about the richness of her life outside of work, including finding a home in music from childhood to today, and kick...
Apr 02, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 61
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Mar 19, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 60
You will surely love today's episode with Fausto Bustos, PhD. Fausto is an infectious disease epidemiologist and an ORISE Data Science Fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he provides data analytic expertise, computational and statistical assistance, and substantive scientific knowledge to advance their research mission. Fausto grew up crossing the southern border of the US for school every day, lived in poverty with his mother and brother, and found an esca...
Mar 05, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Rachel Hardeman, PhD is nothing short of a powerhouse. She is a reproductive health equity researcher, scholar, teacher, writer, speaker, and activist. Rachel is Associate Professor and the first Blue Cross Endowed Professor of Health and Racial Equity. Division of Health Policy & Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Her research links structural racism to health, identifies opportunities for intervention, and dismantles the systems, structures, and institutions that ...
Feb 19, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Today, my chat with the amazing Maria Glymour, ScD, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California - San Francisco. Maria tells me about being lost after college and her winding road to epidemiology, growing up in rural Oklahoma, riding cows, the Beastie Boys, a dinner party with Jaws, and the 'flavor' red. I don't think I've ever laughed this hard during an interview. Enjoy! Support the show
Jan 15, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Tamarra James-Todd, PhD is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She tells me about the motivations for her research interests in environmental reproductive justice, dedicating her diabetes research to her late father, the value of peer mentorship, joy riding with her dad in his Mustang in the '70s, dinner with Hannibal Lecter and Molly Ringwald, and more! Laugh along with us! Support the show...
Jan 08, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Chenoa Cassidy-Matthews is a rockstar PhD student in epidemiology at the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health. She is a member of the Sachigo Lake First Nation, which is an Oji Cree First Nation band government in an area that colonizers now call Northwestern Ontario Canada. Chenoa is an indigenous health researcher and epidemiologist. She studies the impacts of overdose and COVID-19 on urban Indigenous young people, and develop recommendations for a holistic, se...
Dec 18, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Today you hear from Whitney Robinson, PhD, social epidemiologist and all around brilliant, thoughtful, vulnerable woman. She is so well known in the public health community after her positions as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Societies Scholar, assistant and then associate professor at UNC in the epidemiology department, and now as faculty epidemiologist in the Division of Women’s Community and Population Health in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University School of Medic...
Dec 04, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 53
If you know my guest today, you probably know what a rock star researcher is, but you may not know much of anything personal about him. Today, Brandon Marshall, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Brown University, gives me a glimpse into his life: acting, snowboarding, home decorating, caring for 2 pugs, and stubbornly refusing to leave Celsius back in Canada. Of course, Brandon shares how he successfully manages a very large research team, cross-training staff and letting them lead, an...
Nov 20, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Today you'll hear from Dana Bernson, MPH, Epidemiologist and Director of Special Analytic Projects within the Office of Population Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She tells me about her position in state government and what she finds so fulfilling about it. Dana also generously shares the story of her first husband's passing, leaving her a widow at age 29. We discuss joy and grief, her pandemic elopement, as well as being a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, her unabashed l...
Nov 06, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 51
I am happy to present to you a delightful conversation I had with Sameera Nayak, MA, who is currently a doctoral student in Population Health in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research at Northeastern University. Sameera tells me about immigrating to the US from India at 18 for college and navigating the academic system as an immigrant. She very courageously talks about past depressive episodes, her internalized stigma associated with m...
Oct 23, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Today, I got to enjoy an informative, hilarious, and illuminating conversation with the incomparable Roland Thorpe, Professor of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. And his newest position, which we talk about today, is as the Associate Vice Provost of Faculty Diversity. Roland also discusses his love of food and drink, Android vs. iPhone, broccoli vs. broccolini, a story of academic kindness, and more! Enjoy! Support the show...
Oct 16, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Welcome to the premier of Season 2 of Shiny Epi People! I could not find a better way to start this new season than to chat with one of my epi besties Jaimie Gradus, DSc. Jaimie is an Associate Professor at Boston University School of Public Health whose research focuses on psychiatric epidemiology. She has an impressive NIH grant portfolio, so we talk success, luck, and the lack of meritocracy in grant funding. Jaimie and I also share our best memories of the annual meetings of the Society for ...
Oct 09, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 48
It is the final of the update episodes with guests from 2020! Today, you hear from the hilarious Hoda Abdel Magid. Hoda is currently in the second year of her postdoc. She tells me about resubmitting her K99-R00 application, hot yoga in a hijab, a setup date in Cairo that she didn't know was a setup, surfing, therapy (a fav topic of mine!), and more! You will LOL in this one. Please enjoy, and thank you for all of your support! Support the show...
Oct 02, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Summer is nearly over, but I have two more updates of these episodes to put out! So we are going to keep calling them summer episodes! Today, you hear from two recent graduates and rising stars you first heard from in 2020: Louisa Smith, PhD, and Michelle Caunca, MD, PhD. Since her episode aired, Louisa has defended her dissertation, accepted a postdoc, participated in a triathlon, spent the summer in Switzerland, is on the dating apps, and more! Michelle updates me on her feelings of imposter s...
Sep 25, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 46
I believe in summer through September! Here is a fourth summer bonus episode for your enjoyment! And I have a treat with the hilarious and sweet Bertha Hidalgo. Bertha was my guest back in 2020, and so many of you loved her episode then. Today's will not disappoint! Bertha and I talk about her appearance on Dancing with the Stars (local version!), managing anxiety, valuing family during Covid, and holding your breath for 4 minutes. We get updates on fungo bats, baseball, mixed drinks, and baby c...
Sep 18, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 46
It's early September, and I'm still going to call this a summer episode! Today, you'll hear updates from Matt Fox and Mya Roberson. If you haven't listened to their original episodes way back in 2020, go have a listen. Matt and I talk some more here on kindness (or lack thereof) on Twitter, deli meat sheets, and superheroes. Mya finished her dissertation and got a faculty position since her first episode, so her update is especially great for trainees. We also meet her husband and her dogs. Enjo...
Sep 11, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Summer is ending, but my summer bonus episodes are not! Today, you get to hear 3 interviews which all appeared first on my Patreon as a thank you to my patrons (become one at www.patreon.com/shinyepipeople). Today, they are out for all to enjoy! You hear updates from Leslie McClure, Penny Gordon Larsen, and Hailey Banack. They all appeared on the show early in Season 1 and are here to tell you what's going on in their lives since their recording. If you didn't hear their first episodes, go back ...
Sep 04, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Hi everyone! Happy summer! I have been releasing update episodes this summer for supporters via my Patreon (www.patreon.com/shinyepipeople). I decided to publish this summer bonus episode for all listeners because it is poignant and timely. I caught up with coronavirus researcher Tim Sheahan, who recorded with me back in fall 2020, when the pandemic was raging. In this conversation, Tim gives me updates on his work in the lab and how he is managing to balance work and life. But more importantly,...
Aug 21, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 43
After 40 episodes, Season 1 is a wrap! In this short episode, I share thoughts I have about the experience of launching a podcast during a pandemic, what I have learned about myself and people in public health, what I will be doing until Season 2, and where I want to go with the show. Thanks to all of the listeners who have trusted me to put together a show every week that teaches them, makes them feel and develop empathy, and adds humor and connection to their lives. Thanks to the patrons who h...
May 15, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 41
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May 08, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Ken Rothman, DrPH is arguably one of the most influential living epidemiologists. Ken has been in the field for almost 50 years, conducting research, writing, and teaching. He co-authors two of the most used textbooks in epidemiology: Modern Epidemiology and Epidemiology: an Introduction. He is the founding editor of Epidemiology, a leading journal in our field. He talks with me about his ambition, his status as a 'legend' in the field (spoiler alert: he says that is patently false), writing, an...
May 01, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Kemi Doll, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and an adjunct assistant professor of Health Services at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health. She is a practicing gynecologic oncologist and health services researcher, and has her own career coaching business that helps Women of Color take control of their careers. Kemi has a new podcast called Your Unapologetic Career . Kemi tells me about the advice she gives coaching, finding the career tha...
Apr 24, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Bonnie Swenor is an epidemiologist and associate professor at The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and the Epidemiology Department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is the founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, which addresses health inequities for people with disabilities. Bonnie's career is motivated by her personal experience with visual impairment, and today she shares with me how her visual impairment has shaped her personal ...
Apr 17, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 37
John Pamplin, PhD, is an epi postdoc at NYU who studies the consequences of structural racism and systemic inequity on mental health and substance use. John earned his bachelor's degree at Morehouse College, one of the a historically Black colleges and universities in the US. John talks about how his experience at Morehouse allowed him to explore his racial identity and experience the type of mentorship he couldn't at a majority white institution. John also tells me how mentors shaped his life, ...
Apr 10, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Jae Downing, PhD is an assistant professor in Oregon Health and Science University - Portland State University School of Public Health. Their research explores how policies and social safety nets shape healthcare for gender and sexual minority populations. Jae tells me how they protect research time by setting boundaries on service, the challenges and exciting aspects of studying sexual and gender minority populations, becoming a parent in the pandemic, lessons Jae and their wife learned about s...
Mar 27, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Marcia Pescador Jimenez, PhD is currently a postdoc in Epidemiology at Harvard, and will be transitioning to assistant professor at Boston University. Her research focuses on spatial determinants of health through the lifecourse. Marcia is originally from Mexico City, and talks about challenges of writing in English and negotiating a job offer in the US. She tells me how she puts together cold emails to other researchers to ask for help, despite her imposter syndrome. We laugh a lot in this epis...
Mar 20, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, a chronic disease epidemiologist, is Vice Chair and Professor of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University. One of Merci's favorite things about her job is helping people navigate difficult conversations and mediating those conversations. She talks about how she approaches such conversations, including how to talk with an underperforming trainee or employee. From Merci's years as NIH review panel chair and standing member, she is an expert in grant writing, and offe...
Mar 13, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Noah Kreski, MPH trained at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and now serves as Kerry Keyes' data analyst at Columbia working on projects relating to depressive symptoms, suicidal behavior, and substance use among adolescents. Noah is also very interested in LGBTQ health justice and anti-violence. Today, Noah talks about their choice to earn their master's degree and hold off on a doctoral degree. Noah wanted to share the feelings of how academia does not always make them feel safe and we...
Mar 06, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Sarah Birken, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Implementation Science in the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, and Sarah co-hosts the AcaDames podcast. In this sort-of Acadames-Shiny Epi People cross-over episode, Sarah tells me the pod's origin story, how she has changed as a podcaster, and what she loves and finds challenging about it. We also talk vulnerability and "radical honesty" along with knitting nothing but long strips, needing a butt emoji, judgy autocorr...
Feb 27, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 31
