Jane Pellegren (SPH’15).

Job Title and Company

Senior Public Health Epidemiologist, Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families

What did you enjoy most about your experience at SPH?

BUSPH was an incredible experience for me. What I consistently remark on is how BUSPH balances the cutting edge, highly rigorous research analytics and methods, while still being an open door policy, small feel program. I never felt I was sacrificing one for the other. I was learning from the best, with the best, while still having access to them – and still do to this day!

Did you have a favorite professor or class at SPH?

I had far too many professors that I loved and admired but I have to say – Tim Heeren’s Statistical Methods for Epidemiology was fantastic. I use those skills I learned every day, and, Tim is by far one of the most outstanding professors I have ever had. Shout out to Kimberly Shea’s Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases as well, and Bob Horsburgh’s mentorship to me was unmatched!

How did your practicum or education experience at BUSPH shape your career goals?

I used my practicum to help me decide if I could work as a SAS programmer after graduation. It was extremely helpful because I figured out that I was not interested in that as a career path. I used other educational opportunities to pursue research and manuscript writing, which helped guide my career

What advice can you lend to students as they prepare for the workforce?

Gather as much knowledge and skills that you can. That includes networking and learning about other projects in the field of public health. For my specific work, a strong coding ability is important, but that isn’t what everyone’s field of interest is.

In one sentence, what does public health mean to you?

Public health is the central theme of our entire universe; to take care of ourselves, our community, our health, our planet, we must continuously look at factors to improve the population and introduce interventions to advance the health of everyone.