Education Happenings

PFRH welcomes 11 new Doctoral students and 36 new Master’s students for the 2022-2023 academic year.

PhD Students

Child Health

• Kelsey Williams, MSPH

Maternal, Fetal and Perinatal Health

• Jessica Angelson, MS, CNM

Women’s, Sexual and Reproductive Health

• Charlotte Greenbaum, MS
• Amy Luo, MSPH
• Kimberly MihayoMSc
• Haley Thomas, MSPH

DrPH Students

• Lindsay Bow, MS
• Amy Hobbs, MS
• Jennifer Neczypor, MSN, CNM, RN
• Maya Oaks - MPH
• Carrie Reed – MSN, CNM, ARNP

Masters Students

Master in Health Science

Master of Science in Public Health

BA/MSPH

In June 2022, we launched the second annual Data to Policy Institute in Population, Family and Reproductive Health, with generous support from Bayer and the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.  Activities supported global learners to become leaders of the next generation of initiatives aimed at supporting family planning and sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on low and middle-income countries. 

Following a highly competitive selection process, we were delighted to welcome 35 accomplished Bayer Scholars to the inaugural virtual program. Our learners came from 16 countries, and each was affiliated with a Gates Institute initiative.  The Bayer Scholars brought a wealth of experiences ranging from city reproductive health coordinators, to regional program managers, to monitoring and evaluation officers; these experiences made for highly stimulating interactive discussions.

Directed by Sally Safi, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Scientist in PFRH, the Institute offered seven courses taught by Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty.  Three of the seven courses focused specifically on family planning and reproductive health; these courses included Using Data to Design and Evaluate Family Planning Policies and Programs, Advocating for Global Reproductive Health, and Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health System Transformation in PFRH.  Critical thinking skills were advanced in three additional courses including Critically Evaluating the Science for Policy and Practice; Creating, Implementing and Monitoring Budgets for Projects and Programs; and Introduction to Program Evaluation in PFRH. One course offered instruction in incorporating Youth Voice in Public Health.

Feedback from Summer Institute participants was overwhelmingly positive.  When asked about the best aspects of participating in the program, one Bayer Scholar remarked “My favorite part was reading and listening to reflections from the other students based on their own country contexts... [This] helped to me to think differently about the public health issues in [my country].”

Plans are already underway for the June 5-16 2023 Summer Institute!  Join us!!

Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health

The Center of Excellence in MCH has had a busy summer and fall.  We supported exciting  field placements for 4 MSPH students including Kiersten Gillette-Pierce (National Birth Equity Collaborative), Olivia Girvan (B’more for Healthy Babies), Tanesha Mondestin (Life of Hope: Haitian Women’s Birth Equity), and Anya Thakur (MA Department of Public Health).

Our thanks to Bre Calhoun, MS, Maanasa Chitti, and Krista Woodward, MPH, MSW, who worked with colleagues at Drexel to develop co-host two career panels in MCH.  Among the talented and inspiring panelists were Mengying Li, PhD (Senior Consultant, IQVIA), MSPH, Gabriela Marmolejos, MSPH (Senior Research Analyst, Advisory Board), Astha Ramaiya, DrPH, MSPH (Assistant Scientist), Kelsey Williams, MSPH (PhD student), and Linnea Zimmerman, PhD, MPH (Assistant Professor).

The MCH Postdoctoral Fellowship is thrilled to announce that Noelene Jeffers, PhD, CNM, has completed the fellowship and is joining the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor starting in January 2023.  Recruitment is underway for a new postdoctoral fellow.  Please share the announcement on your social medial and to anyone who you think might be interested. 

Finally, congratulations to Kristin Bevilacqua, MPH, and Krista Woodward, MPH, MSW, who are incoming MCH Epidemiology Fellows.