Dean Pettigrew

And I really think we need to work more to define what those skill sets are that you need at every level so that you don't see this trend to just undergraduate or the cheapest worker in many positions. But our undergrads can go work in the nonprofit sector. They can work as teachers. They can work for the health department. Same goes for masters. Faculty or those with PhDs can go work at the CDC.

And I really think we need to work more to define what those skill sets are that you need at every level so that you don't see this trend to just undergraduate or the cheapest worker in many positions. But our undergrads can go work in the nonprofit sector. They can work as teachers. They can work for the health department. Same goes for masters. Faculty or those with PhDs can go work at the CDC.

They become faculty across the universities. They can work actually in corporate America and in more leadership positions and leading research teams.

They become faculty across the universities. They can work actually in corporate America and in more leadership positions and leading research teams.

That's a great question. And I go back to the why quite a bit. I was a biology major and, you know, even going back in time, my parents were both teachers. My mom was a high school chemistry teacher. My dad taught math and my mother pushed me really hard to get a PhD starting probably in third grade. And it was really biology. And I went to Grinnell and it was a liberal arts education.

That's a great question. And I go back to the why quite a bit. I was a biology major and, you know, even going back in time, my parents were both teachers. My mom was a high school chemistry teacher. My dad taught math and my mother pushed me really hard to get a PhD starting probably in third grade. And it was really biology. And I went to Grinnell and it was a liberal arts education.

I loved economics classes. I love literature and I love biology, but I wasn't always like, convinced about what this would do for me. And I was good at it, but it didn't click. It wasn't until my junior year that it was the first time I heard the word epidemiology. A faculty member from Hopkins came to talk about the AIDS pandemic in Africa. And she was talking about the challenge of AIDS orphans.

I loved economics classes. I love literature and I love biology, but I wasn't always like, convinced about what this would do for me. And I was good at it, but it didn't click. It wasn't until my junior year that it was the first time I heard the word epidemiology. A faculty member from Hopkins came to talk about the AIDS pandemic in Africa. And she was talking about the challenge of AIDS orphans.

She was talking about retroviruses and reverse transcription and the need for drugs and diagnostics. And she also talked about the impact on society how things fall apart when you have people in their major wage earning years or leaders of families that are that are getting sick. And that's when this light bulb went off. And, you know, I was like, Epidemia, what's that? I want to do that.

She was talking about retroviruses and reverse transcription and the need for drugs and diagnostics. And she also talked about the impact on society how things fall apart when you have people in their major wage earning years or leaders of families that are that are getting sick. And that's when this light bulb went off. And, you know, I was like, Epidemia, what's that? I want to do that.

And it brought together all the stuff that I was interested in the economics, the politics, the science and I hear that a lot. It's a great field for people who want to solve complex challenges, as you said, and have an impact. And you really need these skills and that big picture thinking and the outside of the box and learning how all these things connect and interrelate with each other.

And it brought together all the stuff that I was interested in the economics, the politics, the science and I hear that a lot. It's a great field for people who want to solve complex challenges, as you said, and have an impact. And you really need these skills and that big picture thinking and the outside of the box and learning how all these things connect and interrelate with each other.

Yeah. And so I think part of the challenge is time, but I've done this at Yale and we're doing it now. There's a need, I think, to engage people earlier and teaching them about what public health is. And we have a faculty member here who's running a summer camp And they'll be talking about how drones can be used in public health to help sampling and gather information.

Yeah. And so I think part of the challenge is time, but I've done this at Yale and we're doing it now. There's a need, I think, to engage people earlier and teaching them about what public health is. And we have a faculty member here who's running a summer camp And they'll be talking about how drones can be used in public health to help sampling and gather information.

And so it's gonna be middle school kids. And I think they'll really have a fun time flying the drones and learning about health. And so I think there are things that we can do that way to engage in the conversation. We've worked on pipeline programs.

And so it's gonna be middle school kids. And I think they'll really have a fun time flying the drones and learning about health. And so I think there are things that we can do that way to engage in the conversation. We've worked on pipeline programs.

I haven't learned yet how much is going on here specifically, but there's often programs to expose people in middle school or high school with what you need to do to be an MD or a career in nursing. And we can, I think, partner with those groups and expose them to public health. We do see a lot of people come into public health who originally thought they might

I haven't learned yet how much is going on here specifically, but there's often programs to expose people in middle school or high school with what you need to do to be an MD or a career in nursing. And we can, I think, partner with those groups and expose them to public health. We do see a lot of people come into public health who originally thought they might

view themselves as an MD or going into medicine. By the way, I think it's great to have a combined MD, MPH degree, but we also want those people who don't necessarily want to be a clinician get exposed to public health. So engaging with the community, working with high schools. We also have folks in our biostatistics department who are going out into public schools in Minnesota and working on

view themselves as an MD or going into medicine. By the way, I think it's great to have a combined MD, MPH degree, but we also want those people who don't necessarily want to be a clinician get exposed to public health. So engaging with the community, working with high schools. We also have folks in our biostatistics department who are going out into public schools in Minnesota and working on