Celeste Mallama and Osefame Ewaleifoh want to provide a behind-the-scenes look into public health at Northwestern University.
Students in the Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill Graduate Training Program in Life Sciences (DGP)’s PhD/MPH Program, they spent the last six months putting together the inaugural edition of the Northwestern Public Health Review (NPHR), which became available on October 8. The biannual publication will serve as a platform for students to communicate about public health news, projects, histories, and opinions.
“NPHR gives students a voice to communicate with the world about what they are doing, as well as with each other and faculty,” said Ewaleifoh.
A second-year student, Ewaleifoh works in the laboratory of Greg Smith, PhD, professor in microbiology-immunology, and studies herpes simplex virus neuroinvasion and transport. Passionate about mental health issues, in the inaugural edition he wrote about potential implications of recent budget cuts to mental healthcare in the state.
Other features include an interview with Jeremiah Stamler, MD, professor emeritus of preventive medicine, an essay from the first dual degree PhD/MPH student, and reflections from current students on their field experiences and internships.
“If you know you have the opportunity to publish something and share what you have done, such as a field experience, it gives you an incentive to think about your experience more deeply and write about it more clearly,” said Ewaleifoh.
Mallama wrote about her field experience this summer at the Illinois Department of Public Health.
She works in the laboratory of Nicholas Cianciotto, PhD, professor in microbiology-immunology and director of the DGP, examining the interaction between the bacteria Legionella pneumophila and the host’s innate immune system.
“I feel like this publication helps broaden the possibility that you can do both basic science and public health research, and helps other students understand how these interests can be merged,” Mallama said.
The pair hope to get more students involved in the project as writers and editors, especially students with diverse interests such as law, business, and engineering.
Print editions of NPHR can be found in the Galter Health Sciences Library and admissions offices.
The project is funded by the Program in Public Health and The Graduate School of Northwestern University.
