Career Change to Epidemiology

[epi_phd_seeker]

I studied maths and economics as an undergraduate, and I'm currently doing research in economics. During my research, I stumbled upon the field of epidemiology while solving a model using survival analysis, and I've became interested in it.

My apologies if this has been asked before, but my questions are:

1. How can a person, with close to zero background in public health or epidemiology, find out if the field of epidemiology is for him? I attempted reading journals published by different epidemiologists, but I'm starting from scratch that I don't even know where to begin. I'm not a student anymore, so asking random professors in nearby universities doesn't sound like a good option either.

2. If I'm interested in mathematical modelling of diseases and is looking for academic/research career path, it is my knowledge that I need a PhD in epidemiology. How can I prepare for PhD in epidemiology, with a focus in programming and constructing mathematical models? I'm not really interested in lab experiences or fieldwork (yet). If it is relevant, I'm well-versed with many programming languages (R, Stata, Matlab, C++, Python, etc) and had good undergrad GPA (>3.9) from top 15 university. I've written papers during undergrad and now as a research associate, but they are all in the field of economics.

3. Pertaining to question 2, I've read that most people go through MPH before doing PhD in epidemiology. However, I'm financially constrained. How common is funding for MPH? It would be great if someone can point me to resources that I could look at. 🙂

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[wwmmkk]

You have a pretty unique career path in mind! I am interested to see where you will end up and hope others chime in with advice too. People come to public health from a variety of fields; you won't be the first economist admissions committees have seen by a long shot.

MPH programs are not very well funded, although it sounds like you'd be a top applicant to them and may be able to score some $$. Since you are so interested in academia and mathematical modeling, you might also consider an MS in biostatistics or epi, which could be less expensive/better funded than an MPH.

Have you considered doing a public health certificate program, or just taking a one-off class? There are several online or in person options depending on where you are located. That might be a more cost-effective way to explore public health and develop well-articulated research interests. The credits could be put towards an MPH or PhD if you choose to continue further.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

You might not even need to be *in* epidemiology, which would save you the early MPH route. You could do a PhD in population biology (my interest), which focuses on mathematical modelling. PhDs in epi tend to focus more on improving methodology of modelling, not necessarily the nitty-gritty biology side.

Some examples of people who do that are below:
UC Davis Ecology and Evolution and a lot of people at the CDC/Emory's PBEE department.

Hope that helps! 🙂

 

[epi_phd_seeker]

Thank you @Lost In Transcription for your reply! I've briefly skimmed through population biology, and journals written by faculties in Emory's PBEE department, but I think my interest lies closer to epidemiology/biostatistics. I'm slightly less comfortable with nitty-gritty biology side, though I'm open to learning about them 🙂

@wwmmkk Yes I've always been a proponents of switching fields to encourage more diversities and new ideas in the field! Masters in epi or biostatistics is fine with me as well, and even better if they have more fundings. Do you know any accredited public health certificate programs that I could take? Or do you suggest that I become a part-time student in a nearby university?