PHI/CDC Global Health Podcast: Stories from the Field

Episode 23: Health Equity & Data Modernization at CDC with Jerome Bronson, MS

Jerome Bronson, MS currently works in CDC’s Office of the Deputy Director for Public Health Service and Implementation Science, serving as a PHI/CDC Global Health Fellow focused on health equity and data modernization. He is also a DrPH candidate at Jackson State University, concentrating in Health, Policy, and Management. Jerome discusses his path to the fellowship and his work in health equity. To learn more about Jerome, you can access his website at jeromebronson.com.

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Episode 22: From CDC Zimbabwe to the WHO with Mayuko Takamiya, MPH

Mayuko Takamiya, MPH currently works for the World Heath Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Previously, she was an Epidemiology Fellow for two years for CDC in Zimbabwe, which is part of CDC’s Center for Global Health. She discusses her path that lead her to the fellowship, her assignment as a fellow and what she’s working on now.

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Episode 21: 2022 PHI/CDC Fellows’ Showcase with Fellows Will, Sarah, Caleb, Nessa and Malavika

In July 2022, the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program invited fellows to highlight their work throughout the year in a virtual event called the Fellows’ Showcase. Fellows and CDC mentors and CDC host office staff from the US and all over the world tuned in to hear what our fellows had been working on. Fellows based in the US and the country of Georgia are highlighted in this episode. Topics included capacity building, operations and relationships. The guests this episode are Mike Sage MPH, Will Jardell MPH, Sarah Legare MPH, CPHQ, Caleb Ward MPH, Dr. Nessa Ryan, and Malavika Divakaran MPH.

Episode 20: Designing for Systems Innovation & Leadership with Lucy Ellis & Gareth Durrant

Lucy Ellis is Program Architect and Advisor of the Unnamed Road, part of Designing for Systems Innovation and Leadership (DSIL). She spent several years working on leadership development and organizational design in CDC’s Center for Global Health, both internally and with health systems around the world. She now works with The Ready helping organizations and leaders from all sorts of sectors cut through bureaucracy and hierarchy that are holding them back in order to meet the complexity and uncertainty in which we all work today.

Gareth Durrant is a Designer and Facilitator for the Unnamed Road, part of Designing for Systems Innovation and Leadership (DSIL). He is an expert in ensuring successful projects can merge private sector innovation and development. He uses human-centered design tools matched with bold facilitation skills to leverage public health strengths and apply those to evolving challenges in the social impact world.

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Episode 19: Perspectives from the Field with CDC in Malawi with Dr. Alinune Kabaghe

Dr. Alinune Kabaghe is a medical doctor and an Epidemiologist for the Epidemiology and Strategic Information Branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Malawi. At the time of recording this interview, Dr. Kabaghe was in a rural area of Malawi responding to the polio outbreak. He discusses his past work addressing malaria, and current work in global health on HIV, COVID-19 and the polio response. Thank you to current fellow, Reno Stephens, MPH, who also contributed to this episode.

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Episode 18: Supporting CDC in Malawi with Tigest Mekonnen, MPH

Tigest Mekonnen, MPH is a current PhD student at Emory University and a former Surveillance Fellow for the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch for CDC Malawi, which is part of CDC’s Center for Global Health. Tigest discusses her path to the fellowship, her work as a fellow before and after the pandemic began, and lessons learned along the way. Thank you to current fellow, Mallory Michalak, MPH, who also contributed to this episode.

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Episode 17: Perspectives from CDC Central America with Dr. Janell Wright

Dr. Janell Wright is the Regional Director of the Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis for CDC Central America, which is part of CDC’s Center for Global Health. Janell started at CDC as a fellow and is now a mentor for the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program. She is based in Guatemala and previously worked for CDC in Vietnam and Kazakhstan. Thank you to her fellow, Cristine Gutierrez, MPH, who contributed to this episode.

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Episode 16: Global Health Policy with Evan Pye, MPH

Evan Pye, MPH is a Program Management Fellow for CDC’s Center for Global Health based in Washington D.C.. Evan discusses global health policy, his work responding to COVID-19 within the Emergency Operations Center at CDC and his previous work experience with WHO and various organizations in Uganda.

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Episode 15: Outbreak Investigation and Response with Danielle Fernandez, MPH

Danielle Fernandez, MPH is a Global Health Surveillance Fellow with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, part of the Division of Global HIV and TB at CDC’s Center for Global Health. Danielle discusses her previous work in outbreak investigation, including Ebola and Zika. She elaborates on her work on HIV case surveillance with CDC in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, along with COVID-19 with CDC.

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Episode 14: Global Epidemiology & Immunization Safety with Courtney Sciarratta, MPH

Courtney Sciarratta, MPH, is a PHI/CDC Global Epidemiology Fellow with the Global Immunization Safety Team in the Global Immunization Division at CDC’s Center for Global Health. Courtney discusses her time spent working in global health in Latin America and Uganda, and her work on global immunization and the COVID-19 response with CDC.

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Episode 13: Medical Epidemiology at CDC’s Center for Global Health with Dr. Hammad Ali

Originally from Pakistan, Dr. Hammad Ali first became a physician before working in public health. He discusses his path to CDC, shares advice for those interested in the world of global health, and discusses his many field experiences around the world as a Medical Epidemiologist.

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Episode 12: Following Your Purpose and Creating Meaningful Mentorship in Global Health with Grace Adofoli, MPH MSW

Grace Adofoli, MPH/MSW is a Project Manager for Chickasaw Nation Industries. For 2.5 years, Grace served as a Program Management Fellow for CDC’s Center for Global Health in the Overseas Operations Office in Atlanta, Georgia and remains close with her CDC mentors. She discusses her time as a fellow, her passion for holistic public health and the African diaspora, and shares advice for others on following a sense of purpose and building their careers in public health.

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Episode 11: From Ebola to COVID-19: Life as a Behavioral Scientist at CDC with Dr. Neetu Abad

Neetu Abad, PhD is a Behavioral Scientist for the Immunization Systems Branch at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, and serves as a mentor for the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program. She has worked at CDC for over 10 years and holds a PhD in social psychology. She discusses her path to global health and her work on vaccines and outbreaks as a Behavioral Scientist, from responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to her current work on the COVID-19 response in the US.

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Episode 10: Reflecting on Over 30 Years at CDC with Mike Sage, MPH

Mike Sage, MPH is Program Director for the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program. He currently holds an appointment as Guest Researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and serves as a senior consultant to the Public Health Institute (PHI). In this episode, Mike reflects on his career of 34 years at CDC which included leadership positions in the Public Health Portfolio Management Program, the Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, and Policy, Evaluation, and Planning at the National Center for Environmental Health, among others.

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Episode 9: Vaccine Introduction as a Fellow and Epidemiologist at CDC with Anyie Li, MPH

Anyie Li, MPH is an Epidemiologist and CDC Foundation Field Employee for the Vaccine Introduction Team, in the Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, within CDC’s Center for Global Health. Anyie is an alumna of the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program and served as a Fellow from 2016 to 2018 on the same team she currently works on in Atlanta, Georgia. She discusses her first exposure to public health working on the Thailand/Myanmar border with refugees, as well as her current work on the HPV vaccine and COVID-19 response.

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Episode 8: Global Health Recruitment & Fellowship Support with Natascia Al-Kass, MS

Natascia Al-Kass, MS, is the Recruitment & Fellowship Support Coordinator for the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program, based in Oakland, CA. Natascia shares her expertise in leading the program’s recruitment process and supporting domestic and overseas-based fellows throughout the program year.

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Episode 7: Global Health Outreach & Virtual Networking with Roara Michael, MHA

Roara Michael, MHA, is the University Liaison Program Officer at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health based in Washington D.C.. Roara leads PHI/CDC’s outreach efforts with universities and public health programs across the country, and supports Fellows seeking professional development opportunities.

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Episode 6: Strengthening Access to Immunizations with Aybüke Koyuncu, MPH

Aybüke Koyuncu, MPH, is a PHI/CDC Global Epidemiology Fellow within the Immunization Systems Branch at CDC’s Center for Global Health. In this episode, Aybüke discusses her work supporting interventions aimed at improving coverage of routine immunizations and data analysis on public knowledge, attitude and practices related to immunizations around the world.

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Episode 5: Lessons in Global Health Security at CDC with Maureen Bartee, MPH

Maureen Bartee, MPH, is the Associate Director for Global Health Security within CDC’s Center for Global Health. She holds 22 years of experience with CDC, and currently leads CDC’s work on their global health security agenda, policy and strategy discussions with other US agencies and international partners.

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Episode 4: Emergency Response & Monitoring & Evaluating Outbreaks with Samantha Gross, MPH

PHI/CDC Monitoring & Evaluation Fellow, Samantha Gross, MPH, discusses her experience with CDC Center for Global Health’s Division of Global HIV & Tuberculosis. She has held 3 assignments with CDC’s Emergency Operations Center responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Samantha discusses her background working in monitoring and evaluation and global health, and emergency response.

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Episode 3: Mitigating COVID-19 & Supporting CDC Zambia with Robyn Bernstein, MPH

PHI/CDC Surveillance Fellow, Robyn Bernstein, MPH, discusses her experience with CDC Zambia’s Division of Global HIV & Tuberculosis. Robyn also elaborates on her time as Strategic Information Coordinator for the COVID-19 International Task Force- Strategic Information Unit Mitigation Team, part of CDC’s Emergency Operations Center.

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Episode 2: Mapping COVID-19 & Building Global Health Capacity with Greg Chang, MPH

PHI/CDC Surveillance Fellow, Greg Chang, MPH, discusses his experience serving on CDC’s International Epidemiology Team responding to COVID-19 and his work on Population-based HIV Impact Assessments with the Division of Global HIV & Tuberculosis for CDC’s Center for Global Health.

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Episode 1: COVID-19 & the Cruise Ship Task Force with Riley Wagner, MPH

The first episode features Riley Wagner, MPH, who is a Global Program Management Fellow for CDC’s Center for Global Health Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Riley was the first of currently 24 Fellows to be assigned to CDC’s Emergency Operations Center in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Riley discusses her experience on the EOC and elaborates on her work with the Cruise Ship Task Force.

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