There aren’t many subjects where you can write about disaster response or Malaria in Tanzania

What made you want to study Public Health at the University of Sheffield?

I am from Sheffield and the university provided a good mix of being a prestigious university while also being close to home. I completed my undergraduate degree in Biology at the university of York during COVID and Public Health felt like the natural progression from that, it being where most of my interests lied, and what I felt like I wanted to pursue a career in. 

What did you enjoy most about studying Public Health here?

The wide range of modules available. I really enjoyed the breadth of subjects on offer within the MPH. This helped keep things interesting and ensured that my public health knowledge isn’t focused entirely in one area. There aren’t many subjects where you can write about disaster response or Malaria in Tanzania.   

What did you focus on for your dissertation?

My dissertation focused on modelling non-pharmaceutical interventions against the COVID-19 variant omicron in the UK. I did something similar during my undergraduate degree, and I saw this as an opportunity to build upon the things I had learnt in the previous year to improve upon my previous work. 

What are you doing now, and how did studying in Sheffield help you get there?

I currently work as a research assistant in pandemic response planning at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and have just finished a secondment at the UK Health Security Agency. Studying at Sheffield provided me with a perfect knowledge base in epidemiology and other aspects of public health, such as communicable disease control, to be able to apply for these kind of roles.