Jason Egge, M.S. Student
 Jason Egge has worked a pharmacist at the VA Medical Center in Iowa City since he received his PharmD degree from the University of Iowa in 2002. He is now an Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. He is in his second year as a part-time student in the Epidemiology MS program.
Jason is from Rochester, Minnesota, where he went to Mayo High School. He studied pre-pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 3 years before transferring to Iowa to attend pharmacy school.
Why did you decide to continue your education in the field of epidemiology? What area of epidemiology are you interested in?
The VA has a wealth of resources and opportunities with which to conduct clinical research on a local, regional, and national level. My involvement in the epidemiology program provides the opportunity to develop the tools I need to become a successful clinical researcher.
I am interested in outcomes-based research, particularly with regard to medication, and public health policy in the veteran population.
Has it been difficult juggling your pharmacist job at the VA with your epidemiology studies?
While it certainly utilizes my time-management skills, it’s a remarkable situation in that I am able to immediately apply new concepts within my daily activities at work. Clinical pharmacy practice and epidemiology are complementary fields, and my knowledge in each enhances the other.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with new and prospective Epidemiology students?
The epidemiology department is truly an intimate learning environment within a large Big Ten university. Get to know your classmates and instructors. Each is a resource of experience and knowledge, as you are for them. Developing these relationships will enhance your time within the program and may lead to opportunities in the future.
Laura Lee, M.P.H. Student
 Laura Lee spent last summer in Thailand working on an Asian Flu study for AFRIMS (Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences) as her MPH Practicum experience. She also took the opportunity to visit South Korea where she was born and where she still has family.
Laura is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Iowa with her BA in Psychology before joining the MPH Epidemiology Subtrack program in 2006.
What kinds of things did you do while you were in Thailand?
I was situated in a small town called Kamphaeng Phet, where a satellite research laboratory of AFRIMS is located. I acted as a research coordinator keeping a primary investigator, Dr. Gregory Gray, and other research collaborators informed of the situation in Thailand. Because this study involved multiple sites, it was important to be attentive to any changes and new information through weekly conference calls and frequent email correspondences. I relayed updated information to local staff and helped a researcher/translator to revise a research protocol to obtain an IRB approval from the Thai Ministry of Public Health. I visited villages and public health offices to collect demographic and animal information to be used in selecting field sites. Also, I had a change to learn a lot about the AFRIMS’ current research project looking at dengue virus transmission among primary school and village children.
I took several short trips when I was in Thailand. The most memorable place was the Sukhothai Historical Park located in the first capital of Thailand. The ancient temples were very unique but they had some Khmer influence making them look similar to ones in Ankor Wat, Cambodia.
How did your courses and experiences as an MPH student help prepare you for them?
I was required to apply principles I learned in five core courses especially in epidemiology and biostatistics. Even understanding the research protocol before I left for this trip required much knowledge I gained from the core courses. I am taking Dr. Gray’s Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases course this semester and I believe this course would have been a great resource if I had taken it before this trip!
What are your plans after graduation?
My interest is in infectious diseases and international public health. I am hoping to work at a local or at a state level doing applied epidemiology work to build experience before going overseas preferably Asia to work as an epidemiologist.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with new and prospective Epidemiology students?
If you have an interest in infectious diseases or international public health, I would highly recommend getting experience overseas. It really broadens your perspective and you have a chance to apply knowledge you learned in a classroom in a real public health setting. Especially with imminent threat of avian influenza, it was very educational to see a real public health threat and how it was being handled by researchers at first hand. I had a chance to interact and learn from several professionals from various international organizations. Foremost, I was able to form strong friendship with many of the people I worked with.
Margaret Chorazy, Ph.D. Student
 Margaret Chorazy began her PhD program in Epidemiology in 2005. She is continuing her interest in infectious disease epidemiology from her program in microbial diseases at Yale University, where she received her MPH in 2004. She is a Presidential Fellow at Iowa currently working as a research assistant in the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Margaret is from Schaumburg, Illinois, and got her BA in Biology from Illinois Wesleyan.
Why did you decide to continue your epidemiology education at the University of Iowa?
Through my MPH training, I developed an interest in zoonotic diseases and wanted to continue to pursue research interests in this area. The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases provided an excellent opportunity for me to do so. Few, if any, other accredited schools of public health provide specific training for emerging infectious diseases or zoonotic diseases.
What experiences at Iowa do you feel have been most significant in your epidemiology training?
My graduate research assistantship at the CEID has provided me with invaluable training in molecular and serological lab techniques, large database management, and field operations. Preparing for my dissertation research has provided me with an opportunity to design a large study with original data collection, to gain experience applying for grants, and to form associations with other university research centers, state and federal agencies, and private industry.
What are your career plans?
Ideally, I’d like to find a faculty position either at a university interested in extending public health and epidemiologic training/education to undergraduates in related science programs or at an accredited school of public health where I would teach courses related to infectious disease epidemiology to graduate students. I also have interests in consulting and scientific writing.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with new and prospective Epidemiology students?
I would encourage students to be active members of the epidemiology community by taking leadership positions, working as research assistants, designing their own studies for dissertations and theses, attending conferences, and publishing papers.
I’d also encourage students to take courses outside of the department and outside of the college whenever possible to complete their educational experience. For example, the Department of Geography and the Department of Microbiology offer a number of courses which may be of interest to epidemiology students.
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