- Our dual degree program offers a customized MPH program through in person and online coursework at the SPH and shared credit for public health related components of the LSOM curriculum.
- Both degrees can be completed in 4 years, saving time and money. A 5-year track is also available. Flexibility and customization in the program allows students to combine traditional MD preparation with the MPH practicum requirement.
M.D./M.P.H. Student Spotlight
Why Public Health?
It is estimated that only 10-20% of a person’s health is attributable to their clinical care. The other 80-90% of modifiable factors that influence health, including a person’s physical environment, socioeconomic environment, and health behavior, fall under the realm of Public Health. While my MD will equip me to readily recognize and treat disease, my MPH has given me a lens to see and address the health of patients within their larger context.
What was your UTHealth School of Public Health Practicum?
For my practicum, I organized a team-based adult nutrition program at a Muslim mosque in San Antonio. After surveying this community to identify their health concerns, our research team led by Dr. Fozia Ali identified nutrition as the community’s top health priority. In response to these results, I applied for and received a CSL grant to create the “Healthy Choices Team,” a platform for community members to learn about, discuss, and practice healthy nutrition together. I adapted a four-month nutritional curriculum for this population and organized a multi-disciplinary team of medical and dental students, respiratory therapists, registered dietitians, behavioral psychologists, and Family Medicine residents and faculty to facilitate the sessions. Since the end of the program, Healthy Choices Team members continue to meet regularly via Zoom to share recipes and tips for healthier living. Our team is currently organizing a second round of Healthy Choices Team sessions scheduled for this fall.
Please describe what you are doing during your "MPH year."
I am currently taking a leave of absence from medical school between MS2 and MS3 to serve as a COVID-19 Response Research Intern under Dr. Barbara Taylor, Infectious Diseases specialist and Assistant Dean of our MD/MPH Program. In this role, I am serving as a research assistant for a Phase 3 vaccine trial and assisting with a project investigating racioethnic disparities in COVID-19 transmission in Bexar County. I am also a team lead for the COVID-19 ID Virtual Outpatient Clinic, a volunteer-run clinic that conducts follow-up visits on all patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through UTHealth in Bexar County.
What is one cause that is dear to your heart?
Over the past year, global environmental sustainability has become increasingly important to me. I am concerned about our rate of carbon emissions, air and water pollution, as well as our unstable global supply of food and fresh water. I am currently educating myself on day-to-day choices that I can make to reduce my impact.
What is your motto?
Chop wood, carry water.
- Past Spotlights:
M.D./M.P.H. Students in the News
- Jordan McMaster, Class of 2021, featured on Texas Public Radio – RAICES Talks to Medical Community About Immigrant Health Concerns.
- Delaney Rawson, Class of 2021 and Alejandra Rodriguez, MS2 - co-presented on Naloxone training results at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP).
- Raul Membreno, Class of 2021 selected to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2019 – 2020 Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP).
- Swetha Maddipuddi, Class of 2022, elected as the Region 3 AMA Student Section Chair-Elect.
- Meredith Hosek, Class of 2023, wins Top Medical Student poster prize at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Office of Research "Virtual Research Day 2020."
- The following students were selected to the Marvin Forland, M.D., Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society:
- Laura Berardo
- Kinsey Dittmar
- Rachel Han
- Sejal Lahoti
- Jordan McMaster
- Delaney Rawson
- Mackenzie Spaniol