Alumni

Caroline Mandel and her students

Alum and Dietitian Team Aiding Wolverines While Separated from Athletic Teams

Caroline Mandel, MS ’96

Public health alum Caroline Mandel is director of performance nutrition for the University of Michigan athletic department. Since March 12, when all collegiate competition and practice ceased, she and her staff face a new challenge—keeping student-athletes healthy and well at home during a pandemic.

Patrick Shannon

In the Business of Keeping People Alive: Notes from a Public Health Judge

Hon. Patrick Shannon, MPH ’92

Judge Patrick Shannon looks forward to Mondays, when he sees firsthand the spectrum of problems that arise from the current national opioid epidemic. The stories he hears include abuse, neglect, and mental health. Instead of handing out jail sentences, Shannon has helped implement “the public health approach” in offering alternatives to jail time—prevention, intervention, and treatment.

Lucie Kalousova

Tobacco Control: A Success Story with a Side Story

Lucie Kalousova, PhD ’17

As a doctoral student, Lucie Kalousova knew she needed a dissertation topic that would make a meaningful contribution to improving population health and closing health disparities. The academic rigor and spirit of collaboration she found at Michigan helped her meld public health and social sciences into research that helps mitigate the adverse effects of smoking on minority and low-SES groups.

Rohan Jeremiah

Family Matters, Community Matters: Challenging Opportunities in Public Health Practice

Rohan Jeremiah, MPH ’06

As alum and public health professor Rohan Jeremiah knows well, public health does its best work when it remembers the inherent strengths and unique qualities of the communities it seeks to serve. This means paying close attention to local cultures and thinking creatively about ways to turn challenges into opportunities.

Ainash Childebayeva

Drilling for DNA: The Unexpected Adventures of a Public Health Anthropologist

Ainash Childebayeva, PhD ’19

Could that researcher in goggles sitting in a lab really be an anthropologist? And how much adventure will they actually have? From the top of the Himalayas and the Andes to the insides of cells, Ainash Childebayeva has combined anthropology, genetics, and public health to uncover secrets of human history and keep today’s vulnerable populations healthy.