Threads of Impact: Recent Episodes
School of Public Health
A student run Podcast series from the School of Public Health, University of California - BerkeleyOur aim is to interview students, faculty and other thought leaders and highlight the importance of the role they play as public health practitioners in addressing population health, systemic racism, health equity and oppression. Together let us explore the various facets of public health.
Wan Naszeerah is a military officer from Brunei currently pursuing the DrPH program at UC Berkeley. Her work experience includes training and research in military health. She is also the co-founder of a social enterprise that facilitates skills training for income generation in Brunei. At Berkeley, she is currently exploring how social media can be used to create positive change in Public Health particularly in the area of infectious diseases.
Shraddha Rikhye, a Dental Practitioner from Southern California joins us to share her journey and experience on the OOMPH program. Shraddha attended dental school in India and US where volunteered in community clinics and witnessed how social economic determinants affect access to healthcare among marginalized communities. This motivated her to pursue a Master of Public Health which she recently completed from UC Berkeley.
Devina Fan, a 2011 UC Berkeley MPH alumni, joins us from the National Eye Institute in this episode. Devina is the Director of NEI’s National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) which is under the Office of Science Communication Public Liaison and Education at the NIH. Previous to her role at the NEI, Devina served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru where she worked with community leaders to address long-standing health issues, additionally she spent time in rural Guatemala as a global public health research fellow focusing on health and social behavior with Guatemalan field workers. Devina also worked at LA Care Health Plan, America’s largest public health plan where she oversaw the community health promoters program at the community outreach and engagement department.
Ms. Sarah Leff is the Title V Director of Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs for the State of California. Sarah holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently works for the Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Division within the California Department of Public Health. Sarah has dedicated her career to MCH, demonstrating a strong commitment to promoting and protecting the health of moms, children, adolescents and families in California. In 2018, Sarah transitioned into a leadership role focused on expanding California’s public health systems and strategies aimed at supporting children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN).
In this episode, we interview Dr. Jay Graham, Assistant Professor in Residence in the Environmental Health Sciences Division. Jay and his research team use molecular approaches to study the emergence, transmission and maintenance of pathogens and antibiotic resistance in community settings by incorporating molecular data into population-level analyses. Jay shares insights about how his research contributes to the development of more efficient and effective approaches to scale-up public health initiatives for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
In this episode, we interview Dr. Seema Handu, India Country Director Pronto International. PRONTO International aims to optimize care during birth. They develop and implement innovative training strategies that result in significant improvements in both process and impact measures related to obstetric and neonatal emergency care. Seema shares her experience in working with Pronto and underscores the importance of investing in maternal health.
In this first episode, we talk about our career journeys and what brought us into public health! The speakers are Susan Awor, Rashmi Varma, Premilla Banwait and Kee Rajagopal - who are among our student ambassadors to help plan and lead this effort.