Arpana Mangadu
Specialization: Environmental Health Sciences
Agency Name: Ferguson RISE Fellowship
Agency Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Every year, Public Health Buckeyes take what they learn in their Master of Public Health programs and put it to practice. These applied practice experiences help students meet educational and professional development goals.
“Because of the amount of work that I put into my project, I was able to begin writing a first-author publication. I never thought I would be doing this as a master’s student, but it has been an amazing experience so far.”
Question:
Talk about your experience as a Ferguson RISE fellow.
The Ferguson RISE Fellowship was such an amazing experience because I got hands-on experience designing and conducting a research project that can be used to improve the health and well-being of children with cerebral palsy. My mentor was very open to my ideas of incorporating environmental investigations in my project even though environmental exposures have not been a focus point in prior work with the data.
I worked with data from the National Survey of Children’s Health and used STATA to create logistic regression models to analyze the relationship among cerebral palsy outcome and predictor variables and social determinants.
I analyzed and interpreted the results to warrant further research on the link between environmental exposures and risk of cerebral palsy in children. I also examined the how and if socioeconomic and demographic factors result in the variance of risk for cerebral palsy. Finally, I reviewed literature to understand the pathway of prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants such as pesticide and cigarette smoke leading to increased risk of cerebral palsy in children.
At the end of the Ferguson RISE Fellowship, we were flown out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia to present our research and network with fellowship alumni who now work at the CDC. This allowed me to see what types of careers I will be able to get once I graduate.
Question:
What advice would you give to students completing their APE now?
Make sure the APE you find aligns with your interests. The APE is designed for you to get practical experience in public health so it can be as helpful as you make it. If you do it to only check a box, you might be missing out on an experience that further fuels your public health passion. Also, be sure to communicate with your APE preceptor about what you want to gain from your time at the organization. This communication is essential to making it a fulfilling experience.