MPH-EHS student aims to bring population health focus to career in medicine
Meet Samir Atai, a MPH student specializing in environmental health sciences spending his summer exploring how enjoying time outdoors affects mental and physical health.
What inspired you to pursue an MPH?
During my undergraduate studies, I had hoped to attend medical school soon after completing my degree. As the time came to graduate, however, I wanted more out of my education and time at The Ohio State University and thought that a Master of Public Health would enrich my understanding of health while simultaneously being an opportunity to gain new perspective. Medicine tends to focus on the individual, but public health’s focus on population health and large-scale contributors to disease can help explain just how or why a patient visits a hospital.
What public health topics interest you the most?
The environmental health sciences program has heavily focused on hazards, exposure and associated adverse outcomes. Risk assessment has been my favorite topic. Risk assessment identifies hazards, studies doses and their respective outcomes, estimates exposure and characterizes risk. It has obvious real-world relevance and applications in regulating and managing hazards and exposure.
What have you enjoyed most about the program?
The coursework is diverse and has allowed me to learn from a variety of professors who specialize in different fields. So far, all of classes have been fascinating and have provided me with examples of how course material may be applied in real-life situations. I have also taken courses that I would have never had expected or experienced otherwise. Class sizes are small and allow for more personal relationships with my fellow classmates and with the professor.
You’re completing your applied practice experience this summer at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Can you tell us about what you’re working on there?
I have been working with Ohio’s licensing coordinator on a review study. Exploring existing literature, we are investigating how spending time outdoors and engaging in outdoor activities affects mental and physical health. The relationship between outdoor exercise and human health is well known, but gaps exist in the scientific literature. These gaps and current research will be outlined in a final summary document. After its completion, the document will be presented to the leadership at the Department of Natural Resources to help inform the organization’s future investment and decision making.
You also work as a graduate research associate in a CPH lab. What do you like most about doing research?
I work as a graduate research associate in Assistant Professor Ahmad El Hellani’s laboratory. Using a variety of complex analytical techniques, we quantify various substances found in commercially available tobacco products. Optimizing analytical methods requires trial and error, making progress slow but greatly satisfying. Each technique is different and understanding how to approach a problem based on this requires critical thinking and communication. My time in the lab has allowed to me to contribute to something far greater than myself.
What are your goals for the future?
After completing my MPH, I would like to apply and attend medical school. I am not entirely sure which field I will specialize in. Given my experience with tobacco research, pulmonology or otolaryngology are my two top contenders. I am hoping to use the knowledge and skills I have gained pursuing my MPH to great effect as a medical school student, a training resident and a practicing physician.
