“More Potent Strain of E. Coli Feared…” Info Re: Public Health
This message is from Dr. Jo Freudenheim, Professor and Chair of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at UB
“More Potent Strain of E. Coli Feared…”
Regrettably, this was one of the headlines in the September 19 edition of the New York Times. A particularly virulent serotype of E. Coli, which has now been linked to spinach consumption, has caused severe illness for more than 100 people and at least one death across the country.
Stop to think for a moment, though, how many lives are lost every year due to similar occurrences. Conversely, think about how many more lives are saved through the prevention or early detection of these diseases. The work of careful scientists working in state and local health departments and in federal agencies led to the recognition that this potentially deadly bacteria was being transmitted by a commercial food product that was distributed across the country. With that knowledge, the scientists were able to get the culprit, in this case contaminated fresh spinach, out of the food supply.
Most people don’t know that many of the scientists doing this kind of work are epidemiologists. Epidemiologists work to understand the determinants of disease in human populations and develop ways to prevent it. The work of public health officers working in the trenches to prevent disease and of other epidemiologists teaching, doing research and working to prevent disease is of critical importance in our world where diseases spread rapidly and the needs of populations are great.
At the UB Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (within the School of Public Health and Health Professions), our faculty teach about epidemiology and public health as well as do research on cancer, cardiovascular disease, women’s heath, diabetes, chronic diseases of aging and child health. We also perform research on the impact of nutrition, physical activity and environmental and occupational exposures on health.
The work of public health officers working in the field to prevent disease and of other epidemiologists teaching, doing research and working to prevent disease is of critical importance in our world where diseases spread rapidly and the needs of populations are great.
If working in an international, national or local health agency interests you or if you would like to do research on human health and disease, we invite you to visit the Social and Preventive Medicine web site to find out more about the role that you might play in preventing disease and saving lives. You might be surprised to learn how fulfilling a career in epidemiology can be and how large a contribution you might make with the skills you would have as an epidemiologist. To learn more about our program, please feel free to call the graduate director, Dr. Carl Li 829-2975 ext 618 or email CarlLi@Buffalo.edu.
Of course, admission to the department is competitive. If you make it, though, you will be part of a great team determined to improve and save lives in our local and global communities.
Thank you for you interest in helping others and we hope to hear from you soon.
