I have always wanted to pursue a career related to the medical field, and it wasn't until my freshman year of college that I encountered the area of public health. I was immediately drawn to the specific area of epidemiology and infectious diseases. I am now a junior at the University of Texas majoring in Public Health with a concentration in microbiology and infectious diseases. I find epidemiology so enthralling, as it is implements ways in which we can scientifically and statistically describe diseases and the mortality/morbidity as well as predict how and why they spread. More so, I think the infectious disease aspect is interesting as well, because while the United States has shifted from burden of infectious disease to that of chronic …show more content…
Epidemiology also interests me since it is truly a combination of many different areas as it draws on statistics, clinical medicine, microbiology and many other fields. The internship with the summer institute with the UT School of Public Health would give me hands on experience in public health practice, specifically with opportunities in infectious diseases and epidemiology. I feel that my experiences and classes I have had throughout my time as a public health major will allow me to put my knowledge to use in the real world. I have listed the “Zika and Neglected Tropical Diseases” as my the preference for my first project, as it aligns exactly with my career goals and interests. Zika is a perfect example of how infectious diseases and agents can quickly spread throughout the world due to the ease of travel, and therefore poses a major public health threat. The public health goal is to now figure out how to stop the spread of Zika by possibly eliminating the reservoir and vector, the mosquito. Prevention of Zika also depends on educating at risk populations/geographical areas on the disease and how to avoid becoming infected.There are also a multitude of neglected tropical diseases in parts of the world that receive little attention and therefore little research to prevent mortality and