Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Burbage.
Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My career in public started with my love for medicine. I took a gap year after graduation to conduct research when I learned about the field of Health Education. I fell in love. While traditionally, the field of medicine seeks to treat diseases, health education aims to prevent diseases, and this is what I loved about health education and the public health field. Thus, I earned my Ph.D. in Health Education from the University of Cincinnati (UC) with an emphasis in Behavioral Analysis. My M.S. is in Health Education with an emphasis in Community Health. During my time in graduate school, I had the invaluable opportunity to meet wonderful faculty and have amazing mentors. I was able to teach public health courses, work in communities, travel abroad, and work on research projects I was passionate about. All these experiences had a commonality: social justice in public health.
After graduate school, I was awarded the prestigious Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellowship. This fellowship is through The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. I worked under the National Academy of Medicine branch and assisted in policy research, initiatives, and mental health promotion that impacts the cognitive, affective, and behavioral health among children, youth, and families. Then, in 2020, I was appointed to the Executive Office of the President’s SPEC subcommittee of the esteemed President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). This appointment has allowed me to collaborate with other professionals to influence the future of STEM innovation and draft a report to the President of the United States. Again, these experiences focused on disparities in health and STEM education which is a component of social justice.
While I love working on social justice issues via health policy, my other passion was academia. I knew as a faculty member, I could address social justice, equity, and health disparities through community projects, research, advocacy, and in the classroom. The students are the future of public health, and I wanted to help guide them so they can become upcoming change-makers and make a positive impact in public health. Thus, the experiences I had addressing health disparities and social justice led me to where I am now, an Assistant Professor at UC.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Once starting my faculty position, I was able to get involved in many community and student projects that focused on social justice, one of them being Social Justice & Public Health Special Interest Group (SIG).
The journey to launch SIG was not easy. It started out as a Journal Club and, due to the pandemic, was launched as a virtual Journal Club. The virtual aspect of the club, coupled with the pandemic, created low attendance. Also, the main aspect of the club was reviewing public health and social justice literature. While some students were interested in research, many wanted to learn more about the practical implications of public health and community work. Thus, after a year of Journal Club, it morphed into SIG.
The Social Justice & Public Health Special Interest Group was created a few years ago as part of the department’s commitment to anti-racism and to address the limitations of the Journal Club. This organization was an opportunity for students to discuss topics related to social justice, equity, and diversity in public health via multiple formats. Students got to know their peers, gain knowledge through thoughtful discussion, and learn from diverse perspectives. In addition, SIG provided students the opportunity to be informed of current public health and social justice literature, learn more about community health approaches, and consider key aspects of health equity while fostering leadership skills. Most importantly, it was a safe place for all students to feel welcomed and heard.
Since starting SIG, we have utilized many learning formats, from speakers to video discussions. Each event, we try to be informal, engaging, and create a safe place for students to thrive. While it was a bumpy road launching the idea of a club centered around public health and social justice, we have found our footing, and the momentum is still going strong!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I became a faculty member in Public Health Sciences at UC in 2020. In 2023, I became the Concentration Director of Global Health for the MPH program. I am also Co-leader of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) in the Center for Environmental Genetics at UC. These appointments have allowed me the unique opportunity to work on projects dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children, adolescents, minorities, and other underserved populations. My research agenda involves examining factors related to determinants of health, substance use, and mental health among these populations and how public health policies affect health behaviors. I also get to focus on one of my greatest passions which is global health. I continuously seek to examine current health initiatives worldwide as well as how individuals can overcome cultural barriers to healthy behaviors. I have traveled to Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Morocco to learn more about foreign public health initiatives. In 2023, I was selected as a visiting professor for International Faculty Week 2023 at Tecnológico de Monterrey, where I engaged students and faculty about global health issues. Moreover, I co-led university students on a cultural study abroad program to Botswana and started a public health study abroad in Vietnam which will launch in 2024. In 2022, I was awarded the Fulbright Specialist Award, where I will collaborate with a university abroad within the next three years. In addition, I am the recipient of the Dan Wartenberg Memorial Fund Award via the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. It is a small cohort of researchers that will be honored for their community-engaged projects. I will get the award at a luncheon in Taiwan later in 2023.
As I keep saying, health disparities and social justice have been a focus for me in my career. While I am proud of many projects I have worked on, I am delighted about the partnership I have maintained with the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and of the students that help me each year. As co-leader of the CEC, I have collaborated with the CMC for two years in a row to offer innovative activities to children during summer camps. Ph.D. and MPH students partner up to develop lesson plans under my mentorship and then go to the camps to lead the activities. This gives the campers a chance to learn about STEM fields and environmental health issues. This partnership with the Museum Center also gives UC students the chance to engage in health education. My students are able to apply what they learn in their courses in a real-world setting. This is an invaluable opportunity for them to grow as public health professionals, health educators, researchers, and future leaders in public health and environmental health. Next year, I am expanding this to undergraduates. Each team of students comes from different programs, which creates an interdisciplinary component as well as a STEM pipeline for undergraduates up to graduate students. The students that volunteer to participate in camps always do an amazing job. Their passion for public health and health education is evident when they are leading camp sessions. The kids always light up when engaging my students.
I am most proud of the growth SIG has experienced. Since SIG’s creation, we have grown exponentially. We have students across programs and campuses coming to our events. Through SIG, students have found faculty mentors, worked on research projects, gained public health volunteer experience, and discovered areas of interest they were not aware of. We hold events once a month during the academic year. Past events include seminars, panel of experts and community organizations, QPR training, workshops, lunch and video discussions, and hosting a career fair. We are excited to expand this year to host a field trip to the Freedom Center as well as collaborate with the International Graduate Student Association on hosting a research symposium for graduate students to showcase their work in public health and social justice.
I want to mention that none of this would be possible without my students. SIG has become a success due to the hard work and passion of the SIG executive board and co-chairs. They always strive to make SIG accessible and relevant to students and develop meaningful events focused on social justice. I am continuously amazed by their dedication to social justice in public health. As I said earlier, SIG can help students foster leadership skills, and it is clear that the SIG executive board are all growing into future public health leaders. Please check out our SIG webpage and Instagram to learn more about each co-chair! In addition, the students that attend the events always engage in meaningful discussion and help to create a positive and conducive environment to grow and thrive.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
The field of public health is very meaningful, and you will have the chance to help improve the health of people and their communities through the projects you work on. Whether it is in a hospital, NGO, academia, or the government, you will work on significant projects and meet wonderful people. I will note that it is a field that is consistently changing, so you must be able to adapt to change! Advice I would give someone starting out: never forget why you entered this field. While the public health field does bring enjoyment, it can also lead to frustration. The road for me was bumpy at times, but I am delighted to have the opportunity to mentor students and work on projects, such as SIG, that discuss social justice and health disparities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/burbagml
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sig_uc/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-burbage
- Other: https://www.med.uc.edu/depart/eh/divisions/public-health/current-students/special-interest-group
