UW Department of Epidemiology

05/29/2026

Don't miss Omolara Akingba's defense: "STI Burden, PrEP Use, and Client Experiences in Integrated Pharmacy-Based Sexual Health Services for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kisumu, Kenya". Congratulations, Omolara! Event details: https://buff.ly/3sgiFJW

05/29/2026

On Monday, June 1, Ruby Lucas will defend their dissertation: "Characterizing sexual and reproductive health needs, experiences, and disparities in care access among transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive communities in the United States." Good luck, Ruby! Event details: https://buff.ly/AvY8jZk

05/28/2026

TOMORROW at 10:00 AM, David Coomes will be defending "Geographic mortality and morbidity disparities in the US and Washington State: Migration, rurality, and wildfire smoke. Best of luck, David! event details: https://buff.ly/qFRH0qb

05/27/2026

Thank you to Matt Doxey, Senior Applied AI Engineer at Google, for joining yesterday for a fascinating discussion on the future of AI-driven public health surveillance. His presentation, “Towards Agentic Health Surveillance,” highlighted the exciting potential for AI-driven systems to move public health. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn from his expertise spanning Google, WA DOH, and IHME.

05/20/2026

We're proud to celebrate outstanding people in the Epi department!

From providing exceptional support to students and faculty, to advancing global health research and strengthening the evidence base for injury prevention policy, each of these awardees bring dedication and compassion to our community.

Congratulations to John, Audrey, and Nicole on this well-deserved recognition, and thank you for the important work you do.

Outstanding Staff: John Paulson

05/19/2026

On May 26, join Google Senior Applied AI Engineer Matt Doxey for a conversation on how foundation models, predictive operational intelligence, and agentic AI systems are reshaping disease forecasting and public health decision-making. Drawing from experience in global health, infectious disease modeling, and AI applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, Doxey will explore how emerging technologies can help researchers and public health agencies better respond to rapidly changing health threats.

RSVP to attend: https://buff.ly/8T0vsIV

05/18/2026

TOMORROW: Aiyumi Saito will defend her dissertation: "Towards Whole-Person Health: Exploring Gut-Brain Axis and Low Back Pain Using a Traditional Indian Medicine-Informed Theoretical Model." Good luck tomorrow, Aiyumi! Event details: https://buff.ly/JrGuG6V

05/13/2026

“If you want to change the system, you have to understand the system.” Congratulations to Epi faculty Marie Spiker and Food Systems colleagues Jennifer Otten and Sarah Collier! In this interview, the team discusses why collaboration is central to food systems research and teaching.

Sarah Collier, Jennifer Otten and Marie Spiker honored for interdisciplinary instruction and mentorship.

05/13/2026

Join us TOMORROW for Nicole Asa's dissertation defense. Nicole will be presenting on "Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Washington State and their impact on criminal legal system interactions." Congratulations, Nicole! Event details: https://buff.ly/hIXWjYz

05/12/2026

Congratulations to Epi faculty Anjum Hajat for receiving the 2026 UW Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award! Among the University’s highest honors for graduate mentorship, it recognizes a faculty member whose work reflects an exceptional commitment to supporting graduate students. We invite you to celebrate Anjum and the many awardees at the Awards of Excellence ceremony at 3:30 p.m. on June 6 in Meany Hall!

Anjum Hajat receives 2026 Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award