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Opening Message from your Academic Director

Dear Student Community,


What I love most about October is that we are deep in the collective learning experience in W200G with our newest student community members. We are also celebrating our graduating students who will be completing their Comprehensive Exam, our capstone, in the coming week. It is a gift to have the opportunity to connect with you from the first time you log into bCourses to when your dashboard is replete with a rainbow of tiles from all the courses you participated in and contributed to during your time in the program. Thank you! As is our charge as social change professionals, we are also moving through the celebrations and seemingly intractable challenges fueled by social determinants and fundamental causes. October brings events and festivities honoring Latinx/e and Filipinx American Heritage, Disability Awareness and Employment, and National Coming Out Day, just as we imagine how to respond to the recent ruling on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as communities in the southeastern U.S., Puerto Rico and Pakistan grapple with the social and built devastation of hurricanes and flooding, and as people around the world respond to the protests in Iran, where young people and adults have taken to the streets to demand change. These are just some of the movements and global issues that keep us present with why we are here and also ask us to consider how we can support each other in this work and for emotional resourcing. We are grateful to share in our collegial learning and practice environment and also encourage you to reach out to us as a program as well as lean into each other.  Thank you again for choosing public health!


Warmly,

Evan
 

Important Announcements

Important Dates and Deadlines: 



  • October 17 - Phase I Enrollment for Spring begins.  Important: please enroll in all of your Spring courses during Phase I!  Questions?  Reach out to your Program Manager.
  • October 17 - 23 -  Comprehensive Exam Dates
  • October 20 - Fall Tuition and registration fees: Third installment of Fee Payment Plan due.
  • October 21 - Deadline to add Fall 2 courses with program approval
  • October 24 - Fall 2 course instruction begins

Fill out the OOMPH Student & Alumni Directory Interest Survey!

Access the survey here: https://forms.gle/cAWHTEwM9kmHSez6A

 

Curriculum Updates

Updates to the Spatial Epidemiology Course Series for Public Health: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Public Health (PHW272A) and Applied Spatial Data for Public Health (PHW272C)


  • PHW272A will be a prerequisite for PHW272C. Students can also enroll in PHW272C with instructor permission.  Both courses will be focused on R Statistical Software.


  • PHW272A is an introductory course in geographic information systems (GIS) that covers topics such as cartography and the processing, visualization, and description of spatial public health data. The course will introduce principles, methods, and techniques that enable students to acquire, manipulate and effectively display spatial data. As maps have become an increasingly popular and powerful means of communicating the spatial complexity of health and disease data, public health researchers and practitioners can increase the impact of their work by using GIS to convey information and synthesize data from multiple sources. The course will cover basic GIS concepts, such as coordinate systems, layering, buffering, joining, merging, and aggregating spatial data, conducting spatial queries, and appropriate visualization of spatial data. Students will gain hands-on practice working with and reporting on a range of spatial health data, through activities that teach the use of R as a GIS platform.


  • Students who have completed PHW272A or gained permission from the instructor can enroll in PHW272C. In PHW272C, students will increase their proficiency in the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to public health data. The course will cover the theory and methods behind the analysis of patterns of health and disease in space as students will learn how to perform a wide variety of space and space-time analyses. The course will introduce statistical techniques for describing, analyzing, and interpreting layers of mapped health data, including the acquisition and classification of remote sensing data. Overall, through this series, students will gain a deeper understanding of the role of locational information in improving our understanding of patterns of health and disease, and the factors that give rise to them.


  • Students who have completed PHW272A or gained permission from the instructor can enroll in PHW272C. In PHW272C, students will increase their proficiency in the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to public health data. The course will cover the theory and methods behind the analysis of patterns of health and disease in space as students will learn how to perform a wide variety of space and space-time analyses. The course will introduce statistical techniques for describing, analyzing, and interpreting layers of mapped health data, including the acquisition and classification of remote sensing data. Overall, through this series, students will gain a deeper understanding of the role of locational information in improving our understanding of patterns of health and disease, and the factors that give rise to them.


Please note that W272A is not required to enroll in W277.

NEW OOMPH Course Launches Spring 2023:


We're excited to announce a new OOMPH course this Spring, PHW252A: Intro to Causal Inference For Public Health Professionals, developed and taught by Professor Laura Balzer, Phd, MPhil.  Spring Full Term, 4-units.
  • With the ongoing “data explosion”, methods to delineate causation from correlation are perhaps more pressing now than ever.
  • This course will introduce a general framework for Causal Inference in Public Health: 1) clear statement of the research question, 2) definition of the causal model and effect of interest, 3) assessment of identifiability, 4) choice and implementation of estimators including parametric and non-parametric methods, and 5) appropriate interpretation of findings. The statistical methods include G-computation, inverse probability weighting (IPW), and targeted minimum loss-based estimation (TMLE) with machine learning
  • Prerequisites: PHW241, R experience recommended.
  • Requirement Option for the Epi/Biostat Concentration.
  • To view the syllabus, visit the Course Catalog page. This course is listed under Epi & Biostats Courses.
 

Comprehensive Exam Dates

We are happy to share the following Comprehensive Exam dates for 2023:

  • Spring 2023: January 30 - February 05, 2023
  • Summer 2023: June 26 - July 05, 2023
  • Fall 2023: October 16 - October 22, 2023


For students taking the Spring 2023 Comprehensive Exam, please look for an invitation this month from Evan to begin the process and to join a Spring 2023 Comprehensive Exam Prep Group 


If you have any questions regarding the Comprehensive Exam, please contact Evan at evg48@berkeley.edu.
 

Employment Opportunities

OOMPH GSI opportunities for Spring are posted in PHLEX


For more information, please visit our Student Employment Opportunities page.
 

Events

OOMPH Events


Bio EHS is excited to host Biosense Webster, Inc. (BWI) on Monday, October 24th from 6-8 pm (location TBD) for an info session about full-time roles! Pizza and refreshments will be provided.


  • Background: We are looking for students who have an interest in working in a clinical setting. Typically this ends up being bioengineers, but we have recruited students studying biology, public health, and other engineering disciplines as well. We are looking for students with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Essential skills include strong problem solving skills and strong communication and interpersonal skills.
  • See more and apply at: https://jobs.jnj.com/jobs/2206068623W?lang=en-us&previousLocale=en-US 
  • RSVP at https://bit.ly/biosensewebsterRSVP by Thursday, October 20th. We will send out the location to everyone who RSVPs.


Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Wellness Workshop via Zoom on Wednesday, October 12th from 5-6PM


  • In an effort to help students develop the skill and comfort around talking about suicide and mental health with their colleagues we reached out to Drs. Amy Honigman and Aaron Cohen from CAPS to provide a workshop for students. This year Drs. Honigman and Cohen have agreed to host another session for students who are interested. If you would like to attend please register using the Registration Link.
  • We are asking anyone who attends the session to do one hour of pre work which includes watching the attached video on Suicide Awareness and Intervention Education. This session will help prepare you to participate in the one hour session on the 12th where you will have a chance to hear more from Dr Honigman and Dr. Cohen and have a chance to engage with your fellow colleagues to build community and your skills around talking about suicide, mental health and wellness.
 

A Discussion on DACA with Yuri Hernandez Osorio, in efforts to expand the understanding of the situation and how we can show up in comunidad.


  • This event will be held Wednesday, October 12th, 2022 from 6:00-7:00 PM PST via Zoom. Learn more about DACA, the 5th circuit court. Ruling For any questions/ ADA Accommodations please contact Yuri at yosorio@berkeley.edu 
  • Zoom link for the event: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/98045591862


SPH Events


Get Involved! If you are interested in attending SPH virtual events, please visit the community events calendar.
 

Career & Practicum

Practicum Opportunities


The below listings reflect recent practicum opportunities, including those that are PAID experiences, with upcoming deadlines. For additional opportunities (including GSI/GSR, practicum, part/full-time), please log in to PHLEX and consider setting up a saved search to receive regular updates in your inbox! Questions? Email publichealthcareers@berkeley.edu.


Additionally, don’t forget that as a UC Berkeley student you also have access to resources through our partners at the central campus Career Center. You can log into Handshake, review listings for open opportunities (tip: set up a saved search), and connect with upcoming events (including employer info sessions and career fairs)!


For support navigating PHLEX/Handshake or any questions related to your career (including resume review, interview prep, etc.), schedule an appointment with the RISE Career Services team!


Career & Practicum Events


Don’t forget! Due soon:


  • Program Analyst - Evaluation & Coordination (Remote flexibility), Berkeley Food Network [MPH Practicum 130+ hours] Apply now! (Open until filled) Listed Deadline: 10/7 @ 11:59pm PDT *PAID $25/hour
  • Spring 2023 Internship, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs [MPH Practicum 130+ hours] Apply by 10/15 @ 11:59pm PDT *PAID 


Some of the new practicum opportunities: 
OOMPH | 2121 Berkeley Way West, UC Berkeley Public Health, Berkeley, CA 94720 https://onlinemph.berkeley.edu
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