Student Experience

Diana Marquez hopes to become a certified industrial hygienist serving agricultural workers in the Yakima Valley. Photo courtesy of Marquez.

For his unflagging encouragement of students and his inspiring teaching, UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) Professor Gerard (Jerry) Cangelosi has been awarded the 2021 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.

Jovanny Rodriguez BS, Environmental Health Hometown Bonney Lake, WA Future plans Working at a local health department; a master's degree in environmental health. Since childhood, Jovanny Rodriguez always imagined he would become a doctor.

Tianai (Scyler) Li BS, Environmental Health Hometown Hefei, China Future plans Starting veterinary school at Washington State University this fall. “Community health is important in terms of protecting every individual in the population. It’s like medicine, but for a whole population.”

Magali Blanco PhD, Environmental and Occupational Hygiene Hometown Santa Cruz, CA Future plans Continuing her research on environmental exposures and health outcomes in an academic or government setting.

Renée Codsi MPH, One Health Hometown Beirut, Lebanon Future plans Starting a PhD in Environmental & Occupational Health at DEOHS in the fall.

Four students in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were recently awarded scholarships from the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) to support their studies in industrial hygiene.

In her free time, Dennise Drury loves playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. She’s just as multifaceted when it comes to public health pursuits.

I am excited to graduate this spring with my PhD in Environmental and Occupational Hygiene from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).

The world has pledged to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2035. COVID-19 threatens to move the goalposts. In Jerry Cangelosi’s lab at the University of Washington—as in many labs and clinics around the world—efforts are being pulled from TB into COVID-19 research and diagnostic testing in response to the global pandemic.

While browsing in a Davis, California, bookstore, Karen Levy came across a brightly illustrated book with a provocative title that would change the trajectory of her academic career.

In a year like no other, DEOHS faculty, students and staff quickly pivoted to tackle new threats posed by the pandemic. We contributed to Washington state's COVID-19 response, showed the effectiveness of self-sampling for the virus and assessed impacts on essential workers—not to mention our furry friends.

DEOHS Teaching Professor Martin Cohen How do you lead 20 students on a field trip during a pandemic?

Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling are longtime benefactors of the UW School of Public Health. Photo: Courtesy of Omenn.

The UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) has completed a major move into the new Hans Rosling Center for Population Health on the University of Washington campus.

Apply now for our grad programs in environmental and occupational health! Learn more   My advice for incoming grad students: Use your master’s program to create the experience you want. You only have two years—make them yours, and make them count!

The University of Washington is constructing a new kind of learning space on our south campus—one that invites collaboration, creativity and community among students from the UW's six health sciences schools.

This summer, I interned at the Department of Occupational Safety & Health in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. I learned about ensuring the health and safety of employees exposed to different hazards, especially the COVID-19 pandemic.

I'm working for Exponent, a leading scientific and engineering consulting firm, in their Health Sciences practice. I am mostly focusing on the biocompatibility of medical devices, but I really like the diversity of different projects that I'm working on.

Editor's note: Natalie Peterson is a UW senior completing her BS in Environmental Health. Her JRCOSTEP internship was recently featured by the Indian Health Service on its website.  

This summer, I am interning in the Environmental Health division of Chelan-Douglas Health District in Wenatchee, WA. The division promotes the health of individuals and communities in Chelan and Douglas counties by preventing or limiting human exposure to hazards in soil, water, food and other environmental media.

“When I explain my thesis project to people, they are always excited to hear about me working with marine animals,” Alexandria Vingino said. “And then I explain to them that I'm not really working with marine animals, I'm working with what’s in their poop.”

Madeline Benoit MPH, One Health Hometown Portland, OR Future plans Getting a job that serves and helps other people. In the meantime, you can find her at the barn!

How many times can a health care worker safely reuse a face mask?

When Jake asked me to go on a sunset hike, I knew what was coming. We were in our favorite place: the Methow Valley of Eastern Washington. When we crested the top of the mountain, a few sunrays peeked through the clouds, lighting up the fertile valley below. Still, when he got down on one knee, I was surprised, and overcome with happiness. Life seemed full of promise.

This month, students, faculty and staff from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were honored by the department and the UW School of Public Health (SPH) for their contributions to scientific research, education and community service in 2020.

Given the extraordinary challenges of this year’s pandemic, the students of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) needed a superhero. Watch a student video honoring Nicole Errett

Kaitlyn Kelly MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Hometown Carmel, CA Future plans Continue her work as a policy specialist for the Washington State Department of Health.

This spring, the first group of undergraduates to complete the UW Nutritional Sciences Program’s Food Systems, Nutrition and Health major are taking the knowledge they’ve acquired and applying it to help their communities.

Even before she became a public health researcher, Rebekah Petroff was thinking like one. Rebekah Petroff PhD, Environmental Toxicology Hometown North East, PA Future plans A postdoc in human epigenomics at the University of Michigan, and a future academic career.