Student Experience

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?

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!

Can you reuse nonsurgical N95 respirators and KN95 and KF94 masks? Yes! Tips from DEOHS Assistant Professor Marissa Baker:  

Editor's note: In January 2022, Anna Humphreys and colleagues, including DEOHS Assistant Professor Nicole Errett, published a paper in BMC Public Health on the impacts of rural wildfire smoke on mental health and well-being, and opportunities for adaptation.

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 PetroffPhDHometownNorth East, PAFuture plansA postdoc in human epigenomics at the University of Michigan, and a future academic career.

The University of Washington switched to 100% online learning just days after state public health officials announced the nation’s first death attributed to COVID-19 on February 29.

Alexa Yadama BS, Environmental Health Hometown Pullman, WA Future plans A career in environmental or public health, and eventually a master’s in public health. “ I really appreciate mixing public health with my science background and helping people with the knowledge I have.”