INSP/ ESPM students obtain a scholarship for the Society of Epidemiological Research (SER) congress
After different contacts with the Health Population Research Center (CISP) of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and with the School of Public Health of Mexico (ESPM), the Society for Epidemiological Research (SER) communicated its desire to invite to INSP students and professors to its annual congress. These approaches were possible thanks to a common denominator: the love of an ESPM alum for his alma mater. Luis Segura, a Doctorate Candidate at Columbia University, Master’s in Public Health with a concentration area in Epidemiology (2010-2012) graduate, is part of the SER Membership Committee for the organization of this annual meeting. Segura maintains has a genuine interest in inviting INSP students to the event. Continuing with these efforts, Suzanne Bevan, SER Executive Director, informed the INSP Academic Exchange Department her intention to offer five scholarships for students from this institute to attend this event scheduled from June 14-17 in Chicago, Ill.
The purpose of this annual event is to bring together epidemiologists from all the professional gamut – from students to experienced scientists – to discuss topics related to emerging epidemiological research. The annual meeting, according to the SER website, “is nestled in the heart of SER’s mission to promote epidemiological research and support young researchers.”
As well, SER informed that a CISP-INSP professor-researcher, Dr. Martín Lajous, will lead the symposium “Bringing nutritional epidemiology into the era of causal inference”, in addition to offering discussion during, “A brief historical overview of nutritional epidemiology”.
After the call was made at the INSP/ESPM, dozens of students applied to this grant. “I am really surprised at the number of INSP students who applied for the scholarship. It is very gratifying,” said Suzanne Bevan in a Zoom meeting with Dr. Tonatiuh Barrientos, CISP Director and Carlos Linares of the ESPM Academic Exchange Department. In that same meeting, Luis Segura, explained the reason for asking SER to support INSP students: “I have been attending SER for about 4 years. It always caught my attention that in one of the most important conferences at the forefront in terms of epidemiology methods I did not see representation from Mexican institutions nor, of course, the INSP, a Latin-American and national reference in the field of epidemiology. SER has been fundamental in my training as an epidemiologist, which is why I think it is necessary for this opportunity be accessible to epidemiologists in Mexico.”
“SER leadership has been very diligent in achieving representation of research projects outside the United States and gaining recognition of INSP’s reputation. It was very important to propose strategies to bring INSP representatives and expose the work being done in Mexico in the field of epidemiology. With the help of Sue Bevan and Jay Kaufman we were able to allocate funds to eliminate economic barriers and allow some students to attend the SER congress, expose what they are doing in the institute and benefit from being exposed to talks and presentations on applications in the latest in epidemiology methods,” said Luis, who is not shy about displaying his affection for his alma mater at all times.
Five students were selected and they will receive $1,000 each for transportation, lodging and food expenses during that week, as well as being exempt from payment for attending the event.
The SER meeting is open to anyone, members and non-members of this Society alike. Chairs of programs in public health, plus a wide range of reviewers, select the best posters to present at SER’s annual meeting.
The selected students were: Angélica Jocelyn Jaen Acosta, candidate for Doctorate in Sciences in Population Nutrition; Erick Antonio Osorio López, student of the Master in Public Health with Health Administration concentration area; Jaime Raúl Adame Gallegos, student of the Master in Public Health (on-line program); Sofía Barragán Vázquez del Mercado, candidate of the Doctorate in Sciences in Epidemiology; and Sonia Collado López, from the Doctorate in Sciences in Population Nutrition.
After seeing the results of the call, Sofía Barragán commented to the Academic Exchange Department: “I found out because my Program Coordinator (Dr. Lea Capul) informed us that some scholarships would be given and that it would be a good opportunity. I applied because all the topics of the conference caught my attention and, of course, I would like to learn different things that we did not get to see in the doctorate; in addition to interacting with other epidemiologists, having an impact on my academic training (many topics that we do not get to see) and professional training (relationships and collaborations with others)”.
On the other hand, Angélica Jaen, who will also present a poster at this meeting, said: “The SER meeting is an opportunity to stay updated in an area that is constantly evolving and that I consider vital for those of us who carry out health research using epidemiological studies. In addition, being able to receive feedback on our own research, from experts from many parts of the world seems invaluable to me and also opens doors for us to collaborate with other researchers and institutions. For me, being a beneficiary of this scholarship represents a unique opportunity to improve and grow as a researcher in an area that I am passionate about. I am very grateful to have been selected.”
INSP/ESPM wants to thank to Suzane Bevan and Jay Kaufman from SER and congratulates its selected students and concurs with the words of its alum, Luis Segura: “I would like to invite students to take advantage of this opportunity and nurture their thesis work by being exposed to the most modern methods in epidemiology offered by SER. I would invite them to make connections with other institutions to lay the groundwork for future collaborations.”