MPH Internship Placement Opportunities
The following Internship sites have information listed in the following order:
SiteAddress
Contact Person
Suggested Duration & Time of Year
Possible Activities
MPH students can contact persons at sites of interest to arrange mutually agreeable projects. All appropriate proposal paperwork must be approved prior to the beginning of the internship.
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR)
Rockville, Maryland
Suite 309 Willco Building
6000 Executive Blvd
Rockville MD 20852
Attn: Summer Employment Coordinator
301-594-2408
Summer internships: http://www.ahcpr.gov/fund/summerint.htm
Economist, Program Analyst, Statistician, General Health Science, Social Science Analyst, Writer-Editor, Research Assistant
Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM)
1660 L Street NW Suite 208
Washington DC 20036
202-463-0550
12 weeks during summer or fall
Health Communications, Media Relations, Information Technology, Education (K-12)
CareOregon
522 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 200
Portland, OR 97214
503-416-1482
Matthew J. Carlson, Ph.D.
Health Services Research Associate
Internships and thesis projects are available. Other than the protection of human subjects and data integrity, which we assure through Data Access Agreements and Institutional Review Boards when appropriate, CareOregon's only requirement is that research conducted using CareOregon data have demonstrable benefits to Oregon’s low income and vulnerable populations.
Click here to see CareOregon Data Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta, GA 30333
A variety of internships are available for both summer and the school year. A listing of programs including fellowship opportunities and minority programs is available in the Public Health and Preventive Medicine office in CSB 669. Short descriptions are provided for most programs. Fellowship opportunities are usually for 1-2 years after completing a degree. Following is a listing of internship opportunities:
Analytic Methods Internship Program
3-month internships in Atlanta or other CDC sites. Stipend of $5,000.
Cheryl Guthrie
Postgraduate Research Program – CDC Education and Training Division
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
P.O. Box 117
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117
(23-576-4805 OR CDC Epidemiology program office 404-639-0083
CDC/ATSDR Sponsored/Coordinated Student/Training Program
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Research Opportunity
Research Participation Program/ATSDR
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
P.O. Box 117
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117
615-576-3190
Assoc. of Schools of Public Health/CDC/ATSDR Internship Program and
CommunityHealth Assessment Experiential Learning Program (CHAELP)
Gaila Youtsey
Internship/Fellowship Coordinator
Association of Schools of Public Health
770-918-8073
Epidemiology Elective for Medical and Veterinary Students Program (provide own funding)
The Elective Student Coordinator, CDC
Epidemiology Program Office
1-888-496-8347
Graduate Student Research Program at the National Institute for Occupational Safety
Cheryl Guthrie
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
423-576-4805
Guest Researcher (provide own funding)
CDC/ATSDR Job Information Center
770-488-1725
Prevention Effectiveness Internship Program
12 weeks in Atlanta in summer, stipend of $5,000
Cheryl Guthrie
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
423-576-4805
Student Temporary Employment Program and Summer Employment Program
CDC/ATSDR Job Information Center
770-488-1725
Center for Outcomes Research and Education
11308 SW 68th Parkway, Suite 125
Tigard, OR 97223
Valerie T. Dull, Ph.D.
Director of Operations
503-216-7175, FAX: 503-216-7118
Internships occur on an ongoing basis for students interested in the following types of research activities: a) literature reviews or meta-analyses on targeted medical conditions and treatments; b) outcomes studies using patient reported data; c) projects which advance methods or tools of health services research; and d) health services utilization analyses.
Clackamas County Community Corrections
Ingrid Lewis
Program Services Manager
1024 Main St.
Oregon City, Or. 97045
503-655-8779
Internships available to evaluate treatment programs to determine client outcomes, specifically the rate of recidivism. Opportunity to design studies and evaluate existing data.
Clackamas County Health Department
710 Center Street
Oregon City OR 97045
Alan Melnick, MD, MPH
503-494-0756
Data analysis, various segments of APEX process.
Jennifer (Jen) DeVoe, MD, DPhil
Department of Family Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University
3181 Sam Jackson Park Rd, FM
Portland, OR 97239
research office: 503-494-8936
Jennifer does health policy research related to access to health care for children and families. She has also been doing some work on health literacy.
Foundation for Accountability (FACCT)
Christina Bethell, PhD
503-223-2228
Quality measurement, consumer research
Health Resources and Services Administration
The Graduate Student Internship Program (GSIP) offers paid internships in state and city health departments to graduate students in public health. Internship projects are offered in the areas of:
Data Analysis and Monitoring
Program Evaluation
Needs Assessment
Internship projects are announced each January, and applications are due in late February. Internship placements are made in March for three-month projects beginning in May, June, or July. Stipends are $5,000 for the summer.. For more information, contact Dorothy Borzak at (202) 728-2000 or mailto:
Web site: http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/mchirc/gsip/
Intracranial Hypertension Registry
The Registry, a joint project of the Casey Eye institute at OHSU and the Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation, Vancouver, Washington is located one floor (7 th) above the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine office at:
OHSU Campus Service Building, 3505 SW Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239.
503-418-2141
Project starting time: flexible number of internships available: 4 per semester and summer
The Intracranial Hypertension Registry seeks interns (MD/MPH and MPH) and candidates for thesis projects. Our database, designed exclusively for research, contains detailed longitudinal health information on more than 1200 patients. This is the largest collection of medical data on patients with this disorder. Chronic intracranial hypertension is a disorder of neuro-hydrodynamics with undetermined etiology. Patient symptoms include severe headache, visual disturbances with potential loss of vision, and tinnitus. Signs of intracranial hypertension include papilledema, cranial nerve palsies, and CSF pressure elevations. This disorder has been under-researched and, therefore, provides MPH candidates excellent opportunities for original investigation involving epidemiology and biostatistics.
Examples of intern/thesis projects done or in progress are the association between weight gain and visual status in women with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and predictors of successful optic nerve sheath decompression in chronic intracranial hypertension. The Registry has a multitude of different studies possible. We are also open to consider suggested projects by degree candidates. The following illustrates several projects immediately available:
· Empty Sella Syndrome: Prevalence and associations of CSF pressure levels and duration of disorder. The empty sella describes the neuroradiological appearance of the “empty” pituitary fossa as a result of compression and flattening of the pituitary gland due to the mechanical effect of sustained elevated CSF pressure. This project would make use of our Neuroimaging library which is a collection of several thousand MRI and CT head studies housed within the radiology department at OHSU. The student would work with an OHSU neuroradiologist. Clinical information in the Registry database would be used in conjunction with neuroradiologic readings of sequential studies. Questions that may be addressed: whether an empty sella is evidence of disease progression and whether it is a predictor of treatment outcome?
· Does the degree of intracranial pressure determine potential failure of medical management and the need for surgical intervention? While there is agreement on what constitute high intracranial opening pressure readings on spinal tap, the predictive value of these readings as to management outcomes is not known. At what pressure levels is medical management doomed to fail? In surgical management is one type of surgery (shunt vs. optic nerve sheath decompression) offer superior outcomes based on degree of CSF pressure elevation?
· Evaluating failures of different types of neurosurgical shunts (used for CSF diversion) as a possible predictor of best shunt choice for optimal surgical outcome. There are two types of shunts used in diverting CSF: one from either a lateral ventricle (intracranial) or from the lumbar subarachnoid space to an absorptive site, most often the abdominal cavity. The former are known as VP shunts, the later as LP shunts. Both VP and LP shunts are said to have a 50% failure rate in the first year of implantation. By apparently personal experience some neurosurgeons favor one over the other. The study would determine number of failures and rate and number of revision surgeries for each type of shunt.
· Incidence of sinusitis and sinus abnormalities (based on objective neuroradiological findings) in patients with intracranial hypertension. CSF is produced within the brain (choroid plexus) and was believed only absorbed into the venous system by the one way flow through structures called arachnoid granulations. Recent studies have proposed alternative routes including the lymphatic system. Animal studies, on goats and sheep, have shown that CSF lymphatics represent the major CSF outflow channels and the nasal mucosa functions as the end destination for CSF elimination. If a similar nasal mucosal use occurs in human, under the abnormal conditions of intracranial hypertension would edematous or changes in the mucosa increase the incidence of sinusitis/sinus abnormalities? Is there a higher occurrence of sinusitis/sinus abnormalities as compared to a similar matched non IH population? In conjunction with accepted criteria would these findings improve the clinical diagnostic determination of intracranial hypertension? Of note is recent evidence that there is a reduction of smell (hyposmia) in patients with intracranial hypertension without clear explanation. Use of the Registry’s Neuroimaging Library collection of Registry patients would be utilized with the assistance of an OHSU neuroradiologist to determine the present of mucosal changes consistent with sinus abnormalities.
The IH Registry is staffed by a medical director (M.D.), 2 research co-coordinators, one completing a Registry thesis project for her MPH and one an applicant to the MPH program, and 4 OHSU volunteers. Our research coordinators are directly familiar with the MPH program and are uniquely aware and sensitive to MPH students and their circumstances.
For more information, contact:
Sara Loboy, Research Coordinator
Intracranial Hypertension Registry, Casey Eye Institute, OHSU
Mailcode - CB723
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road
Portland, OR 97239
Phone: (503) 418-2141, Fax: (503) 418-2139
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Internships are offered through the GSIP program (see the Health Resources and Services Program--above).
Multnomah County Health Department
426 SW Stark Street
Portland, OR
Patricia Kullberg, MD, MPH
Gary Oxman, MD, MPH
503-248-3674
http://www.mchealth.org/
The Multnomah County Health Department has multiple sites and community partners. Many internship possibilities can be discussed with Dr. Kullberg.
Program evaluation, health services research projects, program development
Multnomah County Health Dept
Violence Prevention Program
426 SW Stark, 2nd floor
Portland, OR
Linda Jaramillo
503-248-3056 ext. 22815
Review and analysis of local and national health data for Violence Surveillance Report
Multnomah County Health Dept
Chronic Liver Disease Project
426 SW Stark, 3rd Floor
Portland, Oregon
Graci Van Ness
503-988-5090 ext. 22815
Assist in projects relating to the Hepatitis C Registry Study and the Chronic Liver Disease Study
Multnomah County Health Department, Epidemiology Unit
Contact: Amy Sullivan at 503 988 5090 x22852 or
Overall
· Health Departments have a lot of data. Routinely available data sources include the following:
o Vital statistics data (births/deaths)
o Disease surveillance data
o Clinic appointment and billing data for county FQHC and public health clinics
· Many data sources need attention before they can be analyzed -- data management that can involve linking multiple data sets, data cleaning, etc.
· In using surveillance or billing data, you need to be creative about outcomes, open-minded about analytic approaches, and careful of biases.
· Other data is available from the state, but you would need to set up access well ahead of time.
Possible Projects
HBV Outreach Database
Small database (N=150; new cases being added) with information on HBV status, demographics and limited immunization information. Analyze for risks associated with HBV positivity (e.g., age group, country of origin, arrival cohort).
Area-Based Socioeconomic Measures
Use Nancy Kreiger’s area-based socioeconomic measures analysis approach to evaluate surveillance or vital statistics data.
Pandemic Influenza and Bacterial Pneumonias
Build off of an existing database of 1918 pandemic flu deaths to assess differences in pneumonia deaths before and after the advent of antibiotics. Requires data collection at state archives in Salem.
Capture/recapture analyses
Conduct a capture/recapture analysis to assess the size of homeless or refugee populations in Multnomah County. Requires additional support, but data is available.
Poor Birth Outcomes in County Residents
Analyze birth certificate data to look at risks for poor birth outcomes in our local population. Can be done as a simple logistic regression, or has potential for multilevel analysis.
TranStat
Run MIDAS’ TranStat modeling program with local outbreak/case data to assess intensity of person-to-person disease transmission. (see, https://www.epimodels.org/midas/transtat.do for more info on TranStat)
Other Possibilities
Anything you can think of to do with the data we have available. Additional areas/data include injury epidemiology, Maternal-Child Health services data, etc.
National Cancer Institute
Building 31, Room 10A28
31 Center Drive, MSC 2580
Bethesda, MD 20892-2580
Kristie Dionne, Internship Director
Health Communications Internship Program
Paid internships allow students to plan, develop, and promote cancer education programs and materials; pretest and evaluate cancer prevention and treatment messages, materials, and programs; participate in professional meetings and training seminars. Deadlines for applications are September 15 for the January through June term and March 15 for the July through December term.
For information contact:
Website: http://www.nci.nih.gov/aboutnci/working/
Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment
Oregon Health & Science University
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, CB 669
Portland, OR 97239
Dennis McCarty, PhD
503-494-1177
Work with OHSU faculty to evaluate to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data from 39 drug abuse treatment programs learning to apply process improvement techniques to access to care and retention in care for treatment of alcohol and drug disorders.
Office for Oregon Health Plan Policy and Research
Salem, Oregon
Tina Edlund
Office for Oregon Health Plan Administrator
503-378-2422
Assist in projects and policy analyses related to the continuing development of the Oregon Health Plan
Oregon/Hawaii Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network
Oregon Health & Science University
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, CB 669
Portland, OR 97239
Dennis McCarty, PhD
503-494-1177
Collaborate with participating treatment programs to collect and analyze data related to their participation in a clinical trial network. Programs are located in Baker City, Eugene, Honolulu, Portland, and Roseburg.