College of Public Health Alumnus Selected for CDC Fellowship
Daniel Owusu, alumnus of East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s doctor of public health program, has been accepted to join the 2019 class of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC describes the EIS as a “2 year post-doctoral training program for health professionals interested in practice of applied epidemiology”. EIS is a “long-standing, globally-recognized fellowship program, renowned for its investigative and emergency response efforts.”
He will work with the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in the Influenza Division at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases located in Atlanta.
“The EIS is one of the most prestigious fellowship available, and one of the most important, for young professionals with expertise in Epidemiology. These are the celebrated “Disease Detectives” who play such an important role in protecting the country, and the world, from a wide variety of diseases and health conditions,” said. Dr. Randy Wykoff.
During his doctoral program in ETSU, Dr. Owusu undertook an internship with the World Health Organization African Region office to work on tobacco and noncommunicable disease control in order to experience public health practice in low-resource settings. He completed his dissertation on tobacco smoking cessation in low-and-middle income countries. Since graduating from ETSU, Dr. Owusu has been researching on how to communicate about novel and alternative tobacco products, risk perception, and epidemiology of novel and alternative tobacco product use as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Georgia State University. In addition, he is a key collaborator of the Tobacco Policy Research Group (TPRG) in ETSU, and a member of the Sub-Sahara Tobacco Policy Research Group (SATRG). He has authored or co-authored 27 peer-reviewed journal publications that focused on tobacco, genetics, cancer and diabetes.
“It is an exciting moment for me to join the EIS class of 2019 and I look forward to greater opportunities during and beyond the EIS fellowship. I see my acceptance into the EIS class as a significant step that draws me closer to my dream of becoming a leader in public health,” said Dr. Owusu. “It was this dream that influenced my decision to pursue the DrPH degree program in the ETSU College of Public Health.”
Dr. Wykoff added “Since 2011, there have been 18 students with DrPH degrees admitted into the EIS program. Even though there are over 75 DrPH programs in the country, we are honored that four of these 18 EIS Officers are graduates of ETSU.”
“The great exposures during my doctoral training at ETSU, including a global public health experience, and the invaluable supports from the faculty, staff, and alumni of the college have immensely contributed to making this moment a reality,” concluded Dr. Owusu. “I am forever grateful to all for your supports!”