Anthony Surace

In one sentence, what is public health to you?

Public health means ensuring everyone has a fair chance at living a happy, healthy, and productive life.

What inspired you to study public health?

I was inspired to study public health through my previous work in Psychological research. I wanted to translate some of the amazing work of my colleagues into actions that would positively impact historically under-served populations.

What has been the single most rewarding experience of your career/studies so far?

One of the most rewarding experiences has been to help with a pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation study. Working directly with a community health center we were able to get this much needed HIV prevention technology to those who needed it most.

Advice:

Do not be afraid to do something new. Some of the most enlightening/rewarding experiences come from taking risks and pushing yourself to do things outside your comfort zone.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that the public health field should be focusing on?

Currently the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest public health challenge and needs everyone’s input to overcome.