Karl F. Conyard

What inspired you to study public health?

I was originally inspired by a public health doctor, during my undergraduate degree at Dublin City University Ireland, the very first class of Epidemiology was the spark that lit the flame. Now what truly keeps me inspired is how we can change systems to reflect needs, how we can protect our populations and how we can improve people’s health.

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

I have developed a true love for developing competencies and curriculum and through my work with The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), I have had the pleasure of assisting ASPHER and the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) with updating core competencies in applied infectious disease epidemiology all while co-managing a specialised clinical contact tracing team in Irelands’ Health Service (Health Service Executive)throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic. This led me to become a Fellow at ASPHER to work with the World Health Organization to assist in the development of an updated core curriculum for public health. www.ccp.aspher.org

What do you hope to accomplish in your career?

My hope is to help populations not just in Ireland but across Europe and eventually the world. I am hoping to gain a place on Ireland’s national specialist training programme for public health medicine and divide my time between practice and research through new roles which allow public health professionals the opportunity to lecture at universities and also practice in the field at national and international levels.

Advice:

“Keep focused but keep connected!” Focus on understanding the foundations of public health, focus on your epidemiology, research methods, biostatistics, and health promotion, everything else will fall into place once you understand the foundations. The art of connection building is a skill that comes in handy in public health, make professional connections through any opportunity as you never know where they may lead!