Toru Matsubayashi, DrPH Candidate

An Internist Goes International

During his residency in clinical medicine, Toru Matsubayashi never learned about the wider aspects of public health, such as health systems in underdeveloped countries. "Before I entered the DrPH program with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I had focused on learning clinical medicine and specific courses such as biostatistics and epidemiology," says Matsubayashi. "But during my first year here, I became exposed to broader international health issues. This is what grips my interest now, more so than the technical aspects of the field."

Matsubayashi did his residency in both Japan and the United States. He worked as an internist and pondered pursuing a specialty medicine. "Instead, I decided I needed to be trained in global public health efforts rather than stay involved in more HMO-driven work," says Matsubayashi. In 2005, he received his MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and then traveled to South Vietnam where he applied his clinical and epidemiological skills for survey work.

Finding the Perfect Fit
Yet Matsubayashi says he did not feel complete after obtaining his master's degree: "I felt that I needed more skills in public health, especially technical and qualitative skills. I wanted to look into preventive care and at the whole system. I applied for a World Bank Graduate Scholarship, which is funding the first two years of my DrPH program at the Bloomberg School."

Why choose the DrPH in International Health? Matsubayashi quickly answers, "Because the Department of International Health is the largest department in the Bloomberg School." He felt the expansive coursework would give him more choices later on regarding his interests and career options, which include global policymaking.

"The DrPH program is giving me a broad overview of the field," says Matsubayashi. "The biweekly DrPH seminars set up as part of the schoolwide DrPH program have been especially helpful for skills-building. Guest lecturers speak about different topics, such as dealing with the media as a public health professional. The seminars also give me the chance to hang out with other DrPH students in my cohort."

Settling in to the Program
Matsubayashi sums up his first year in the DrPH program with one word — "great." He also mentions how he now enjoys calling Baltimore home. He lives in Mount Vernon, a cultural and historic neighborhood less than a 10-minute ride from the main campus via the free Johns Hopkins University shuttle. "I was a bit nervous coming from abroad to settle in Baltimore, but I found it to be a very livable city," says Matsubayashi. "I can walk to the Inner Harbor, which is so vibrant and lively."

Matsubayashi is currently busy trying to develop a dissertation plan within the context of health systems. He explains, "These systems need to be strengthened and have more of a focus pulled to them. I am working on developing the specific research plans right now." While the length of the DrPH degree program varies from person to person, Matsubayashi hopes to finish his degree in 3 to 3 1/2 years.

(June 2007)