Earlier this year, Elizabeth Haytmanek became a senior program associate for the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health. Beth finished her coursework last spring and returned from Nepal in December after completing her internship there. Because there is no winter commencement, she will officially graduate in May with a Master of Health Science in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control.

I recently spoke to Beth about her new position and about her experience as a master’s student in the Department of International Health. She was quick to praise the MHS program. “My job was almost made for a Hopkins International Health graduate.” She explained that she provides research advice and support to an expert committee conducting a year-long study on the U.S. commitment to global health. The committee’s findings are intended to inform the U.S. global health agenda under the new presidential administration. “My coursework touched on almost all aspects of international health that I currently work on. I feel very prepared, for instance, when I do research for the committee and need to interpret data from the peer-reviewed literature.” She also wanted to mention that she found the job on the student listserv that Charlotte Gaylin, Academic Manager, and Carol Buckley, Academic Coordinator, maintain. 

One aspect of the Department’s MHS program she thinks makes it a cut above the rest is the internship component, which can last longer than the standard two or three months in programs at many other universities. Beth interned with the Nepal Nutrition Intervention Project-Sarlahi (NNIPS), which is based in the Department and funded by the Gates Foundation and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD). Originally funded by USAID, the project has operated in Nepal for many years. Beth not only worked in the field collecting data for the program, she also used the study data for her thesis. While NNIPS assesses a broad range of effects of early antenatal-to-postpartum micronutrient supplementation, she focused on cognition and motor skills. “The internship component of the program was one of the biggest draws for me, and I’ve noticed that it’s something that sets me apart from other recent grads from other schools.”  

Although no longer at Hopkins, Beth still feels connected to the School and the Department.  Earlier this year she helped her committee convene a meeting of global health experts where former dean Al Sommer presented. Professor Tim Baker, whose research team is studying U.S. global health funding over the past ten years, also attended. The Institute’s committee eagerly anticipates his team’s findings. Department Chair Bob Black and Associate Professor Adnan Hyder have been invited by the committee to provide expert opinion later this summer on nutrition and injury prevention, respectively.    

Before her diploma is even framed, Beth has become a valuable part of the global health community. She credited Hopkins for training her well and pointed out that many of her classes, such as International Nutrition, were very practical and applicable to her field work. And while she chose the Department in part because of the internship opportunity, she herself has been a little surprised by how favorably global health professionals view that experience. For more information on Beth’s work and the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health, visit www.iom.edu/usandglobalhealth.

(May 2008)