Division of EpiCH - Meet your Program Director

EPich Program Directors

Dr. Toben Nelson

ScD, Public Health, Harvard UniversityMS, Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonBA, Psychology & Physical Education, Hamline University
Email: tfnelson@umn.edu

Community Health Promotion

Dr. Rachel Widome

PhD, Epidemiology, University of MinnesotaMHS, International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthAB, Medical Anthropology, Brown UniversityEmail: widome@umn.edu

Epidemiology

I am very excited to welcome you to our MPH program in Epidemiology! As Program Director my goal is to oversee an MPH program that can give you an optimal learning path for becoming an epidemiologist. I probably don’t need to convince you, but these days epi is certainly an exciting, fast-moving, and highly impactful field.

I am a social epidemiologist which means I study how policies and social structures influence health risks. Most of my research has focused on adolescents and young adults and has related to tobacco use, sleep, and weight-related behaviors. I am especially interested in discovering how policy can be optimized to promote health. I earned my PhD in epidemiology here at Minnesota in 2006, so I have some personal perspective on what it is like to be a student in our SPH!

When WBOB re-opens, please don’t hesitate to pop into my office and say hi whenever my door is open. Since communication can be difficult when we are remote, I’m hosting a program director Zoom office hour each week on Thursday 1:30-2:30pm. You can visit the office hour to ask questions about the program, introduce yourself, chat about nerdy epi things, give me a piece of your mind, just say hi, or whatever, no appointments necessary! (Link for Zoom office hour: https://umn-private.zoom.us/j/94264360447)

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Dr. Zobeida Bonilla

PhD, Anthropology, University of Florida MPH, Maternal and Child Health, Boston University MA, Anthropology, Colorado State University BA, Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Puerto RicoEmail: zbonilla@umn.edu

Maternal and Child Health

As the Chair for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) masters degree program in public health (MPH), I am thrilled that you have selected to enter our MPH program here at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Our program is one of the few programs specifically focused on MCH in United States. We have a strong history of MCH research and teaching at the University of Minnesota which continues today with vibrant activities focused on advancing the health of women, children, fathers and families. We are proud to be involved with the MCH community working to promote the health and well-being of women, children, youth and families, including fathers and children with special health needs. We are committed both to the training of new leaders for MCH through our current degree programs, as well as outreach to professionals in the community who are serving MCH populations. Our Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health is dedicated to strengthening and expanding the MCH workforce by training graduate students in MCH, and to advance MCH science, research, practice, and policy through a well-trained MCH public health workforce. We work with a superb group of faculty, students, and MCH staff here within the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, as well as with outstanding MCH professionals in the community–including MCH Program alumni.

Dr. Melissa Laska

PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillBS, Cornell UniversityRD, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Vanderbilt University Medical CenterEmail: nels5024@umn.edu

Public Health Nutrition

Amy pleimling

MPH, Public Health Nutrition, University of MinnesotaBS, Nutrition, University of Minnesota RD, LD, CSOWMEmail: pleim005@umn.edu

Public health nutrition Coordinated Program

Welcome to the program! I could not be more thrilled to be the new Public Health Nutrition CMP Director! While I am new in this position, I am not new to nutrition and am excited to be able to lead each CMP cohort to an exciting and successful career in public health nutrition. As the CMP director, I am here to guide your experience. I will see you each Fall and Spring semester in a course called Independent (or Directed) Studies. There are a variety of topics covered in the 2 years but basically, this course is about professionalism in dietetics. Each of your supervised practice experiences is official courses and I lead those as well. I have many years of being a community and clinical dietitian, I have my certification in obesity and weight management and have loved practicing nutrition counseling and teaching in group settings, and communicating to the public. I have my MPH degree from SPH, standard track of Public Health Nutrition, so I know what it is like to be a student and have taken many of the courses. The enriching experiences throughout this program will help shape your future work and I get to be part of that. I look forward to meeting you!

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