Presenter: Dorian Tonic, Kinesiology, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum project this year, I volunteered as an undergraduate research assistant for one of the labs in the School of Public Health. This particular lab was involved in a study titled WhereFLU, where the main objective was to find major locations on campus where flu spreads, and whether or not ventilation quality in specific buildings plays a role. For this research study, my specific tasks involved recruiting all of the participants to take part in the study, transporting collected samples of the participants to and from SPH/UHC, assist participants with any questions or concerns they may have regarding the study, and reporting my findings to my research supervisors. From this, I have learned the vast and imperative connection between public health and, quite literally, every area of community connection. The amount of hypothesis and unanswered questions regarding public health, especially at a well-funded public institution such as UMD, amazes me. There is no component of life that public health doesn't reach. This experience was essential in public health because its aims are to mitigate the spread of a virus that impacts so many, on a campus that we all call home. The results for this study will be monumental in advancing public health knowledge in largely populated areas.