When she is not going for a run, Jacqueline “Jackie” Miller is focusing on the communities in public health.
A May graduate with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health, Miller began her studies in biology, but became fascinated with the interdisciplinary nature of public health and shifted her focus.
“I took some chemistry classes and realized I don’t necessarily want to do wet lab research,” Miller said. “I’m glad I found that out freshman year.”
Miller cited two classes she took with SPH Assistant Clinical Professor Dr. Jeremy Rubin, a member of her capstone advisory board and a biostatistician, as highlights. Rubin’s classes allowed her to combine coding with other real-life issues and gave her practice in public speaking.
“The quality of the statistical analyses and writing which Jackie used in her capstone project are truly commensurate with that I would expect from top-performing Ph.D. students,” Rubin said.
Miller’s capstone work focused on the impact of social capital and environmental factors like trihalomethanes have on mental health in communities. Her work emphasizes the need for community in all sorts of spaces.
“In addition to support, [community is about] who provides you with different skills that you didn’t know before,” Miller said.
Miller served as an SPH Graduate Student Ambassador and participated in Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fraternity. She advises students to figure out what they love to find their own way to make an impact for good.
She practices the interdisciplinary nature she sees in her studies outside her classes as well. She has an Instagram page (@passivecanvas) dedicated to her art, mainly ink-based works with faces.
“I think the thing with faces is we’re so good at detecting when something’s off, so I’ve gone more towards the imperfection route,” Miller said about her surrealist art style.
In a publication with the American Public Health Association (APHA), where she was an intern, Miller shared her passion for public health’s interdisciplinary nature and how so many people can contribute to the field.
“Maybe you majored in math during undergrad, but you can come back as a biostatistician" Miller said. “You can join us in improving public health outcomes.”
— by Rachel Kleber