Public Health Area of Concentration (PH AOC) for Medical Students
The PH AOC provides students with a rich, integrated, longitudinal training program in the theory, practice and research
goals of public health medicine. The AOC includes opportunities to work with a wide range of experienced faculty, allowing
students to become consummate physicians who know how to care for both individuals and communities.
AOC Faculty interests include: Emerging infectious diseases; Environmental health; Primary care; Applied epidemiology;
Behavioral health; Public health practice; Disasters and emergencies; Health policy; Computer simulations and modeling;
Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity; Aging; Cancer; Community health; Communicable disease
control; and many more.
The central goals of the Public Health AOC are to:
1) Build students’ knowledge of medical and PH theory - including where medicine and PH converge and diverge through their engagement of literature, self-directed projects, internships, faculty mentors, and each other;
2) Develop students’ ability to provide a continuum of care for individuals and populations by evaluating a PH problem;
creating, implementing, and assessing a solution to the problem; and integrating both PH and medically-based
solutions;
3) Improve students’ ability to translate research into practice on the community and population level;
4) Augment students’ abilities to serve as effective agents of change through training in leadership, team building,
multidisciplinary problem solving, meeting planning, interagency collaboration, project management, and
negotiation; and
5) Foster overall professional growth in analytical thinking, written and oral communication, and rational decisionmaking.
Structure of the AOC
PH Journal Club: The PH journal club will meet regularly throughout the academic year and will be open to PH AOC
students and faculty. Students will take turns presenting a peer-reviewed paper related to PH research and practice.
Summer Internship: AOC students will complete a real-world PH experience during the summer after MS1. The
experience may focus on research, practice, or a combination of the two depending on student interest. A poster
presentation, abstract, or manuscript summarizing the summer experience is required following the rotation.
Public Health Interest Group Sessions: Several times each semester, The AOC will sponsor interactive lunch talks or
workshops that include presentations by expert faculty in PH-related fields. During a workshop, students will work
through a real-life PH problem solved through PH practice, such as case studies published by the Epidemic Intelligence
Service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Clinical Experience in Public Health: During either 3rd or 4th year, students will be required to take the month-long
Public Health Field Practicum or similar rotation, or opt out with the permission of the AOC Director if they have had an
equivalent experience.
Leadership Training Seminar: Students will participate in a leadership seminar developed by the Pennsylvania
Preparedness Leadership Institute and Center for Public Health Preparedness. Activities include skill building in the
following areas: leadership, team building, multidisciplinary problem solving, meeting planning, interagency collaboration,
project management, and negotiation.
Students completing the AOC will have a letter describing their accomplishments
placed in their official record.
Questions? Visit the Public Health AOC website on the Zone or contact:
Jason Sanders (sanders.jason@medstudent.pitt.edu), Jacqui Moreau
(moreau.jacqueline@medstudent.pitt.edu), Mirat Shah
(shah.mirat@medstudent.pitt.edu), Emily Rosenberger
(rosenberger.emily@medstudent.pitt.edu), Daniel Beswick
(beswick.daniel@medstudent.pitt.edu), Dr. Stebbins (Stebbins@pitt.edu)