Interview with Nianest Alers, MPH
Listen Here:
Highlights from this episode:
1. Becoming a Vector-Borne Disease Surveillance and Response Coordinator
2. Working as an Epidemiolgist from Puerto Rico to Hawaii
3. Benefits of being a bilingual public health professional
4. Podcast host for Mejor con Guanabanas
Episode 32 of Public Health Careers
Nianest Alers is a bilingual public health professional currently working in Hawaii as an Epidemiologist and is a podcast host. I love Nianest’s very unconventional journey into her undergraduate and into the public health world.
Nianest got her Bachelors of Biology/Biological Sciences from Universidad de Puerto Rico. Midway through her bachelors, Nianest joined many organizations as she thought she’d have to compete with many of the prospectus medical students. She was also part of the volleyball team during her time at Universidad de Puerto Rico.
Nianest went onto start a PhD program in Cell & Molecular Biology at UT Austin that she hated. She then went onto get her Master of Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health after one of the students in her PhD program mentioned it. During her MPH, she was a data collector for the University of Texas Health Science Center and was a Graduate Research Assistant.
After graduating she got a role as a Bilingual Nutrition Educator for Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Then after doing some research and finding out that she qualified to apply she applied and was accepted to the CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship program at the Hawaii State Department of Health.
From this, Nianest got hired into a full-time position as a Vector-Borne Disease Surveillance and Response Coordinator/Epidemiologist for the Hawaii State of Department of Health.
Nianest has also launched her podcast “Mejor con Guanabanas Podcast” two years ago where she aims at educating latinx communities around health.
Links from show
Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologist (CSTE) Membership if interested in Applied Epidemiology
Connect with Guest
Nianest Alers, MPH on LinkedIn
Nianest Alers on Instagram via Mejor Con Guanabanas Podcast
