Why did you choose the Yale School of Public Health?
I chose YSPH because of the incredible faculty specializing in cancer epidemiology. During my admissions interviews, which were conducted via Zoom, I met with my current advisor, Dr. Xiaomei Ma, along with two other senior faculty – all specializing in cancer epidemiology. They were just so incredibly kind to me during the interview, and Dr. Ma even stayed another half an hour past the allotted time to tell me more about the program. Other schools I had interviewed all needed a “refresher” about my application materials, whereas the YSPH faculty I met during my interviews appeared to truly have read my application. This was the first sign that the faculty truly cared about their incoming cohort of PhD students. I had been working on cancer epidemiology for a while, but YSPH gave me the opportunity to specialize and gain new skills in spatial statistics. I have always loved looking at maps (I have a collection of vintage maps), and I wrote my admissions essay about the role of one’s residential neighborhood in determining cancer risk, and wanted to study this further during my PhD. I am so glad that I’ve been able to do that here at YSPH through coursework and independent research.
I’ve really enjoyed the flexibility in coursework. If there was a class that I was passionate about, I was able to reach out to the administrators and ask them if I could use that course to fulfill a requirement.
Sunny Sidique
What were you doing before enrolling at YSPH?
Prior to YSPH, I completed a Cancer Research Training Award Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Before that, I received my master of public health degree in epidemiology from Columbia University and my bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University.
What are your favorite aspects of the YSPH academic program?
I’ve really enjoyed the flexibility in coursework. If there was a class that I was passionate about, I was able to reach out to the administrators and ask them if I could use that course to fulfill a requirement. I also, (perhaps an unpopular opinion), enjoyed the CDE PhD qualifying exams. Preparing for the exam really made me revisit all the “bread and butter” concepts in epidemiology that I hadn’t studied since my MPH. Also, I really liked the take-home part of the exam, where we were asked to come up with research proposals in response to a diverse array of health topics.
What was your most impactful experience outside of class?
My most impactful experience outside of class has been the opportunity to connect with my fellow PhD students. We are a small class, only 2-3 PhD students in CDE per cohort. That gives us the opportunity to truly get to know each other. I’m extremely close with my own cohort, along with the cohorts above me. I believe these relationships could not be fostered as closely had we not been a small, close-knit group.
Do you have a favorite Yale place or New Haven food?
One 6 Three [in the East Rock neighborhood] is my favorite pizza place. It’s so underrated – I highly recommend people to go check it out.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
After graduation, I hope to apply for academic jobs as a postdoc or assistant faculty member. I would also be open to learning more about the cancer drug development process, along with conducting safety and efficacy studies in the private sector.