Student Spotlight – Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson was the kind of kid always asking questions. While a child’s mind churning endless questions can exasperate one’s parents, it is the perfect trait for an epidemiologist. A second-year student in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Tyler’s interest in public health germinated while an undergraduate. A chemistry and anthropology major, he hoped he could eventually combine the two disciplines by pursuing a career in public health practice. That led him to the Peace Corps where his interests in education and HIV prevention work were a perfect fit for the country of Zambia.

For Peace Corps Volunteers in Zambia, HIV education and prevention is integrated into many community-based programs. For example, while primarily an English teacher, Tyler also trained community health workers to do HIV testing and counseling and assisted the local clinic in creating a teen-friendly club room to create a safe and welcoming place for classes and social activities. After two years in the village of Hanjunsa, Tyler worked in the capital, Lusaka, as a program assistant for HIV work being done by Peace Corps Volunteers across the country.

Tyler’s experience in Zambia helped him refine his interests in the field of public health. He is particularly interested in implementation science and has just returned from an internship in Uganda, studying the effectiveness of the standard intervention that nurses and community health workers use in counseling TB patients. Funded by the Downs Fellowship, Tyler and his research assistant were able to enroll 80 participants in this pilot study which will measure adherence to treatment and health outcomes. Data collection will continue through the fall, and he plans to use his thesis to further his work on the project. “TB is the number one infectious disease killer in the world, and it is curable.” Tyler Johnson hopes his asking questions will play a part in addressing the TB epidemic conundrum.