Thread by @societyforepi

Before I wrap up for the day: I hope my tweets have highlighted not just the massive impact of #COVID19 on Indigenous communities, but the need for more #nativeepi professionals in the field. #TaliaTwitterTakeover #epitwitter

I finished my PhD in 2017 (Yay me! Thanks @JohnsHopkinsSPH/@JohnsHopkinsEPI/@JHIDDynamics!) We all know that deserves its own tweet. Below is me walking to receive my diploma.

That year, I was the only Native American in the United States to get a PhD in epidemiology. If you look at the past decade, you’ll see that’s the rule, not the exception. (If you’re one of the others, please say hi and help me get #nativeepi going!)

There are so many big, intractable, structural inequities behind those numbers. I hope we’re all fighting, little by little, to change them. But we can also do more to support potential #nativeepi's now.

Outreach in Indigenous communities and Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCUs!), mentorship, sharing “hidden knowledge”, financial support, explicitly encouraging Native students to go into epi/public health. All of that helps and all of it matters.

I know EPIs from other underrepresented communities have previously shared ways to encourage and support URM EPIs and those apply to #nativeepi’s as well. Please share here if you have thoughts!

I would especially love to see more #nativeepi's in my subfield of infectious disease modeling, since the #COVID19 pandemic has revealed how critical our work is!