Justine Marcinek received her Master of Public Health degree, specializing in Environmental Health Sciences, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2023. In the following Q&A, Ms. Marcinek discusses how exciting research opportunities and strong mentorship helped her develop the skills she will need to make a mark in public health.
What first attracted you to this area of study?
As an undergraduate student at Stony Brook University, I worked at their Center for Prevention and Outreach, which provides education, prevention, and outreach services and resources around a number of public health concerns. When I talked to my mentors about their career journeys, I learned how public health research and policy influence so much of the world around us, and that intrigued me. I looked into an MPH degree as the next step in my education.
How did you decide to focus on Environmental Health?
Once I got to Mount Sinai, I took a required class in environmental health, which looks at how public health interacts with food, water quality, occupational health, and other related areas. That really interested me, so I took a class in environmental and occupational epidemiology, which combined knowledge I gained from that first class with computer programming skills that taught me how to use technical methods to evaluate environmental and occupational health. What I liked about Environmental Health was that I could see much of what I learned “in action” in the world around me. I took a toxicology class that looked at how toxins and toxicants can affect organ systems of the body. I rounded out my coursework with additional statistics and computer programming classes, so now I have working knowledge of the industry as well as technical competencies in the field.
What were some of your achievements as a master’s student?
In my first year at Mount Sinai, I was a contributing writer for The Scoop, the public health graduate program newsletter, and I became co-editor in 2023. Making that progression was very exciting and rewarding for me. It enabled me to take a leadership role and curate interesting pieces from different members of our school community, not just students.
One thing I am proud of is my culminating experience. Under the mentorship of Yueh-Hsiu Mathilda Chiu, ScD, I wrote a first-author manuscript about pregnant workers’ awareness and understanding of the New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which grants pregnant workers more flexibility to obtain reasonable accommodations in the workplace. My mentor fielded a survey about that sector and, for my project, I looked at the survey data and we found that a majority of pregnant workers did not know about this policy. The more I dove into the work, the more I grew passionate about the subject. It lived up to its name as a culminating experience, because it drew from what I learned in all my classes, and applying what I learned to a real-world public health topic was really fulfilling. We’re planning to submit it to an academic journal.
For my applied practice experience fieldwork, I worked with the New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers to research current asthma resources on Staten Island and put together a resource map. I then incorporated those organizations into pamphlets that will be made available to pediatricians and community partners throughout the borough.
What are the strong points of Mount Sinai’s MPH program?
There are so many. The professors and teaching assistants are so passionate about their work, and they make the classes very engaging. I was exposed to many guest speakers, each with their own area of expertise from different niches in public health, and it showed me how broad the field is. The support of faculty enabled me to challenge myself and develop my skills. The mentorship I gained through my culminating experience helped me become a stronger researcher. At Mount Sinai, students have access to a large network of resources at the Health System. They also offer professional development opportunities and events focused on topics that I might not have otherwise learned about.
What’s next?
My goal is to work in risk communication and health literacy, particularly as it relates to occupational health, making sure that working environments are safe and that workers can go home safely to their families. I think it’s important that scientific research outcomes are translated into actionable information that people can understand, and use, to make well-informed health decisions. Right now, I’m looking at positions in the city and state government and hospitals, including Mount Sinai.