Please see the article from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine CURE newsletter below that highlights one of our program's MD-MPH students!

"Harsimran Makkad, MD-MPH student, had a once-in-a-career experience when she secured a one-on-one interview with Anthony Fauci, MD, as part of her graduate coursework.

The opportunity grew out of PH7070: Leadership, Communication, and Systems Thinking in Public Health Management, a required course in UC's MPH program taught by Michelle Burbage, PhD, director of the Master of Public Health Program and associate professor in the UC CoM Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences. The course's Leadership Profile Assignment challenges students to identify, reach out to, and interview a leader in public health or healthcare — building professional networks while gaining firsthand insight into leadership pathways and the realities of working in the field.

Makkad initially reached out to Fauci on a long shot, received a polite decline, completed the assignment by interviewing another public health leader, and then followed up the next semester as promised. Her persistence paid off, and she found herself on a 20-minute Zoom call that proved both surreal and deeply formative.

The conversation offered Makkad valuable perspective on what public health leadership looks like behind the scenes — the complexity of communication, the importance of staying proactive in an evolving information environment, and the challenge of building a career that feels purposeful.

"I left the conversation feeling grounded and inspired," Makkad reflected. "Public health leadership, as Dr. Fauci described it, is messy and often misunderstood, but it's also purposeful. Hearing that from someone who has carried that responsibility for decades made me even more certain that I want a career where clinical medicine and public health thinking inform each other."

Makkad's experience reflects the kind of professional development and experiential learning that have come to define UC's MPH program — and that are earning it growing national recognition. In the latest U.S. News & World Report graduate program rankings, the MPH program continued its upward climb, affirming UC's commitment to preparing graduates who are ready to lead in an increasingly complex public health landscape."