Alumni Profile: Andriy Chybisov MPH ’17

How did Brown prepare you to tackle contemporary issues in global public health?

Not a day goes by without my recalling something from my coursework or research at Brown. Two years ago, I was examining the phenomenon of epidemiologic transition as part of Dr. McGarvey’s Burden of Disease in Developing Countries course; and today, I support programs in countries which are increasingly suffering from non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, in addition to the “traditional” burdens of malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases. Brown taught me to look at the distribution of disease through the lens of social determinants of health, and I help our participating organizations to be more effective and efficient in addressing those determinants and eliminating disparities in access to quality health care.

Brown taught me to collect, analyze, and use data, and to share it with partners. I am now using those skills to develop a data management plan for our program, to engage partners in meaningful conversations about the purpose of quality data collection, and to address research fatigue in communities where participants have been studied, observed, measured, and stratified without much visible benefit to those communities. The discussions we had at Brown on global health research ethics and community engagement are now very real in my daily job.

While at Brown, I realized that the maximum good for the maximum number of people should not be achieved at the expense of minority populations. Thanks to Dr. Operario’s LGBT Health class and his excellent mentorship, I always keep gender aspects of health in mind when designing programs or analyzing results.

My studies at Brown were sponsored by the Brown University-Ukraine Collaboration, a global health research group led by Dr. Tim Flanigan that does extensive research with the Ukraine medical community and civil society.  I contributed to the Collaboration by working with an LGBT organization to help them evaluate an innovative HIV testing intervention in Ukraine. I found that Internet-based interventions have great potential for bringing highly stigmatized populations into the cascade of HIV prevention, care, and treatment, but only if those services are organized with adequate standards of confidentiality. I still work with the group on crafting funding proposals and helping them to scale up their interventions.

What is your advice for students in the program now on how to prepare for a career in public health?

I cannot overstate how important practical experience is for your academic success, but even more so, for your future career. Any internship experience, paid or not, any class project experience, may be used to improve and showcase your professional skills. My month-long academic internship turned into a job offer after graduation.

Another thing you’ve heard dozens of times: Your quantitative skills are important.  My goal at Brown was to learn Biostatistics to the extent that I would not fail the finals. I succeeded, but in the process, I learned to appreciate the tables in academic papers – those that used to scare me into reading just the Conclusion section. Now, even though I am not a data analyst, I use those skills daily, and provide feedback on our partners’ data analysis and presentation.

Finally, be attentive to your resume and cover letters. In my current position, I’m surprised how many capable candidates make formatting errors or forget to craft their cover letters to the position they are applying for, or fail to follow up with a thank-you note. Those three little steps do not always go without saying – so make sure you follow those!