Five Years, 1,851 Graduates, and a Promise for the Future of Public Health

Zhao interned with Cruise LLC while enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics program at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego. After graduating in 2023, Zhao earned a permanent position as part of a team that conducted comprehensive safety analyses to inform the company’s decisions on when to launch in new cities.

Educating Outside the Box

“I began my Ph.D. with the goal of becoming a biostatistician, but my perspective shifted after an internship at Cruise. It was there that I realized the rigorous statistical skills I had developed were not limited to a single industry but were broadly transferable and valuable for guiding data-driven decision making across diverse domains,” said Zhao. “That experience taught me the value of thinking outside the box and embracing opportunities in unexpected fields.”

Zhao is one of 1,851 public health students who have graduated just since the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health launched its first academic year in fall 2020.

With six undergraduate and graduate degree choices and nine teaching divisions — Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Climate and Environmental Sciences, Community Health Services and Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health, Health Behavior, Health Policy, Public Mental Health and Substance Use, and Technology and Precision Health — the school offers an interdisciplinary education poised to shape transformative solutions across a vast spectrum of public health challenges.

“The study and research during my Ph.D. equipped me with a strong foundation in statistics and programming, an important component of day-to-day work at Cruise and Google. Furthermore, my research cultivated my problem-solving skills in addressing intricate problems,” said Zhao, who is now a research data scientist at Google.

Like Zhao, not all public health students intend on careers directly in this field. This excites Kimberly Brouwer, Ph.D., associate dean for education and student affairs at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.

“This is the exciting aspect of how we can train people from many different fields in public health, so that they can approach medical problems from a public health and prevention light. Or they can approach urban planning and design with an idea on how communities can be better designed to promote healthy lifestyles to tackle the public health problems we are facing now,” said Brouwer, who holds a doctorate in molecular epidemiology.

A School Reimagined

Public health has been woven into the fabric of UC San Diego since the university’s earliest days. In 1983, the university deepened its commitment to the field by establishing its first formal public health program — the UC San Diego-San Diego State University General Preventive Medicine Residency. The program continues to shape generations of physicians dedicated to preventive medicine and the advancement of public health.

The university expanded its public health offerings by introducing key academic programs: UC San Diego-San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health in 1990, the Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 2013, the Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics in 2016, the Master of Public Health in 2018, and the Master of Science in Biostatistics in 2019.

In 2019, building on decades of growth and with a $25 million pledge from the Wertheim Family Foundation, the university took a transformative step toward the future of public health by elevating its public health program from a department within the UC San Diego School of Medicine to an independent school — uniting education, research and community engagement under a new vision.

“Establishing the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego was a bold reimagining of what public health can be. We are building a school that advances education and research while also partnering deeply with our community to address the most pressing public health challenges,” said Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., founding dean of the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and inaugural Hood Family Endowed Dean’s Chair in Public Health.

“This school is our promise to future generations: that public health will be innovative, comprehensive and relentlessly focused on improving lives.”

Between 2020 and 2022, faculty, staff and students participated in a comprehensive strategic planning process to identify teaching, research, service and community partnership priorities. The aim was to reenvision public health at UC San Diego — honoring its achievements and positive traditions since 1966 — by boldly addressing 21st-century public health challenges and delivering a curriculum that meets evolving needs.

A native San Diegan, Angel Lomeli, M.P.H., is passionate about human health and helping his community live their healthiest lives. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 2022 and Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology in 2024.

Lomeli is a research coordinator at the UC San Diego Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences for the Preparedness through Respiratory Virus Epidemiology and Community Engagement (PREVENT) research center, which is dedicated to understanding and mitigating the spread of respiratory viruses in communities.

“As we face a time when public health is under scrutiny, it's crucial to reflect on why we chose this field to begin with — to help others,” said Lomeli. “We must ask ourselves: if not us, then who?”

Who indeed.

Alumni in the Field

Though the school is just five years, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health alumni are already making notable impact in the field.

Rita Hedo, M.P.H. ’21, an epidemiologist at the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, was drawn to public health by curiosity about what drives communities to get sick. Her current work centers on respiratory and food-borne outbreaks, among other areas.

As an assistant professor of medicine and biostatistics in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ruohui (Matt) Chen, Ph.D. Biostatistics ’23, is applying his research interests in data analysis and clinical trial design to tackle challenging industry problems.

Nina Weisbrod, M.P.H. ’24, took a distinctive approach to her Master of Public Health practicum project by combining a passion for Electronic Dance Music with a love of public health and policy. Today, she helps people access care as a health navigator with the Jewish Family Service of San Diego.

Students and alumni often credit their success to the school’s 180 faculty, academics and physicians who train learners as well as the 180 staff who support them through their educational journey from their initial inquiry through graduation.

Many students are so satisfied with their experience at UC San Diego that they return to serve as faculty, academics or staff. Among the recent graduates is Matthew D. Stone, Ph.D., a graduate of the Joint Doctoral Program in 2021, who completed his postdoctoral fellowship in 2023. He is now an assistant professor in public health, examining health behavior related to tobacco control.

Jane Moon, M.P.H. ’22, is a Master of Public Health program coordinator at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health. She is committed to ensuring students feel supported, heard and empowered to confidently apply their training to future careers.

School Milestones

Since the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health launched its first academic year in fall 2020, enrollment continues to grow — from 566 in the 2019-2020 academic year before the school was established to 1,053 in 2024-2025, the school’s fifth academic year.

In addition, the Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics graduated its first three students in 2021 and the Master of Biostatistics its first full cohort – 10 students – in 2022.

During the 2024-2025 academic year, the school made strides to further expand its innovative offerings by establishing a new Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health with a concentration in Health Services Research and Implementation Science. The program is set to launch in fall 2025 with an inaugural cohort of six students.

This year, the school also secured $5 million in state funding to launch a collaborative pilot program that will allow qualified students at Southwestern College to transfer to the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health to complete a Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree while taking their UC San Diego courses at the community college campus.

"This investment from the State of California is supporting a partnership between UC San Diego and Southwestern College that exemplifies how community-rooted education can transform lives. By expanding access to public health education degrees in San Diego County, we are offering more than a degree — we are cultivating future public health professionals who reflect and uplift the communities they serve,” said Anderson.

In just five years, the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health has grown from a bold vision to a vibrant reality — educating more than 1,800 changemakers and launching innovative programs that redefine what it means to be a public health professional. Its graduates are proof that public health is not confined to hospitals or labs — it lives in city planning, data science, community care and wherever committed minds seek solutions. We’re building a healthier future — one student at a time.