Ask an Epidemiologist

Fear

5 Reflections on Living a Long Life With Cancer

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on August 25, 2022

You've just finished your five years of cancer surveillance care and have been given the "all clear." Now what? Some advice from a fellow (former) cancer patient.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

An Epidemiologist Answers FAQs About COVID

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on September 30, 2021

In 2019 we had lots of questions but few answers about COVID. What a difference two years make.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Rhetorical Questions and Real Answers About Vaccination

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on April 26, 2021

I love three things: talking about research, debating the pros and cons of healthcare decisions, and dogs. And my dog is taking a nap.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Step Right Up: Your COVID Vaccine Is Ready

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on April 4, 2021

Feeling anxious about getting a COVID shot? Let me tell you about my experience.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Transparency, the FDA, and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on December 11, 2020

Feeling anxious about the pace of vaccine development in Operation Warp Speed? Let me help you work out those jitters.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

5 Recommendations for Giving Thanks During a Pandemic

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on November 12, 2020

Breaking bread with others is an important tradition, but this year shouldn’t be business as usual. Tips for making holiday memories during a pandemic.

Health

Whose Expert Guidance on Risk and Reopenings Should You Follow?

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on September 16, 2020

The Times surveyed epidemiologists about resuming activities during COVID. Here’s what I would have said, had they only asked.

Gratitude

Denial, Misdiagnosis, and the “Big C"

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on August 29, 2020

What Chadwick Boseman showed us about living with cancer.

Pregnancy

Missing Maternal Mortality

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on August 16, 2020

We under-count pregnancy-related deaths by excluding suicide, overdose, homicide, and accidents. Does it matter?

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Saying What They Won't: Speech-Writing for a Pandemic

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on July 20, 2020

Disillusioned by the the politics of COVID, but political satire just isn't helping to perk up your mood? Try this honest-but-earnest stump speech on for size.

Empathy

Point, Counterpoint, and COVID

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on May 26, 2020

How can public debate strengthen community ties during the pandemic crisis?

Grief

What Might Have Been: Grief and Gratitude in a Pandemic

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on May 20, 2020

Collective grief for collective gain? Making peace with what might have been during the pandemic.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

An Epidemiologist Answers COVID-19 FAQs

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on May 6, 2020

Questions about coronavirus? You've come to the right place.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on March 29, 2020

Looking for some colorful graphical projections of when the pandemic will peak? Keep waiting. Looking for some reflective late-night reassurance? Come on in.

Burnout

Social Distance and Mental Health in a Pandemic

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on March 13, 2020

Welcome to the new normal: Scrubbing up, staying home, and not panicking.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

4 True, but Unreported, Headlines About the Coronavirus

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on March 6, 2020

Is it time to convert your basement into the survivalist cave of your dreams? I'm glad you asked.

Coronavirus Disease 2019

How I Learned to Manage my Worry About the Coronavirus

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on February 16, 2020

Epidemiology is #trending with coronavirus in the news, but how can you build your quantitative reasoning skills in a more measured way? I’m glad you asked.

Suicide

“Deaths of Despair” Meets “Black Lives Matter”

Briana Mezuk Ph.D. on January 16, 2020

Beauty isn’t the only thing that lies in the eye of the beholder. How emphasis and interpretation of data on declines in life expectancy are distracting us from bigger issues.