The Jeffrey P. Davis Scholarship Fund

The Jeffrey P. Davis Student Scholarship Fund provides opportunities for public health students to network with applied epidemiologists at the CSTE Annual Conference. This scholarship fund will build upon the existing CSTE Student Scholarship, which has awarded eight student scholarships since its inception in 2016. CSTEF plans to increase the number of student scholarships awarded with a long-term goal of up to 35 scholarships awarded annually.

Scholarships will be competitive and involve coordination with individual colleges and universities. The estimated expense for one student will range from $700 to $2,500. The Scholarship is managed by a dedicated task force comprised of CSTEF board members and CSTE staff who design and disseminate the application, and evaluate each scholarship submission. All eligible applicants for the Jeff Davis Student Scholarship should be a current student in a public health program and a resident of the United States or U.S territories. Ideal scholarship applicants are students with a concentration in epidemiology.

The Jeffrey P. Davis Student Scholarship is made possible through generous donations to the CSTE Foundation.

PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

Melanie Firestone MPH, PhD received scholarships from the Jeffrey P. Davis Student Scholarship Fund and the International Association for Food Protection in 2018. She is a member of the 2020 class of CDC’s renowned Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) class. She completed her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. Her doctoral work identified opportunities for improving surveillance activities to drive declines in the incidence of foodborne illness using restaurants and Salmonella as a model. She has authored and co-authored food safety articles for publications, including CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases and IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection. Dr. Firestone received a B.S. in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest University and an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Columbia University, after which she worked as a research scientist at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, developing her interest in foodborne illness epidemiology.

“Receiving the Jeffrey P. Davis Memorial Scholarship set me on the path to a successful career in applied epidemiology.

“The connections I made at the conference helped me improve my research, furthered my interest in the field of applied epidemiology, and helped me be a more competitive job applicant. It also opened the doorway for me to become more involved in CSTE allowing me to enhance connections with colleagues and further my career development.”