Symone Woodham is in a unique position. She’s learning about epidemiology (the study of the spread, causes and control of diseases and other health conditions) in the middle of a pandemic. But her current studies, research and internship work aren’t focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they’re focused on another public health crisis that’s been around far longer – Alzheimer’s disease.
Woodham, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Studies from the University of Rhode Island, is just months away from earning a master’s degree in Public Health from Boston University. She’s also working as a scheduling coordinator at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. That’s where she found an internship that combined her educational focus on epidemiology with her personal interest in Alzheimer’s.
“Epidemiology is all about improving health outcomes through research, and that’s what I’m hoping to do with my career,” Woodham says.
“It’s definitely been interesting studying that during a pandemic. But when it came time to choose an internship for my master’s degree program, I came across the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital, where I work, and I knew right away that’s what I wanted to do.”
Woodham has previous personal and professional experience with Alzheimer’s. She lost her grandmother to the disease just a couple of years ago. And throughout college she worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), mostly at a nursing home focused on caring for individuals with memory impairment.
"After seeing what my grandmother went through and working with my patients in the nursing home, I really grew an interest in Alzheimer’s. I began using it as the focus of my papers and projects in school,” she says.
“Right now, I’m taking a qualitative research course where I’m working on two different research projects related to Alzheimer’s. In one, I’m interviewing healthcare workers who’ve been working with Alzheimer’s patients during the pandemic to see how things like social distancing and isolation have affected those patients. And in the other, I’m conducting a focus group discussion on caregiver burden.”
Woodham is also a contributor to an academic paper on the topic of caregiver burden, something she worked on with one of her professors.
She’s hoping to be involved in research in her career as well. In the meantime, she says she’s getting great experience during her internship at the Memory and Aging Program.
“I started my internship in August, and it’s been really great. I’ve been able to get involved with a variety of aspects in the program, from helping with administrative work to helping the research assistants to prepare study materials and see if any of the clinic’s patients would qualify for new or ongoing studies. I’ve also helped with outreach events out in the community, which has been fun,” Woodham says.
“Soon I’ll be working on a data entry project, which I’m excited about, and I’m hoping to have an opportunity to interact with the patients and study participants at some point in the future as well. I’m just really looking forward to learning more through the experience I’m gaining here, and getting started in my career after I graduate in the spring.”