From the COVID-19 Frontlines, An Amgen Scholar Makes Her Mark
An Amgen Scholars alumna, Elgin Yalin, is working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As part of a CDC field services team, Yalin served as a liaison to the medical team. She was managing the data for field services operations, taking calls coming in from the field, preparing for future field visits from the medical team, and also drafting protocols for documentation. “Adaptation and flexibility were necessary,” she says. Now due to a shelter-in-place order at home, she’s had time to reflect on her scientific path.
We spoke with Yalin about her experiences on the response team, her path from Amgen Scholars to the CDC, and her work with communities to help prevent transmission or improve outcomes for individuals living with an infectious disease.
ASP: First, how has your morale been?
Yalin: I have been absolutely exhausted, but, at the same time, thankful that I was doing something useful and had a sense of purpose. The room was always bustling, and aside from minor frustrations, everyone stayed pretty upbeat. My coworkers and I used humor to get us through.
It is a very unprecedented time, and there are a lot of eyes on my field right now. In my work before COVID-19, I would have difficulty getting people’s interest enough to even pick up a phone call. Now, I find myself being directly messaged by friends, family, and former colleagues to understand the details of COVID-19 virus.
ASP: What has been like to be in public health right now during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yalin: It is a very unprecedented time, and there are a lot of eyes on my field right now. In my work before COVID-19, I would have difficulty getting people’s interest enough to even pick up a phone call. Now, I find myself being directly messaged by friends, family, and former colleagues to understand the details of COVID-19 virus. I feel a sense of indirect pressure to step into a public health advocacy and education role within my social network, and I think many other health professionals can relate to this. Unfortunately, it is a novel virus, and there is still a lot that is unknown, as robust, peer-reviewed research studies take time to validate findings. I cannot provide any new information other than urging people to alter their daily behaviors and stay at home. All levels of public health be it federal, state, or local are working nonstop to respond and contain the spread of COVID-19.
ASP: How did you get into public health in the first place?
Yalin: I have always been a curious person, and science helped to feed that curiosity. My parents would tell me how annoying all my “but why?” questions were when I was a child. I looked forward to my science classes in school, because there was an underlying drive to explain and understand the natural world. I loved the objectivity of the scientific field and the ability to predict outcomes with current knowledge at hand, which has been built upon by generations before me.
As I was going through my undergraduate education, I felt an internal conflict between my passions for the social and hard sciences. I wanted to make a difference in the health sciences, but I became frustrated with the fact that there are structural barriers to quality healthcare. There may be the knowledge and tools to address a particular chronic or infectious disease, but it requires economic means and self-advocacy to receive those benefits. I began to grapple with who will have access to these resources and how this pattern originated in the United States. I was also struck by the fact that pathogens themselves do not discriminate in who gets infected, but despite this fact, certain populations are predominantly affected.
With all my knowledge about health disparities, I could not imagine myself doing anything else than working to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Public health is the marriage of hard and social science knowledge being actioned to increase health equity. I finally had insight where I realized my passion for public health and started looking for more public health classes and opportunities.
My time at NIH made such an impact, and I was able to see careers that I didn’t know existed prior. Had it not been for Amgen giving me these experiences, I do not think I would have been as prepared for my current work.
ASP: How did the Amgen Scholars Program at NIH help prepare you for your current work?
Yalin: The program provided me with experiences that I would not have received within my undergraduate education. My research lab taught me how to use SPSS software, and I have used this tool in future epidemiology projects. Through the policy brief and poster presentation, I developed effective presentation skills and also became more comfortable speaking in front of a large audience. In my current job, I am constantly educating people, including community partners, stakeholders, and conference attendees.
My time as an Amgen Scholar taught me how to take research data and craft a compelling story for my audience. I also learned how to conduct literature reviews and understand what goes into publishing a paper. The work I do on a daily basis is not as research focused, but I am utilizing tools that have been proved effective by peer-reviewed research.
My time at NIH made such an impact, and I was able to see careers that I didn’t know existed prior. Had it not been for Amgen giving me these experiences, I do not think I would have been as prepared for my current work.
ASP: What’s your favorite memory from or part of the Amgen Scholars Program?
Yalin: When I think back to the Amgen Scholars Program, my mind immediately recalls all the wonderful people I was able to work closely with. I loved the passionate people in my research lab, my Amgen cohort–we called it “famgen” for the Amgen family–and Dr. Klenke, who coordinates the NIH site. All of these people I am still in touch with today, which just goes to show the high-quality relationships I was able to build. When I moved back to Washington, DC, my principal researcher, postdoc, and fellow all welcomed me back for a visit to the lab. Within my Amgen NIH cohort, I really made lasting friendships, and just last Friday, we had a video call to catch up with everyone.
ASP: Can you describe, in brief, your path from Amgen Scholars and undergrad to the CDC?
Yalin: I was part of the Amgen Scholars program the summer before my senior year of college at UNC Chapel Hill in 2016. At that time, I really did not know what I was going to do once I graduated from my university. I wanted to get more experience before I determined what kind of graduate degree I was going to pursue. I applied to a variety of positions, some in infectious disease research labs others in public health nonprofits and local governments. I ran into a common problem of needing experience to get experience. I started researching entry- level jobs at large federal organizations when I came across the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Public Health Associate Program (PHAP).
PHAP is a salaried two-year public health training program that is geared towards recent graduates. The program places you anywhere across the United States to work with a local health department or nonprofit organization who is in need of support. I was placed in San Francisco, CA working with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention and Control.
ASP: What did you do in that position?
Yalin: During my time there, I served as a disease control investigator where I would interview active cases of tuberculosis to identify all of their close contacts to contain the spread of the disease. I ensured that all the contacts were evaluated and treated. Sometimes, this involves going to their homes and drawing blood while in other instances I would set up massive screenings at work places, hospitals, homeless shelters, etc. I was also responsible for providing daily observed therapy and collecting specimens from cases. I have been able to work on outbreaks at the state level, and I also organized multiple community outreach events around World TB Day. After the program ended, PHAP graduates are able to interview for a number of positions that are not open to the public. I joined the CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention this way, and the position I obtained was newly created through the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative.
What I love about my investigative work is that you never know what information you will get when you speak to someone on the phone or in person. Everyone has a story to tell, and it is amazing how much people open up when you ask how you can help.
ASP: What has been the most exciting thing coming out of your current work?
Yalin: My current work involves HIV cluster detection and response. It is exciting to be working towards ending the HIV epidemic. What I love about my investigative work is that you never know what information you will get when you speak to someone on the phone or in person. Everyone has a story to tell, and it is amazing how much people open up when you ask how you can help. It has been quite sobering to see all the ways that someone can slip through the cracks of even the best healthcare system. Some common examples are lack of insurance, clinic wait times, unreliable transportation to the clinic, or miscommunication about payment options. A lot of individuals I work with are quite jaded with both healthcare and the government. So, it is very fulfilling when my actions can demonstrate otherwise and how these systems can work to their benefit.
ASP: What is the driving force behind your work?
Yalin: My overarching goal is to address health disparities, but ultimately the driving force behind my work always circles back to the connections I make with people. It is their story, voice, kindness, and resilience that keeps me going. If I can help them in any small way, then I know a hard day has been worthwhile. I always think about the close bonds I created with my work as a TB investigator. I was with these individuals day to day throughout the beginning of their treatment, which is always a difficult transition. I would visit them in the hospital, their homes, and sometimes their workplaces. There are multiple patients that have really stayed with me throughout my career, and they have taught me so much.
The opinions expressed in this article are the interviewee’s own and do not reflect the view of the CDC or the United States government.
