Several students from the USF College of Public Health (COPH) shared their work at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo, one of the field’s most influential gatherings. Among those presenting, three students Emily Walsh, Molly Joyce and Spuritha Bhandaru were highlighted for their innovative research addressing public health priorities affecting communities locally and nationally.
MPH student Emily Walsh and doctoral student Molly Joyce were selected to present on behalf of Delta Omega, the national public health honor society, recognizing their outstanding academic achievement and service to the profession.
Emily Walsh presenting her poster at APHA. (Photo courtesy of Walsh)
Walsh, a maternal and child health scholar, presented her poster, “Tampa Bay Youth Reproductive Well-Being Needs Assessment.” Her project, conducted with the Tampa Bay Reproductive Well-Being Collaborative and Power to Decide, elevates youth perspectives at a time of rapidly shifting reproductive health policies and services.
“Recent policy changes at the local, state and federal levels have dramatically reshaped the reproductive health landscape for young people,” Walsh said. “Many of the effects of these changes are still not fully understood.”
Walsh stressed that including youth directly in research is essential to understanding solutions that will actually improve their health and well-being.
“We heard over and over from teens that they want accurate information,” she said. “They want someone they trust to talk to and they want to feel respected in the process.”
Walsh described presenting at APHA as a defining moment in her development as a public health scholar.
“It helped me grow more confident in sharing my work with a wider audience,” she said. “And it reinforced that research should translate into practice. Hearing professionals say, ‘This needs to be shared with policymakers,’ confirmed the importance of taking this project beyond the academic space.”
Joyce presented her research analyzing dengue virus serotypes reported in Florida. Her surveillance work aims to improve situational awareness and guide rapid responses as the state continues to face increases in mosquito-borne disease activity.
Spuritha Bhandaru inside the Washington Convention Center at APHA. (Photo courtesy of Bhandaru)
Alongside these Delta Omega scholars, MPH in epidemiology student Spuritha Bhandaru presented her spatial modeling project focused on identifying tuberculosis (TB) hot spots in Kansas City. Her work highlights how place-based inequities can shape disease vulnerability.
“I was curious about how spatial modeling and geostatistics could reveal hidden geographic patterns and identify high-risk areas,” Bhandaru said. “The more precise we are, the better we can direct outreach and screening, especially where resources are limited.”
Bhandaru said presenting at APHA not only expanded her technical communication skills, but also validated the real-world importance of her work.
“It was motivating to hear experts say how needed this type of predictive modeling is,” she said. “It made me even more excited to scale up the project and make it state-wide.”
Spuritha Bhandaru presenting her poster at APHA. (Photo courtesy of Bhandaru)
Conversations at APHA also helped deepen her understanding of the human factors behind the data.
“A PhD candidate familiar with TB outbreaks in my study area helped explain why one socioeconomic factor emerged as such a strong predictor,” she said. “That insight has the potential to directly shape programmatic decisions.”
For Bhandaru, the end goal is clear.
“My hope is that this model becomes an early warning framework,” she said. “If we can predict risk sooner, we can prevent more illness — and do so more equitably.”