Sharon Welburn (MPH, EPI ’13; PhD, EPI ’19) was first introduced to public health while working alongside epidemiologists in an injury center lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
“My team and I were conducting research on car crashes using driving simulators, and it allowed me to see firsthand how data and research can directly push policy,” said Welburn, now an assistant professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health, who was pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology at the time. “Seeing how your daily academic work can translate into real-world impact was incredibly cool, and it completely hooked me on the field of epidemiology.”
After her time at UAB, Welburn came to Pitt to pursue her MPH and PhD in epidemiology. She admits that a career in academia took her by surprise.
Once Welburn started teaching at Columbus State University in Georgia, she realized she enjoyed the classroom even more than the lab. In 2023, she returned to Pitt Public Health to teach in the Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) program. Now in her third year at the school, she primarily focuses on undergraduate education, alongside conducting fall risk research and co-authoring a textbook to improve accessibility for students.
“Teaching provides a sense of instant gratification that you rarely get in research, where waiting for manuscript acceptances or funding can take years,” said Welburn. “In the classroom, I get to introduce students to what epidemiology is, help them secure internships, and connect them with field offices based on their specific interests.”
She was particularly excited to return to her alma mater during a period of transition.
“I was eager to get back to teaching core epidemiology to undergraduate students,” she said. “Epidemiology at Pitt Public Health has gone through a significant generational shift recently with a lot of long-time faculty retiring, so it’s been an exciting time of renewal and growth for the department.”
While Welburn continues to study fall risk and fall prevention among older adults, her primary focus remains on her students. In the BSPH program, she teaches Introduction to Epidemiology and BSPH Capstone Project. For master’s and doctoral students, she teaches Applied Epidemiology Field Investigation Methods.
More recently, Welburn and Tom Songer, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, co-wrote a free, online epidemiology textbook. The duo piloted the first draft with students in the spring, and they are currently editing it to add more practice problems and knowledge checks for the next iteration.
“Traditional textbooks can be incredibly expensive, and I firmly believe that education, especially when it benefits public health, should not sit behind a paywall,” said Welburn. “One of the great things about epidemiology is its inherent flexibility; your foundational knowledge can be applied to almost any public health emergency.”
Outside of epidemiology, Welburn is an avid gamer. While at Columbus State, she even coached the school’s competitive League of Legends esports team for several years.
“Since having my toddler, I’ve shifted to more casual gaming, but I still drop into the Pitt Discord channels,” she said. “Pitt just built an incredible new gaming suite and studio on the seventh floor of the new rec center, which I think is an amazing outlet for students.”
Welburn’s home life also keeps her busy. In addition to raising a toddler, she cares for two dogs, two cats, and four chickens.
“It’s a wonderful, chaotic balance to academic life,” she said.
-Ava Dzurenda