Currently a PhD student in Epidemiology at Stanford
Doctor of Philosophy – PhD, Epidemiology 2020 – 2024
Yale School of Public Health, Master of Public Health (MPH), Epidemiology 2013 – 2015
Imperial College London, MEng, Bioengineering with a Year Abroad (Electrical Engineering Minor) 2006 – 2010
Profile
I’ve been an epidemiologist for the past 7 years, and am now pursuing my PhD at Stanford in the US. Epidemiology is the study of the spread of diseases and how it impacts populations. I have been involved in COVID projects recently, but my research focuses on how a changing climate impacts the cardiovascular health and wellbeing of older adults.
I’ve always wanted to work that impacted lives without specifically being a doctor or anything that involved too much face time because I knew my personality was more inward-focused and I also wanted a better work-life balance! As such, I figured I’d always work in research. I didn’t know what kind of research – I majored in Bioengineering at Imperial; while it gave me the mathematical skillset to do a lot of things, I wasn’t specifically drawn to it.
A few years after graduating from Imperial, I was reading about the World Health Organization and the career trajectory of former Director-General Margaret Chan; it turned out she was an epidemiologist, too! So since then, I haven’t looked back on my decision to pursue epidemiology full time. I got my Masters’s in Public Health from Yale, where I focused on global health and epidemiology research. I’ve had the privilege of being able to work full time on programs that have taken me to Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa and a host of other countries and places.
Currently, I’m based in the Bay Area in California trying to hone my machine learning skills among other things in my PhD. Ultimately, I hope to do good quality research that will have an impact on the community and translate to policy.
I’m also a parent to a 16-month-old toddler and a 2.5-year-old Sheepadoodle.
What’s your best memory of GIS?
I enjoyed Year 10/11 History immensely because of Miss Mellor, who was maybe the best and most enthusiastic teacher ever. I remember just debating SO much with one of my oldest friends Hui Ying a lot about the origins of WWII during this time. Miss Mellor was so encouraging and fun! We went to Model UN in Amsterdam with her and that was a great time.
The small things also stick with me a lot: being the first one to be dropped off at school every day – because my dad would drop me and my sister off at 7am – which meant that I had an extra 45-minute window to chat with my friends or listen to music on my Discman.
What inspires you?
Just trying to be the best person for my toddler right now.
Deadlines also motivate me!
Describe GIS in 3 words…
Comprehensive, Inspiring, Nurturing
How did GIS shape who you are today?
I was at GIS from 1992 to 2006, so GIS impacted my life in every way, shape and form during my formative years. Not only are some of my best friends from GIS, GIS allowed me to pursue all of my academic interests, particularly during Sixth Form. I remember arguing with Mr Ellis that I wanted to take 5 A-Levels that included Physics, Chemistry, Maths, English and History… and I ended up doing it! It was so much work, but I really enjoyed all of it.
Message to current students at GIS?
Remember to check your privilege. Being educated at GIS is a privilege and not always representative of the real world. And don’t be afraid of doing something that no one you know is doing, even if it seems crazy. Sometimes stuff works out, and sometimes it doesn’t.
If you’d like to reach out to talk about life and career stuff, please email me annabelxtan@gmail.com. I am not sure this was encouraged back in my day, but it’s pretty helpful to talk to different people about their trajectories and life stories!
Thank you, Annabel, for taking the time and sharing your experiences with us.
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