Holdiman earns scholarship to NYU Center for Opioid Epidemiology

Anna Holdiman, a NIOSH trainee in Occupational Epidemiology in the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, earned a scholarship to attend New York University’s Center for Opioid Epidemiology Polysubstance Use Symposium in October. Holdiman is a third-year PhD student in Epidemiology. 

“I have a strong interest in substance use research, especially from an occupational epidemiology perspective,” Holdiman said. “I was familiar with NYU's Center for Opioid Epidemiology and they offered different levels of support for students, postdoctoral fellows, early-stage investigators, and individuals with lived experience of substance use.”

“I'm looking forward to learning about the diverse work being done across the country and exploring various analytical methods and approaches within the field. I’m especially interested in topics at the intersection of substance use and occupational epidemiology. I’m also excited to connect with other students with similar research interests.”

Holdiman’s academic initiative is robust. She attended the Society for Epidemiologic Research conference in Austin in June and worked this summer as a Research Specialist at Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC), on a project addressing gaps in care for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD).  

“My interest in opioid epidemiology is driven by both personal and professional experiences. The loss of a family member to an opioid overdose early in life deeply influenced my commitment to this field. Professionally, as an acute care speech-language pathologist, I frequently worked with people who use drugs (PWUD), which exposed me to the challenges and stigma faced while navigating and accessing healthcare. These experiences motivated me to apply to programs to obtain a PhD and focus my research on improving outcomes and contributing to the evidence base for harm reduction strategies.”

The SWCOEH provides graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health® programs.