Anna Mageras came to CUNY SPH with no direct public health experience, and in an impressive show of commitment and dedication to the public health field, managed to earn her way to the designation of valedictorian of her graduating class.
In her final year as an undergraduate student, Mageras wrote an analysis of the power dynamics surrounding colonial medical interventions in British East Africa.
“I became fascinated by how morally complex healthcare delivery could be, and how intimately tied to social and political conditions,” Mageras explains.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Mageras embarked on a career in book publishing where she worked on a number of books related to global health, sparking an interest in becoming more directly involved in public health research.
As she considered graduate programs, Mageras was drawn to SPH for its focus on social determinants of health and its dedication to health equity. The accomplished and diverse student body also appealed to her.
“Many of my classmates were full or part-time public health professionals while completing their master’s degrees,” she says. “This meant that our class discussions were always enriched by their thoughtful reflections on the real-world application of what we were learning.”
Mageras initially worried that, coming to SPH as a career changer, she would feel out of place in her master’s program. Over the course of her program, she realized her fears were unwarranted and upon being honored with the distinction of valedictorian at the commencement ceremony this past spring, she fully embraced her place in the public health world.
“This award really reinforced my sense of SPH as an open and welcoming community where you can succeed regardless of your background,” she says. “It helped me feel like I fully belonged in the public health world.”
Mageras is currently working with the Viral Hepatitis C group at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases on an initiative called Project INSPIRE. Project INSPIRE oversees a care-coordination program for Medicaid and Medicare recipients infected with Hepatitis C (HCV). She was brought on board to manage the participant survey, which seeks to evaluate participants’ experience with their care coordinators and HCV doctors.
“It has been gratifying to speak with the patients, many of whom have lived with HCV for decades and have finally been cured, and to hear them express their enthusiasm for the program,” Mageras says. “These conversations have made me so grateful to be part of something that is making a tangible difference in people’s lives.”
Mageras is spearheading the analysis of the survey data from Project INSPIRE, researching and designing an analysis plan, and writing the statistical analysis code to be used in the process.
A talent for statistical analysis is not the only tool in Mageras’ arsenal. She has been chosen to put her writing and editing skills—honed during her years in the publishing world—to work illustrating the experiences of the study’s participants. Mount Sinai, one of the clinical partners helping implement Project INSPIRE, is interested in complementing the project’s quantitative analyses with narratives of patients’ experiences. Bridging her communications skills with the data analysis skills acquired through her graduate studies and public health internships, Mageras will relate the side of the story that data alone cannot explain.
Though her current work is locally focused, Mageras has not lost sight of her interest in global health. “NYC’s population is extremely diverse, and its large immigrant communities have distinct health needs, making the city an excellent place to engage in globally-minded public health research and practice.”
