Alumni Profile

"It's amazing what is possible when a group of dedicated people with a variety of skills gets together to work on a public health problem: there is a great synergy that can emerge and remarkable things can get done," Margaret Watkins recounts, reflecting on her work in the public health field. Watkins, who earned her MPH in 1988 through the University of Washington's Extended MPH Degree Program, currently works as an epidemiologist at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Watkins's work with the CDC has taken her far afield. As part of global efforts to eradicate polio, she has worked in India, Indonesia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Egypt. She began her international work with a 3-month stint in Egypt in 2002, and has investigated polio outbreaks, and monitored immunization and disease surveillance programs since then. Watkins stresses that "working internationally, you need to be prepared for the unexpected. Often, things don't go as planned. Even if your plan is logical and the science is strong, cultural and social differences, communication and political difficulties, and other factors over which you have limited control can all present challenges. You need to adapt to the situation. This is what is so interesting about international public health work." She remembers a time in Egypt when she and a provincial medical director set off for a meeting about ongoing polio control efforts. "It was a harrowing ride. We were speeding the wrong way on busy, narrow one-way streets and dodging camels and traffic. My heart was in my throat. When we arrived at the meeting, all I wanted to do was take a few deep breaths. Then, the medical director, with no warning, told me, 'Okay, now you are going to give a lecture about polio to 100 doctors.' And so I gave the lecture -- it's this kind of adaptability that you have to have." In summing up her time with the polio eradication team, she says, "I feel lucky to have worked in that program. It is very challenging, not glamorous by any means. You work in areas where polio remains:mostly poor crowded areas with abysmal sanitary conditions. But I appreciate the opportunity to serve with such dedicated, talented professionals and to see the world the way it really is, not as on a tour bus."

Watkins initially came to the CDC in 1992 as part of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a 2-year fellowship program that provides extensive training in epidemiology. Upon joining the CDC, Watkins also accepted a commission in the United States Public Health Service, a uniformed service corps under the auspices of the Surgeon General. Watkins characterizes her 15 years at the CDC as "very intellectually stimulating: I have had the opportunity to work with smart, hard-working professionals on a wide range of topics, from birth defects to immunizations."

Although Watkins is currently working in the Global Immunization Division at the CDC, her research has examined topics such as cardiovascular disease, cancer mortality, and birth defects. Watkins says that she enjoys the research process, from "thinking about a research question and brainstorming with colleagues about how to get data to answer the question, to seeing what findings, sometimes unexpected, the data show." In a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2003, Watkins and her colleagues explored the relationship between maternal obesity and the increased risk for spina bifida and other birth defects. She says that "with other researchers, we helped start the ball rolling on researching these interesting puzzles related to pregnancy and nutrition."

Broadly, Watkins is interested in "health conditions with a large disease burden and where there is the potential to make a difference with interventions." She believes that "this real-world focus is what public health is all about." Watkins has won several awards for her research, including the Public Health Service's Minnigerode Award for Nursing Excellence, honoring a Public Health Service nursing researcher who has contributed to the development of new knowledge or practices.