Kari Weber, Ph.D., MHS, Grateful for Her Path to Becoming a Public Health Professional
| Kari Weber, Ph.D., MHS, is an assistant professor in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology.
Whenever she reflects on her route to obtaining a career in public health, Weber is filled with gratitude.
“I’ve learned to love people,” she said. “I think everyone deserves to be healthy. There’s merit in helping others. At an early age I knew I wanted to do something that involved taking care of people.”
THE FORMATIVE YEARS
Weber grew up in a large, blue-collar family on the west suburbs of Chicago. She remembers playing games with the many kids in her neighborhood, riding bikes and staying outside until the streetlights came on.
Aside from having fun with her friends, she also liked school. Throughout her youth, she excelled academically. In 2003, Weber graduated from high school, with honors. She received scholarship opportunities from numerous schools, and eventually she chose to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Weber yearned to experience life outside of the Midwest. However, her desire to live in a different environment received an immediate test.
“It was a bit shocking at first, being in California,” she said. “There were people from everywhere at USC. But I found my friend group, and I loved it.”
Weber earned a degree in health and humanities (pre-med anthropology) and psychology in 2007.
“Anthropology was fascinating because we learned about evolutionary health and how we’ve changed how we live,” she said. “That was an interesting way to think about health.”
Excited to make a positive impact, Weber was eager to enter the workforce. However, the job opportunities were scarce due to a nationwide recession. So, she returned to Chicago to figure out what her next step would be.
“I was disappointed,” she said. “I initially thought that because I had a great degree, I’d get a lot of job offers. But that wasn’t the case. The economy was not good. There wasn’t much that I could do in that situation as I was just 22 years old.”
Since remaining idle was not an option for Weber, she started working at a Chicago restaurant.
“Working at that restaurant made me a better person, and it was a fun job, too,” she said. “I was lucky. I worked there at time when there were people working there who were just like me — young and needing a job.
“That era of my life has made me more open-minded. It always reminds me to try and avoid judging what other people do. We have no idea why any person has made any of the choices they’ve made.”
BACK TO SCHOOL
She decided to pursue a master’s degree and enrolled in Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore. In the fall 2009 semester, Weber started the Johns Hopkins masters in epidemiology program. She easily handled the rigors of the renowned college.
“It’s like any other school,” Weber stated. “I genuinely like epidemiology, and I was already willing to work hard at it before I started at Johns Hopkins.”
Being out of school for two years helped her reset and enter the program ready to excel, she added.
“Taking time off from school, after I graduated from USC, helped me,” Weber said. “I appreciated being back in college and working toward something important. I appreciated the graduate experience more because I took time off.”
She obtained the master’s from Hopkins in 2011 and then enrolled in Hopkins’ doctoral epidemiology program, earning her doctorate in 2016. She also completed a student researcher internship at the Environmental Protection Agency enhancing her epidemiology expertise.
She then headed to Stanford University for a perinatal and environmental epidemiology postdoc assignment.
However, in March 2020, her time at Stanford unexpectedly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One day, I received a message from my boss that I was not to report to the office,” Weber said. “My boss just said that he’ll let me know when I could physically go back to the office.”
She never returned to the Stanford offices.
THE PANDEMIC
The contagious COVID-19 virus caused widespread fear. California was one of the first states to put mandatory COVID-19 safeguards in place.
Weber clearly remembers a moment when it became apparent just how abnormal the situation was.
“A friend and I went shopping for my wedding dress in a popular district in San Fransico — and there was nobody around,” she said. “It was very eerie. We were in the middle of San Fransico on St. Patrick’s Day, shopping for my dress. Usually, there would be a lot of people out partying but there was basically no one out for St. Patrick’s Day.”
Like many others, Weber also had fears relating to the virus. But as a public health professional, she also found the situation fascinating. On the scientific level, as an epidemiologist, learning more about the virus and studying its tendencies piqued her interest. On a personal level, the postponement of her wedding served as a reminder of how the virus impacted people’s lives beyond their health.
People were looking for answers. Suddenly, she found herself as a go-to source of info for individuals who knew she had a background in studying diseases and viruses.
“I received random Facebook messages from people I hadn’t spoken to in years who had questions about COVID-19,” she said with a heavy laugh.
She was OK with answering the questions — she knew people feared for themselves and their loved ones. Likewise, Weber wanted to protect her family, especially her grandmother. Additionally, there was a lot of misinformation regarding COVID-19 and the recommended safety precautions. All of that prompted Weber to act.
“I made social media posts inviting people to contact me if they had questions about what was taking place,” she said. “I wanted people to feel comfortable with getting the vaccine. I wanted to educate people on what was going on with the virus.”
OPPORTUNITY IN ARKANSAS
The pandemic greatly altered her time as a postdoc at Stanford as she remained in the position until June 2021.
But in the process, Weber received a chance to relocate once again, this time to Arkansas.
Kari Weber, Ph.D., MHS, smiles while standing in front of her research poster during a UAMS Women’s Research Showcase.
One of Weber’s mentors recommended her to Wendy Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, chair of the College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology. Additionally, Weber had previously collaborated with Nembhard for research projects during her postdoc.
“Dr. Nembhard is formidable and brilliant,” she said. “I figured I’d really like to work for her.”
Nembhard also was interested in working full-time with Weber. After completing a virtual interview process and being offered the job, Weber decided to become faculty in the college.
“I didn’t arrive in Arkansas until May to physically meet my colleagues,” Weber said. “Due to the pandemic, it was a unique time, and we all had to adjust.”
Weber’s duties at UAMS include teaching classes, mentoring students, conducting research for the Arkansas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention and the Center of Obesity’s Green Schoolyard Study. She’s part of the UAMS Ph.D., committee, strategic planning committee and Academic Senate. Weber also established a journal club for her epidemiology students.
“Our students are great,” she said. “I love teaching them and listening to their ideas.”
“We do really cool work in the College of Public Health,” Weber said. “We’re directly involved with the health of Arkansas.”
Due to pandemic-related delays, Weber and her fiancée finally tied the knot in July 2021 and then immediately moved to Arkansas.
“He and I have truly both grown to love and appreciate Arkansas,” she said.
Now a dedicated public health professional, community leader, wife and mother of a 2-year-old son, Weber is grateful for how her life has unfolded. She acknowledged there were times when she doubted if her hard work would pay off.
“In hindsight, I wish I could go back and tell my younger self that everything will be fine. I’d tell myself not to worry. Everything may not work out the way I pictured it, but everything will be fine.”