UAMS College of Public Health, Arkansas Department of Health Present 2024 Stead Scholars Internship Program
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) both aim to improve the health of Arkansans.
Introducing public health principles to qualified undergraduate students, through the Stead Scholars program, is one way the college and ADH are achieving their goal.
Named after William Stead, M.D., a former longtime employee at the Arkansas Department of Health, the eight-week, paid internship launched at ADH in 2012. Since 2016, the College of Public Health has collaborated with the state health department in this program.
Through completing an assigned research project at either the ADH or the college, each Stead Scholar receives hands-on experience of what it’s like being a public health professional. During the internship’s closing ceremony, students present their research findings in front of the ADH Science Advisory Council, their family and other public health professionals.
This year the program welcomed 11 students from universities throughout Arkansas. Those participants were Brody Wilson, Taryn Franks, Kinsey Garofalo, Aliyah Anahi Hipp, Jillian Jones, Ally Murphy, Cody Pallen, Rayan Shuja, Muhammad Rayaan, Conner Jacobs and Kendall Wilson.
“Having some of the best and brightest of Arkansas’ students spend the summer with the College of Public Health is gratifying,” said Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the college. “The Stead Scholars participate in impressive research projects, and some will publish their work in professional journals.”
Jillian Jones, a 2024 Stead Scholar intern, works on a water examination research project.
“Since 2012, 70 Stead Scholars have successfully completed this program,” said Namvar Zohoori, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology and chief science officer at the ADH. “We are very grateful for the college’s partnership in this gratifying endeavor.”
Franks, a public health major at Southern Arkansas University, took interest in the program after being encouraged to apply by a classmate who was a previous Stead Scholar. Franks enjoyed the connections she made and how her project, “Arsenic: A Correlation Between Saliva and Soil Concentrations” introduced her to another level of public health.
“This was probably the best internship that I could’ve chosen,” she said. “I learned how big research can be. I also gained lab skills, software and computer skills, and I learned that across public health, research can look different.
“I’d recommend that my classmates apply for this internship. The program provides so much exposure that upon leaving — you should at least know what you do not want to do for a career.”
Wilson, a student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville who’s majoring in environmental science, complimented the Stead Scholars program for how it exposed him to the breadth of public health. Wilson, whose assignment focused on retail food risk factors, liked how the project detailed the connection of retail food to public health.
“My favorite thing about the Stead Scholar program was how I got to work closely with my team through my project,” Wilson said. “I did not feel like an intern. I felt like a true part of the team.”
“I would suggest that anyone who wants to work in health care should apply for the Stead Scholar program,” he said. “The internship is very helpful for mapping out your future plans.”
Pallen is a psychology and sociology major at Ouachita Baptist University. He praised the program for how it gave him a chance to work with real patients to help improve their lives. His assignment, “Preliminary Research of Alpha Gal Syndrome, a New Emerging Tickborne Illness in the State of Arkansas” helped to provide an amazing internship experience, he said.
“I got to encounter so many things for the first time like working with real patients, doing preliminary data and using statistics software,” Pallen said. “I learned that public health has such a wide range, from studying genomic analysis on triple negative breast cancer, to collecting ticks to understanding the pathogens.
“The Stead Scholars program is perfect for somebody who wants to experience new things in public health, or even to discover what kind of public health jobs are available.”
Ben Amick (right), Ph.D., UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health associate dean of research, Jami Allen, Ph.D., faculty in the college, have a meeting with a UAMS student and also Conner Jacobs (middle), a Stead Scholar intern.
Murphy, a student at Harding University, wanted an opportunity to learn more about public health. A chemistry major, Murphy applauded the program for how it helps to reveal career options for students interested in the health field, beyond being a physician, mental health specialist or nurse.
Her assignment, “Participation in Diabetes Education in Arkansas” gave Murphy a chance to work with data analysis, specifically in using statistical software to draw conclusions about populations from survey data.
“Being a Stead Scholar provided great exposure to a multitude of positions and roles within such a vast field,” Murphy said. “Getting advice from people with careers I have an interest in was helpful in narrowing down my areas of interest and my next steps in life.
“The program and my project were useful for future research, my future career and even for understanding the modern world.”
Rayaan, a biology major at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, plans to eventually enter medical school. He appreciated how the internship provided professional guidance for anyone interested in health care. Rayaan also enjoyed how the program taught students about how public health professionals approach their duties.
His assignment focused on the rising syphilis rates and how the disease impacts Arkansans. Rayaan said his project, along with the entire Stead Scholar experience, provided an ideal journey into the societal influence of public health.
“I liked that we, as interns, received the chance to attend meetings and events,” Rayaan said. “I liked that we met with specialists in various public health fields. I enjoyed working on a specific project and receiving a good grasp of what a workplace is like.”
“I’ve shadowed at many hospitals and clinics,” he said. “I had a good idea of what the micro-scale, doctor-to-patient interactions looked like but didn’t know about the big picture of public health.”
Shuja’s project focused on toxoplasma gondii surveillance. A student at Hendrix College where he majors in biochemistry and molecular biology, Shuja said the internship taught him a lot about STEM research. He also enjoyed the weekly public health discussions and how they challenged him to view public health in a way that impacts all facets of life.
“I wanted to try and get a wider view of how public health action and policy functioned,” he said. “The Stead Scholars program allowed me to get a unique, governmental view of public health issues.
“I also learned about how ADH works in collaboration with other agencies to spread awareness to the public about potential zoonotic diseases.”
Ping-ching Hsu (right), Ph.D., associate professor in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences, observes her assistant as she helps Taryn Franks, a Stead Scholar intern, deposit a chemical sample into a jar.
Hipp’s project focused on the history of tuberculosis in Arkansas. A student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Hipp enjoyed how the internship helped her gain experience as a researcher.
“As a Stead Scholar, I had the opportunity to delve deeply into my field of study, gaining a profound understanding and expertise,” she said. “It was an enriching experience that allowed me to engage with knowledgeable mentors and collaborate on meaningful research projects.”
Once again, the Stead Scholar participants got a chance to learn, network, take a step toward joining the state’s public health workforce, and assure that the efforts of the program’s creators are not in vain.
“The Stead Scholars program began because of a gift by the family and friends of Stead, who’s one of Arkansas’ public health heroes,” Williams said. “It’s an amazing tribute to his love for the state. He understood the importance of public health measures for the well-being of Arkansans. The Stead Scholars program was a way of leaving a gift that would continue to recruit some of Arkansas’ best and brightest to a career in public health.”
“Arkansas is among the lowest ranked states nationally on almost all measures of health,” he said. “We need bright students willing to pursue a career in public health to help address Arkansas’ health challenges.”
The application portal for the 2025 Stead Scholars Program will open in early November. For more information about the internship and the link to the application can be found here.