Public Health’s Austhof receives Career Development Award
Erika Austhof, PhD, MPH, an assistant research professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, received a U of A Health Sciences Career Development Award.
Erika Austhof, PhD, MPH
Photo by Rachel Mayfield
Austhof is one of three recipients to receive the honor, which provides mentorship, research training and salary support, as well as funding for travel and research supplies. CDA scholars must complete an independent research project that is expected to generate sufficient pilot findings to enable the submission of a National Institutes of Health K-series or R01 grant or equivalent by the program’s second year.
Austhof, who works in epidemiology, studies how extreme weather and climate change affect foodborne, waterborne and enteric disease transmission dynamics. Her CDA project explores the different ways environmental conditions affect salmonella infections in humans.
“When we think of extreme weather events as we see here in Arizona, we mostly think of the inconvenience – or the beauty – of a monsoon or our hot summers,” said Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president for the University of Arizona Health Sciences. “But examining how these increasingly more frequent weather events impact disease transmission will help all Arizonans lead healthier lives.”
“I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to dedicate my time to this. My focus is on the intersection of how climate change influences infectious diseases and foodborne diseases specifically,” said Austhof, a U of A alum.
“This award will allow me to spend dedicated time to explore how climate change is affecting our health over the long term. It opens a lot of opportunities for me to learn a new skill in genomic analysis and be able to apply it to a disease that affects millions of people every year in the United States and globally.”
Austhof’s mentors are Kerry Cooper, PhD, an associate professor at the BIO5 Institute; Heidi Brown, PhD, MPH, professor and program director of Epidemiology at the Zuckerman College of Public Health; Mike Crimmins, PhD, a professor and extension specialist the U of A Department of Environmental Science; and Kacey Ernst, PhD, MPH, department chair and professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Zuckerman College of Public Health.
In her mentor plan, Ernst said she was excited to co-mentor Austhof on a “project that brings together cutting-edge science and tools at the intersection of climate and health.”
“Dr. Austhof’s proposed work will lead to critical insights into the complex interactions between weather, climate and infectious diseases,” Ernst wrote.
Austhof’s project is an extension of her dissertation that looked at how precipitation and drought influence the risk of salmonella and campylobacter. Austhof said she’s excited to work on what is a passion project.
“This award is really going to free up my time to be able to focus on what I’m passionate about and being able to make change for public health,” she said.
The U of A Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences sponsors the awards.
Other recipients of the 2024 CDA are:
• Kristen Huntoon, PhD, DO, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson (story will publish Feb. 27).
• Celina Valencia, DrPH, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson (story will publish March 3).