When Barbara DeBuono M.D., M.P.H., was a fourth-year medical student, she learned about public health firsthand during a two-month epidemiology elective course at CDC. “It was hard for me to finance at the time, but it was a wonderful experience and it played an important role in shaping my career,” recalls DeBuono, now senior medical director for Pfizer’s Public Health Group.

Recognizing both the value of that experience and the critical need to train the next generation of public health leaders and medical epidemiologists, DeBuono and her Pfizer colleagues began to explore the idea of creating a CDC-based program for medical students. DeBuono, contacted the CDC Foundation’s leadership, knowing that the Foundation would be a critical partner in developing such a program at CDC. A plan quickly took shape, and Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation provided a grant to launch The CDC Experience: A Fellowship for Medical Students in Applied Epidemiology. The groundbreaking program is the first ever to provide medical students with a full-year learning experience at CDC, offering hands-on training in epidemiology and public health.

In fall 2004, the first class of fellows arrived at CDC, and each year 10 new fellows follow in their footsteps. Fellow study everything from biostatistics to public health law, and engage in research projects ranging from cardiovascular disease prevention to prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases.

For DeBuono, seeing these students immersed in the day-to-day work of CDC is tremendously gratifying. “We’re hoping to capture the hearts and minds of medical students who really want to devote their careers to epidemiology and public health,” she says.

With a distinguished career spent in a wide range of public and private health care settings, DeBuono has helped shape policies for important health issues such as access to care, breast cancer screening and quality assurance, and HIV/AIDS surveillance and prevention. In March, she shared her considerable expertise as part of an international team surveying the damage and assessing the health delivery capacity and public health infrastructure in regions affected by the tsunami.

Why she’s a hero:

“Barbara DeBuono and the leadership team at Pfizer Inc and The Pfizer Foundation are truly visionary in creating and supporting this program. Barbara clearly understands the value of integrating public health training into medical education and the important role the CDC Foundation can play in advancing the nation’s public health agenda. CDC has other short-term opportunities for medical students, but this is the first program that will provide an in-depth learning experience in public health.” - CHARLES STOKES, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CDC FOUNDATION

How the fellowship impacts recipients:

“My applied epidemiology fellowship has sparked a larger consideration for a career where I would see a broader variety of patients, rather than something more specialized, and where I would have opportunities to help improve community health on a larger scale - whether through research, advocacy or teaching.” - MEHUL TEJANI, THIRD-YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, AND ONE OF EIGHT STUDENTS SELECTED FOR THE CDC EXPERIENCE’S INAUGURAL CLASS OF 2004-2005