Member of the Month: Catherine Ettman

What brought you to IAPHS?

The first IAPHS conference I attended was in 2018 at the National Academies Of Science, Engineering and Medicine. I was eager to learn about population health science approaches to improve health. Every passing year I am more inspired by my colleagues’ work and by our growing sophistication in the causes of population health.

What discipline(s) does your research fall under?

I am interested in population mental health, the different assets that shape mental health, and policies across sectors that can improve population mental health and reduce mental health disparities. Given these interests, I use my training in public policy and health services research, and I gain inspiration from many disciplines ranging from economics to epidemiology.

What other disciplines pique your interest?

Are there additional disciplines you are interested in incorporating in your own research? I think all disciplines, and sectors, can contribute to improving population health. I hope to continuously evolve and grow and would welcome the chance to work across many disciplines. Public health research is a team sport, and I love working with colleagues to shed light on interesting questions and new approaches to making life better and fairer for all.

What is your favorite thing about IAPHS?

The people. I have consistently met wonderful colleagues through my involvement with IAPHS. I appreciate the collective commitment to understanding the complex drivers of inequities in population health.

Will you be at the conference this year? Yes!

If the readers want to reach you, what’s the best way to contact you?

Please feel free to send me an email: cettman1@jhu.edu. I look forward to meeting you and learning about your work.

What are you planning to do in the future? Goals for the next five years?

Over the next years I will continue to lead the longitudinal COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being (CLIMB) study. The study uses a nationally representative, longitudinal panel of U.S. adults to document changes in mental health, assets, stressors, and policy preferences. I am eager to deepen our understanding of the drivers that shape population mental health and the policies that can improve mental health for all.

What do you do for fun?

I enjoy running in the morning before the world is up.

What fictional place would you like to visit?

I have always wanted to visit Narnia, and for several years believed I might be able to get there through my grandmother’s coat closet. I was never successful in making the journey, but I hope to continue to visit it and other transporting places in my mind.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?

My grandmother is Polish and was displaced during World War II as a young child. When they moved into a refugee camp, my great-grandfather told her: “Remember that you are no worse than anyone else, but you are also no better.” I strive to elevate respect for all people in all that I do.