Farewell to the 2023/2024 MAE journey

Today marks my last day at ACT Health Health Directorate Public Health Epidemiology, Reporting and Data Science(PHERDS) section as a Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) Scholar an advanced Field Epidemiology Training Programme offered through The Australian National University. What started as a simple journey on 13 February 2023 culminated into a very exciting endeavour that led to creation of friendships, professional networks and invaluable learning experiences.

On 28 October 2024 I finally submitted my MAE thesis which was a body of work that comprised of four research projects and additional pieces of work that were completed over a period of 22 months. On 4 December I did my oral Viva Voce examination and discussed my work with two independent examiners . Today the 6th of December 2024 marks my last day with the PHERDS section of the Preparedness, Planning and Surveillance Branch of the ACT Health Directorate Population Health and Development division. Whilst I am transitioning to a new role in a different section I reflect of on the journey of completing my research scholarship journey I have realised it would not have been possible without a number of people.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my exceptional team of supervisors: Callum Thirkell , Tim Sloan-Gardner , and Alexandra Marmor my surrogate supervisor. I was so fortunate to have been immersed in their shared knowledge for the last 22 months. Their willingness to share their time in their busy schedules, their endless patience with constructive criticism, and positive energy have greatly enriched my academic experience. I owe a massive debt to my colleagues at the then Communicable Disease Control branch at the ACT Health Directorate for being wonderful people to collaborate with: to Alison Kingsbury , Tim Sloan-Gardner , Nevada Pingault , Jill Padrotta , Alexandra Marmor @Rachael Crane, @Jay Chen , Jenny Post , @Julia Smythe, @Milica Stefanovic, Clare Kinnear , @Felicity Greenville, @Lauren Baden,? Cynthia Mathew ,? @Sue Reid, @Deborah Hayes , @Rebecca Hundy, @Ed Darke, Jacob Kael , @Jing Huang, @Evelyn Pappas , Algreg Gomez ?@Adam Simcoe.

A special shout-out to the fantastic public health nurses @Felicity Greenville and @Rachel Crane who always made time for discussions about infectious diseases, to @Jenny Post the OzFoodNet Epidemiologist for enlightening me on enteric diseases?and for her?support. My heartfelt appreciation goes to @Frances Sheehan for her insightful feedback and delightful interactions during my outbreak investigation at Canberra Health Services. To @Karina Kennedy at ACT Pathology, your support cannot go unmentioned in the outbreak investigation; without these individuals, my MAE journey would not be complete.?

My thanks also go to my fellow 2023/2024 MAE colleagues your brilliant minds have been an invaluable asset, and your humour is?a constant reminder that we were all in this together. To my ACT/Canberra MAE colleagues Elaine Ung , Michaela G. I would like to say thank you for the moral support and encouragement that kept us going. A special thanks to my Public Health friends, Tafadzwa. A Dzinamarira, PhD , KNOWLEDGE DENHERE , Nigel Tungwarara ( PhD Candidate) , Enos Moyo and Leon-Say Mudadi , for your unwavering support and always being an inspiration, and to my MAE predecessor at ACT Health, Jill Padrotta , for your sage advice and guidance, which were crucial in my first weeks as an MAE Scholar at ACT Health. Gratitude is also due to the @National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) MAE team's hard work and for organising such outstanding online and in-person course modules. Thank you to Davoud Pourmarzi for his exceptional support during our teaching activities to the MAE first years.?

I express my deepest gratitude to my wife, Blessing Gona, and my daughters, Tendai Hazel Mhango and Tadiswa Hailee Mhango. You have been the source of strength and the reason I made it through, no matter how insurmountable the task was.??

Lastly, I dedicate everything to my dad, Yesaya Alfred?Mhango. The man who left his hometown Mzuzu in Malawi in search for a place where he could acquire knowledge and ?He taught me the power education has in guiding one to a life of understanding and that I should never take anything for granted in this life. To him i say "we did it dad".

#Applied Epidemiology #Research #FETP #

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