By Love Odetala, MPH | August 1, 2017
Kirby Summer Intern, ETR

I was born in West Africa and grew up in Senegal.

In Senegal, “Jamm Rekk” is a commonly used phrase. It means “Peace Only,” a phrase we use to pass peace unto others and to accept peace in return. Simply a way of saying hello.

A couple years ago, I started a venture called Jamm Rekk Projects (JRP). These are projects that seek to promote peace through public health.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | July 28, 2017
Senior Editor, ETR

A couple of days ago, I spent some time with ETR's 2017 Kirby interns. What an extraordinary group! This year's interns all bring international background and deep experience to their time at ETR.

The group has given me a healthy dose of inspiration. 

(And that fun photo shows Lisa Unti, ETR Research Associate and general internship mentor, Love Odetola, Dharmit Shelat and Selah Agaba.)

By Dharmit Shelat, MD, MPH | May 25, 2017
Graduate Assistant, Tulane University | 2017 Kirby Summer Intern, ETR

ETR recently hosted an exciting event in New Orleans. It was Be The Change: Implementing Core Strategies for Sustainable Organizations for Impact in the South.

The institute focused on sustaining HIV prevention programs in the southern regions of the U.S. This was my first introduction to ETR’s Community Impact Solutions Project. They offer tools, resources and technical assistance to help HIV prevention organizations perform at their best.

By ETR | January 23, 2017

Do you know graduate students in public health? Epidemiology? How about education, psychology, sociology or related fields? Do they have an interest in sexual and reproductive health?

We’d love you to let them know about one of the finest summer internship opportunities around: the 2017 Kirby Summer Internship at ETR.

By Melissa Donze | July 25, 2016
MPH Candidate, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health & ETR Kirby Summer Intern

It’s hard to forget your first time on Capitol Hill. I was first there in the fall of 2012. I had just started working as the Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellow at AIDS United (a DC-based nonprofit focused on ending the HIV epidemic in the United States through strategic grantmaking and policy/advocacy).

I remember how incredible it felt to walk those marble halls where so many great policymakers had walked before me. I remember how inspired I felt to see fellow advocates preparing for meetings with high-level members of Congress.

By ETR | June 17, 2016

It’s summertime. That means the 2016 Kirby Summer Interns have joined ETR’s team. They’ll be contributing to some of the research we’re doing—gathering and analyzing data, and co-authoring an original contribution to the professional literature. We’re thrilled to have them on board!

Melissa Donze is pursuing an MPH program at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, emphasizing Health Promotion Research and Practice. Emily Waterman is a PhD student at Penn State in the Human Development and Family Studies department.

Both bring a wealth of understanding and experience to their internships, and we’re looking forward to a lively exchange of ideas while they’re here.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | January 25, 2015
Senior Editor, ETR

One of my favorite things about ETR’s research staff is that everyone who is a part of the team is committed to mentorship. My colleagues understand that we cannot continue to advance the fields of health research and sexual and reproductive health without an effectively-trained cadre of new professionals joining our efforts.

ETR’s Kirby Summer Internship is the embodiment of that value. It is named after one of the premiere researchers in the field, Douglas Kirby, who, before his death in 2012, was a senior research scientist at ETR. Doug was also one of my favorite people ever. He would have fully approved of this internship program.

By William Spatafora | June 22, 2015
MPH Student, Tulane University | 2015 Kirby Summer Intern, ETR

“Why? He’s a boy.”

These were the first  words out of my cousin’s mouth last month when I asked if her 12-year-old son had been vaccinated against HPV. “Isn’t the HPV vaccine given just to girls, to protect against cervical cancer?”