60 U M D N J M A G A Z I N E

Q
FIVE UESTIONS
M A R K R O B S O N , P H D , M P H
PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, UMDNJ-SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH, SPH ALUMNUS AND
MEMBER OF UMDNJS MASTER EDUCATORS GUILD
Wh a t d i d wi n n i n g t h e AS PH/ Pf i z e r a wa r d me a n t o y o u ? To be nominated by
a former student and recognized by my peers, it really doesnt get much
better than this. The wonderful thing about being recognized for your
teaching is that its really not about you, its about your students. The
measure of a good teacher is the success of your students, and I have been
lucky to have taught so many outstanding young men and women.
Wh a t d o y o u i n t e n d t o d o wi t h t h e $1 0, 000 p r i z e ? Im donating it to the
Foundation of UMDNJ for scholarships. My purpose in doing this is twofold.
Id like students to benefit from it, and I also hope to encourage other faculty-
funded scholarships. Were going to set aside $2,500 of the prize money to
fund international field work for an SPH student in Thailand, where I do a
lot of my research.
Pl e a s e t a l k a b o u t t h i s wo r k i n T h a i l a n d . This is an NIH funded ITREOH
(International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational
Health) project. This grant is a collaboration with the Chulalongkorn
University College of Public Health Sciences, UMDNJ-School of Public
Health, and Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological
Sciences. I usually travel to Thailand four times per year as part of this
project. I am a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University and Prince of
Songkla University. The focus of my work is on exposures to pesticides,
including residential and agricultural exposures.
Ho w d i d y o u b e c o me i n t e r e s t e d i n p u b l i c h e a l t h ? I started out as an agricul-
tural scientist, which I suppose at heart I still am, but I learned early on that
to be a successful pesticide specialist I needed to know a lot more about
public health, so I decided to retool and go for an MPH. This was several
years after getting my doctorate. Public health has to be one of the best
areas in which to work. All sorts of people from varied backgrounds come
into public health and contribute to our knowledge base. Public health is
readily transportable and adaptable anywhere in the world. From clinicians
to applied and basic research scientists, each of us can make a contribution
and make a difference.
De s c r i b e y o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p s wi t h y o u r s t u d e n t s . Theyve been my inspira-
tion and motivation. Its a thrill to see someone like David Rich, who was
my undergraduate advisee, go on to the Harvard School of Public Health,
get his doctoral degree, and then return to our school as an energetic and
successful faculty member. I guess what it means to be acknowledged as a
good teacher can be summed up in a note I received from a student:
Last week I received my final transcript from SPH, stating that I had received
my MPH. What a thrilling feeling it was to see it in writing! I would like to take
this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and
encouragement. I could not have done it without you. You are certainly a student
advocate extraordinaire!
as told to Mary Ann Littell
Kudos to Mark Robson, PhD, MPH, who won the 2009 ASPH (Association of
Schools of Public Health)/Pfizer Award for Teaching Excellence. The award comes
with a $10,000 prize, and Robson has big plans for this money.
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