Graduate Profile: Q&A with Caroline Tangoren
Name: Caroline Tangoren
Area of Research: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Degree: Master of Science
Year of Graduation: 2026
Current Role: PhD Student, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University
- What did you do before pursuing your graduate degree?
During my undergraduate degree, I studied development economics and biology as two different angles for thinking about global health. After graduating, I first worked on policy analysis and outreach to help governments and NGOs translate existing health research into actual programs. I then led field activities for randomized controlled trials related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and antibiotic stewardship in Sierra Leone and Kenya, respectively. - What attracted you to the program at Harvard?
From witnessing several different infectious disease outbreaks in Sierra Leone as well as the broader experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic, I realized the importance of forward-looking infectious disease modeling to help inform policy. This first drew my attention to the work at the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics (CCDD) at Harvard, which does groundbreaking research to shape public health action against a variety of pathogens. I was also attracted to the breadth of expertise in the Epidemiology Department, including its strengths in causal inference. I knew that this program could give me strong, comprehensive training in new methods alongside a specific research community focused on infectious diseases. - What surprised you the most about being a graduate student in your chosen research program?
The diversity of infectious disease epidemiology! It’s not just about different pathogens or different methods—there are so many distinct questions to tackle, and they span scales from the molecular to societal level. Although all contribute to our understanding of disease control, there are so many angles that I had not considered previously. By being part of a research group that has such breadth, I learned to look at my particular interest areas in a new light and start connecting the dots between seemingly disparate research questions. - Why do you think your research area is important to public health?
First, infectious diseases are responsible for some of the greatest health inequities in the world, so I believe there is a strong moral imperative to address them. Second, even though we have many proven tools to prevent and treat various infections, these pathogens are constantly moving targets, and many are still poorly understood. Pathogens can evolve such that existing tools are less useful, new threats emerge, etc. Furthermore, infectious disease modeling can be particularly useful when we can’t practically test different hypotheses or when there is great uncertainty and we want to consider different scenarios (among other uses!). I believe infectious disease epidemiology is a vital tool for understanding threats to human health and for advancing public health policies that genuinely improve people’s lives. - What suggestions would you have for someone interested in applying for this research area?
Be open minded and try to think about the same problem from different angles. This will help you pressure test your own ideas and identify the scientific questions you are most excited about. I would also recommend gaining work experience in health programs or field research. Even if you do purely computational research, understanding on-the-ground realities of data collection and public health practice helped me assess the strengths, weaknesses, and relevance of my research. - How has your time in the program influenced your career path?
I came into this program thinking that it would be a time of increasing specialization and narrowing my research interests. I came in relatively focused on vaccine-related research and felt like even that might be too broad. Instead, my program impressed upon me how messy and complicated infectious disease drivers are and the many scales at which these drivers operate, from individual immune responses to the impacts of land use and climate change. I’m still very interested in vaccine work, but I’m also thinking more about how interactions across scales influence infectious disease dynamics. I’ve also loved the methodological diversity of my research projects and am keen to keep learning and mastering new methods. - Is there anything else that you would like to share about your experience at the Harvard Chan School?
My classmates were an incredible source of knowledge, inspiration, and friendship! The Harvard Chan School is a wonderfully collaborative place to study and that really encouraged me to embrace the social benefits of being in this community as well. My classmates made this experience more fun and more educational than anything I could’ve done on my own.
