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George Yocher, MS
Currently working for the State of Delaware as an Epidemiologist in maternal and child health.

I am currently working for the State of Delaware as an epidemiologist in maternal and child health.  I initially started in environmental health and worked in that section for about ten years. One of my current tasks is the coordinator for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).  This is a Center for Disease Control (CDC) sponsored project that interviews new mothers about their health before, during and just after pregnancy.  We hope to find out factors are related to the high infant mortality and low birth-weight rates in Delaware. Then, we would plan an intervention program to reduce or eliminate those adverse factors.

My educational background is varied with undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics and a Masters of Science in Epidemiology (1994). While at UMass I took many statistics classes, beyond what was required for an Epidemiology concentration.  I enjoy working with data and switched to public health from economics because I found the mix of biology/chemistry/physiology and statistics an interesting way of trying to understand health issues. Professor Calabrese’s toxicology class and Professor Mundt’s occupational epidemiology class definitely brought science and health topics and statistics together.  For public health students not in Epidemiology or Biostatistics concentrations, I suggest not shying away from the second biostatistics class offered. Many times I tutored students or met people through my career when I thought “Gee, if they had that second class with Professor Stanek, Hosmer, or Lemeshow they’d be cruising through this.”

The degree helped in my understanding health issues whether it in the popular press, research on disease causality, or program evaluation.  I am happy to share more about my experiences and talk with students about working in a state health department.