Education

PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2019
MPH Epidemiology, Saint Louis University, 2013
BA Community Health, Tufts University, 2011

Contact

maayan.simckes@doh.wa.gov

Bio

Dr. Maayan Simckes has a range of interests both in the research and applied epidemiology settings. Prior to completing her PhD in epidemiology, Maayan spent two years as an Applied Epidemiology Fellow with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and has continued her career in the practice setting. During her time as a PhD student at the University of Washington, she worked with Dr. Janet Baseman to develop and run the Student Epidemic Actional Leaders (SEAL) Team and expand training opportunities students interested in public health practice. Maayan currently works at the Washington State Department of Health where she serves at the Principal Investigator for the Washington Health Youth Survey. She also explores the intersection of equity and social justice in applied epidemiology, identifying ways to decolonize and improve upon longstanding epidemiologic methods. Her ongoing research interests center around the effects of law enforcement on population health and integrating non-traditional public health data sources to answer challenging interdisciplinary questions. She also leads a national workgroup on addressing stigma perpetuated and upheld by the field of public health, developing tools to dismantle these practices within applied organizations and research. The workgroup currently is examining the role public health research and practice plays in perpetuating antifat bias and weight stigma.