Meet Alex Pemberton, a Biostatistics MS student, an avid reader, and a researcher passionate about using survival analysis to improve health equity.

Where did you grow up? Where did you attend undergrad and what did you study?
“I grew up in Conroe, Texas, which is a suburb near Houston. I went to undergrad at Trinity University, where I studied biochemistry and molecular biology.”

What led you to study public health?
“Reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down during undergrad was one of the primary reasons I became interested in public health. That book really affected me and made me want to learn more about the cultural side of medical inequities and the social determinants of health. Another reason was a personal experience I had while working at a Walgreens in San Antonio. There are lots of health inequities in San Antonio, and the Walgreens where I worked was in a tough neighborhood. There was a man who came in regularly to buy blueberry cereal. Through small conversations and observations, I learned he had a substance use disorder. Toward the end of my time working there, he stopped coming in. I don’t know what happened to him, but it made me realize I was seeing the impact of an inequity firsthand. As an attempt to work toward a solution, I thought public health might be a good avenue for me.”

Is there a specific public health issue you care most about?
“One is substance use disorder, for the reasons I mentioned. Another is environmental injustice. Growing up in suburban Texas, I took access to nature and a healthy environment for granted. Learning that people are systematically placed in unhealthy environments based on race or wealth really affected me. I’m also interested in survival analysis, also known as time-to-event analysis. An example of this method is comparing people who receive a particular treatment with people who don’t to estimate differences in life expectancy.”

Are you currently involved in research or professional work?
“I’m doing research in the Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science on survival data. Specifically, I work on group sequential time-to-event analysis, which applies survival analysis to clinical trials to determine whether a treatment is effective early on. If it is, the trial can potentially end sooner. Since trials are expensive, stopping early can save money and get treatments out faster.” 

Why did you choose the University of Minnesota School of Public Health?
“I wanted to move someplace that different from Texas, especially in terms of its climate and politics. I’ve been really happy with Minnesota in those regards. Also, my program at SPH went out of its way to arrange a campus tour for me, which they typically only do for PhD students. I met people in the department and other incoming students, and everyone was so welcoming! I liked the culture, the campus, and even the turkeys.”

What do you like about your program?
“I like my classmates and the curriculum. SPH has some exceptional professors who are very supportive, and I want to specifically call out Associate Professor Erika Helgeson for being a great educator. There are also social events and working groups, which I appreciate because they expose me to different areas of statistics. Overall, I feel like I’ve learned a lot and improved quickly as a statistician and mathematician.”

What do you like to do outside of class?
“I like reading, and recently read Detransition, Baby as part of a challenge to read a book by a trans author. I also liked An American Summer: Love & Death in Chicago, which focuses on lower-income neighborhoods and issues like crime and inequality. Other than reading, I like going to breweries and restaurants with friends, watching TV, and going to the gym. I also like exploring Minnesota and the Midwest. I’ve done some of the UMN EcoHealth Quest Retreats, which I really enjoyed.”

What do you like about living in Minnesota?
“There are so many things! I like the food scene in the Twin Cities. My current favorite restaurants are Quang, Diane’s Place, Afro Deli, and Kramarczuk’s. I like having real seasons, since I didn’t get that in Texas. The people in Minnesota are generally nice, and I like the progressive politics. I also like the balance between nature and city life. I enjoy the quirky things too, like the pencil-sharpening festival and the Sculpture Garden. That weirdness is part of what makes Minnesota fun.”