About Cal STAPH |
Established in 2010Cal STAPH, formerly Cal Student Emergency Investigation & Surveillance (Cal SEIS), was developed by a group of UC Berkeley School of Public Health (SPH) graduate students in Spring 2010. Representing various disciplines within SPH, they were interested in creating more practical opportunities for students and facilitating training in the many aspects of public health emergency response. With the support of the Center for Infectious Diseases & Emergency Readiness (CIDER), a CDC-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, the UC Berkeley Center for Public Health Practice (CPHP), and a National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Advanced Practice Center, the group formally launched its first year of activities in Fall 2010.
As of 2020, 10 years since the organization’s inception, Cal STAPH is working to expand the range of opportunities offered in order to reflect the diversity of student interests and experiences at the School of Public Health. By recruiting board members from a variety of concentrations, and utilizing their knowledge and connections, Cal STAPH is able to identify and share opportunities in Public Health Nutrition, Health and Social Behavior, Health Policy and Management, Environmental Health Sciences, in addition to Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Infectious Diseases & Vaccinology. |
Our MissionThe mission of Cal STAPH is to further enhance the educational, career, and professional development of public health graduate students at UC Berkeley while directly serving the public health community in California. We achieve this by providing graduate students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience and relevant training, as well as build their professional networks in the field of public health. Through collaboration with state and local health agencies, our members are able to learn from public health practitioners and gain valuable skills in the various specialties of public health, including emergency response, analytical research, community health, public health nutrition, and so on. Through our members, we aim to provide two main services to local and state health agencies: 1) surge capacity during disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies, and 2) assistance with routine, non-emergency activities such as data management and analysis.
Over the years, members have responded to a variety of public health needs, trainings and lectures. Examples include measles contact investigation with the City of Berkeley Public Health Division, pertussis case management with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, public health emergency preparedness and support, assistance with various flu clinics such as Shoo the Flu for Oakland-area elementary school students, and training in first aid, community assessment methods, outbreak investigations, and exercise evaluations. |