KCHD Selected as a Host Site for Epidemiology Fellowship Program 

The Knox County Health Department has been chosen to host an Epidemiology Fellow as a part of a competitive program through the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). This organization is comprised of public health epidemiologists across the country and provides expertise on a wide range of critical areas.

The CSTE Fellowship is a competitive post-graduate program with approximately 30 fellows selected across the country per year. Heath Cook, a recent Masters of Public Health graduate from the University of Tennessee, was selected for the program and was placed at the Knox County Health Department to complete his fellowship. Cook will primarily support projects in the Substance Misuse Response and Epidemiology divisions within KCHD.

“We are thrilled to be selected as a host site for this competitive fellowship,” said Dr. Corinne Tandy, lead epidemiologist at KCHD. “Heath is joining our team at a critical time as we continue to address the substance misuse epidemic in our community. His contributions will make an immediate impact on our work.”

His primary projects will be evaluating the department’s substance misuse and overdose surveillance systems and implementing OD Map, a system that will provide real-time surveillance of overdoses in Knox County.

Cook will work in this capacity at KCHD through 2024.