Helping people is her passion. Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, Jacklyn Vollmer was described as very social and a people-pleaser. However, she has always been driven.
Jacklyn Vollmer has shown tenacity and determination in making her academic dreams come true at the UK College of Public Health. Admitted into the Bachelor of Public Health/Master of Public Health Scholars dual degree program with a concentration in epidemiology, along with a Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics (BST), Jacklyn will graduate in the Spring of 2022.
Before enrolling at the UK College of Public Health, Jacklyn had a different major and felt that something was missing. So, she visited the UK Stuckert Career Center and after speaking with them, she found that her passion for helping people and following the data led her to public health.
“I’ve always enjoyed helping people and wanted to do something in health, but I like the numbers as well,” says Jacklyn. “Public health was a perfect match for me. I can use data and statistics to explore preventative measures that can stop terrible things from happening and help people live healthier lives.”
While being a student at the College of Public Health, Jacklyn reflects fondly on her academic experiences and the people. “People actually cared,” says Jacklyn. “From sending me job postings, becoming a TA to help with my tuition, and many people knowing my name, I found my learning experience to be very personalized.”
While balancing her academics, Jacklyn gained valuable experiential learning experiences. She was a research assistant for the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) at the UK College of Medicine and an epidemiology technical assistant at the Kentucky Department of Public Health. Jacklyn also became a peer mentor for the College of Public Health to help more students learn about the value of a public health education.
In the spring 2022 semester, Jacklyn participated in valuable capstone project with Dr. Mary E. Lacy, Assistant Professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Kentucky's College of Public Health, regarding data analysis in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is one of the most common causes of female infertility
Research shows that women with PCOS have an increased risk of developing diabetes. Because of this elevated risk, guidelines from the American Diabetes Association recommend regular diabetes screening in women with PCOS. However, there is very little data on the success of these recommended screenings.
"For Jacklyn's Capstone, we decided to examine rates of diabetes screening in women with PCOS," says Dr. Lacy. "UK CCTS provides access to a number of different de-identified data sources, one of which is the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database. This database contains health insurance claims data from approximately135 million commercially insured individuals. We are using this database to identify women with PCOS, who are free from diabetes, and examine rates of screening/patterns of screening by different subgroups."
“I wanted to learn as much as I could and actually apply it in real-time,” says Jacklyn. “I was always impressed with the learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom.” Looking forward, Jacklyn wants to take her public health education and work as a health scientist or data analyst for a large government organization like the CDC or the World Health Organization.
When asked what public health means to her, Jacklyn says, “It’s about prevention. When people talk about health, we think of doctors. As public health specialists, we are trying to stop things from happening and avoid negative health outcomes.”
At the UK College of Public Health, the college builds health champions every day that improve the lives of everyone in Kentucky and beyond through robust research, transformative learning, and service.
Learn more at cph.uky.edu.
