You are cordially invited to the next “Pump It Up” celebration and semester kick-off event! We are inviting all of our faculty, staff, and students, along with friends, family, local alumni, and other community partners, to come together to connect and celebrate with your public health community, a place where you belong. At this event, you will experience a new appreciation for becoming a pumped-up public health champion.
Robin C. Vanderpool, DrPH, is chief of the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
As branch chief, Dr. Vanderpool leads a team of public health professionals and trainees dedicated to the development of research initiatives in areas such as cancer communication surveillance, patient-centered communication, digital health, online health information, and cancer stigma. Dr. Vanderpool also collaborates with NCI’s Cancer Information Service, an essential part of NCI’s communication infrastructure and information dissemination efforts, as well as the NCI Office of Cancer Centers on catchment area, rural cancer control, and community outreach and engagement initiatives across NCI-designated cancer centers.
Prior to joining NCI, Dr. Vanderpool was a professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky (UK) and associate director for community outreach and engagement at the UK Markey Cancer Center where she led several federally funded research projects supported by NCI and CDC.
Originally from Bowling Green, KY, Dr. Vanderpool earned a DrPH in Health Behavior from UK (2006); an MPH in Public Health Education from Western Kentucky University (1999); and a BS in Psychobiology from Centre College (1997).
In the early 1800’s, John Snow, M.D., a historical figure in epidemiology, provided one of the earliest examples of using epidemiologic methods to identify risk for disease and recommend preventive action. On August 31, 1854, London experienced a recurrent epidemic of cholera and Snow suspected water from the Broad Street pump as the source of disease.
Removal of this handle prevented additional cholera deaths, supporting Snow's theory that cholera was a waterborne, contagious disease. Snow's studies and the removal of the pump handle became a model for modern epidemiology and is considered to be the symbol of when public health started.
This is the original map by John Snow showing the clusters of cholera cases (indicated by stacked rectangles) in the London epidemic of 1854. The contaminated pump is located at the crossroads of Broad Street and Cambridge Street (now Lexington Street), running into Little Windmill Street.
This map is a tremendous contribution to the field of epidemiology, recognizing that part of treating disease requires viewing patients not as individual, isolated cases, but within the larger environment in which they live. Although John Snow’s model is accepted as a way to frame our understanding of infectious diseases today, it gives us a blueprint for approaching illness, particularly illness caused by or related to the patient’s environment.
Enlarge Map
Below is the University of Kentucky's online interactive map of campus, with the Gatton Student Center outlined in black.
The Gatton Student Center's Grand Ballroom, Ballrooms A & B.
This is the second floor of the building.
The Grand Ballroom is highlighted in light blue on the map.
