Red Raider Selected for Prestigious Public Health Fellowship

Delia Tibbs, MPA, clinic office manager for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s Student Health Services, was chosen out of more than 400 applicants to participate in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Prevention Service Fellowship Program. Tibbs will begin her fellowship on Oct. 9.

Tibbs was one of 25 people who rose to the top of 73 applicants interviewed in Atlanta after a four-hour selection process including an orientation, personal interview and group interview, as well as writing and public speaking exercises.

“Delia is an outstanding representative of the Texas Tech University System, both as an alumna of Texas Tech University and employee of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center,” said Texas Tech University System Chancellor Kent Hance. “We are extremely proud of her and know she will do a tremendous job in her role as a CDC public health fellow.”

Tibbs earned her bachelor’s degree in technical communication from Texas Tech University in 2008 and her master’s in public administration with a focus in health care administration from Texas Tech in 2011. As clinic office manager, her duties include supervising the Student Health Services departments of radiology, nursing and patient services and assisting in leading the university’s Alcohol Prevention Coalition.

The Public Health Prevention Service Fellowship is a three-year training and service program for master’s-level public health professionals. The fellowship offers a unique opportunity to learn and practice public health management at the local, state, national and international levels.

In addition to on-the-job training, the fellowship provides formal instruction in program management, epidemiology, surveillance, emergency response and program evaluation. Fellows participate in a variety of activities, including seminars, evaluation projects, Web-based training, temporary duty assignments and conferences designed to teach essential public health program management skills.

The fellowship focuses on public health program management and provides experience in program planning, implementation and evaluation through specialized hands-on training and mentorship at the CDC, and in-state and local health organizations. Fellows start with two six-month rotations at the CDC in Atlanta. Rotations can be in areas focusing on chronic disease prevention, infectious disease and environmental health.

Previous rotations include leadership on policy and legislative activities related to nutrition, physical activity and obesity in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, development of case management guidelines for the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention and evaluation of reproductive health activities for the World Health Organization.

The next two years, fellows spend time in a field assignment with a public health agency. Past field assignments include development and implementation of HIV/AIDS action plans for Global AIDS programs, creation of a website for physicians and nurses to increase knowledge, improve reporting and decrease hospitalizations and deaths from whooping cough, coordination and implementation of a multicultural media campaign to highlight CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening program. Fellows also have the opportunity to practice public health in an international setting through programs like the Global HIV/AIDS Program and Stop Transmission of Polio.

For more information about the Public Health Prevention Service Fellowship Program, visit http://www.cdc.gov/PHPS/index.html.

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