So much of epidemiology looks like just … statistics. But those statistics have human impacts. “Good evidence and robust science should inform better decisions and better outcomes for people,” says Edwin McCulley. As a student during the COVID-19 pandemic, he put that into practice early on. He had just finished his Master of Science and taken a position as a research coordinator, working with health departments from 30 of the largest U.S. cities. The goal was to streamline the collection and analysis of COVID-19 data, to help cities plan their pandemic response. “We were looking at things like infection rates and disparities in outcomes, so that the health professionals could make better decisions moving forward,” he says. A U.S. Navy veteran, McCulley now works with Merck, serving as a subject-matter expert supporting clinical development, regulatory strategy and real-world evidence across multiple therapeutic areas. His work spans industry, public health practice and civic service, and he has earned recognition for mentoring, teaching excellence and leadership. He credits his time in the Navy with giving him a strong sense of responsibility and service, and says that epidemiology gives him a way to apply that mindset through science.

His time at Drexel helped to set him up for success. With strong support for military veterans, Drexel helped shape his approach to problem-solving: His academic training emphasized applied research, the importance of translating research into real-world outcomes. Exposure to collaborative research teams — and mentorship from Dornsife School of Public Health professors of epidemiology such as Usama Bilal and Gina Lovasi — helped him to get comfortable with working across disciplines and communicating complex ideas clearly. “That experience really made the transition into industry much more natural, because the focus was always on producing work that was both rigorous and useful in real-world settings,” he says.