Apr 8

Apr 8 Julie Merten, PhD - Associate Professor, University of North Florida

Julie is an associate professor of public health at the University of North Florida, where her responsibilities fall into three main buckets: teaching, research and service. Truly passionate about being in the classroom and helping students thrive, she helps prepare students for their internships—and furthermore, careers—in public health. When she’s not teaching, she’s typically knee-deep in skin cancer research, spending time with her son, and enjoying life’s small, but significant moments—one day at a time.

The Basics:

Hometown: Hilliard, Florida
Current city: Palm Valley, Florida
Alma mater: University of Florida
Degree: Ph.D. in Public Health
Very first job: Mowing my grandparents’ yard (horrible and sweaty).
Hustle: Associate Professor of Public Health, University of North Florida

The Interests:

Babe you admire and why?
I admire women who did things “ahead of their time” and didn’t let the rules apply to them. For instance, my mom was a phenomenally talented athlete in high school and college, long before Title IX. My grandmother was a nurse providing healthcare for the indigent way before Medicaid. It seems like no big deal with our current lens but when you think about these women doing these things before they were socially acceptable, mandated, or required.

Is there a book that you always find yourself picking up?
I love any book related to World War II. WWII was such a compelling time in history when you think of the impact of entire world at odds, the weaponization of the atomic bomb, the Holocaust, the end of dangerous dictators, the American spirit and resolve. I like to read about history and marvel at how we (society) seem doomed to repeat our same mistakes.

What’s your favorite day on the calendar?
Oh gosh, this question is always a tough one for me because I’m not a “birthday month/day” kind of person and end up sounding like the most boring person alive. I long ago dropped expectations for certain holidays or events. I get excited to see what life holds every day. I find such beauty in the mundane: a workout that leaves me sweaty and a little sore, a good conversation with my parents, seeing my son smile at me, a beautiful spring azalea bloom, a fresh egg from the hens, a side-splitting laugh with a friend. And just yesterday, I drove by a church and saw a man standing out front with his arms around two people, heads bowed, and it was just so beautiful. Something was clearly going on their lives and he was doing what he could to comfort them.

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle.
As a professor, my basic responsibilities fall into three buckets: teaching, research and service. At my university, teaching is our primary focus, so that piece of my job takes the most time. My teaching responsibility is to prepare students for their public health internship and help them connect with the right mentor in the community. Just by the involved nature of getting to know students and their goals, interests, fears, dreams, etc., it takes a lot of time. Then I have to have a good understanding of our 120 (roughly) community partners: what they do, who they serve, and how they could supervise and mentor a student. I also teach a graduate Applied Social Behavioral Science course which is really fun. In that course, we analyze human behavior—usually on social media—and try to figure out a way to make health messages more effective. My research is also social behavioral science applied primarily to skin cancer. In the US, we seem to love the sun, and skin cancer rates aren’t getting any better after years of sunscreen messages. So, if we (humans) aren’t going to change our behavior, then how can we at least get these folks screened for skin cancer? We don’t really have enough dermatologists to routinely screen the entire US population, so we have to be smart and targeted about the folks we screen. I’m currently leading a project testing if we can train non clinicians like personal trainers, health educators, nail technicians who have sustained, long term relationships with clients to assess people’s risk for developing skin cancer. If the person is high risk, then they will be referred to a dermatologist for a total body skin examination. I like making things work better and if this intervention works, we could more strategically use our healthcare resources.

How has your teaching style changed due to COVID-19?
I thrive in the classroom; the energy from the students feeds me. I like riffing based on the unique vibe and needs of the class. And usually, there is a long line of students after class wanting to talk. That is special and one of my favorite parts of teaching—knowing that people are eager to learn more. As with any relationship, it grows and deepens with consistent sustained contact (like the duration of a semester). With Zoom classes, I don’t get any of the energy, and I can’t improv. Additionally, that magical time after class doesn’t exist because one you hit “Leave Meeting” on Zoom, the connection is gone. My teaching style has dramatically changed—and not for the better. I’m eager to return to the classroom.

Do you ever get nervous to teach a class, even as a PhD? If not, did you have any pre-class rituals to help get rid of jitters when first starting out?
What a great question. I get excited to teach a class; it isn’t nervousness but almost a kinetic energy builds prior to class. For my entire 16 years of teaching, I always say a little prayer before class. The prayer isn’t that I will be interesting or give a great performance or anything like that but rather that I will say something that will be meaningful or significant in a student’s life.

How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
I’ve always been supported by women starting with my family, high school friends and teachers, college advisors, and professional mentors. I focus on those women when I have time to reflect and my heart always warms. And, sure, I’ve met those women that can’t let other people’s light shine without feeling their dims somehow. I simply tune them out and keep on moving. I don’t like a lot of my energy going to things I can’t change. At a collective level, I think we can say all of the right things like ‘support women, promote women, encourage them'—all that good stuff. But the real, meaningful change happens at an intensely intentional individual level. What I mean is that basically, we are genetically wired to take care of ourselves—which means we focus on ourselves and our needs—wich is good, we wouldn’t survive this life otherwise. However, to intentionally improve the lives of women, we have to ask ourselves daily “what did I do today to make a woman’s life better?” In my life, that looks like anonymously nominating someone for an award, writing a letter of recommendation for a student scholarship, making a few calls around town on someone’s behalf, writing a legislator a brief note to support a bill that helps women. The gesture doesn’t always have to be big, and the person doesn’t need to know you are helping them.

What’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished in your career thus far?
The nature of my job—making connections in the community to provide internships for students—gives me a platform to significantly impact a student’s early career. I am very proud that many of our students have launched their successful careers from people they’ve met through their internship. It isn’t about my accomplishment as much as it is about being a part of such a special moment in their life.

As someone who has put so much research and time into skin cancer, are there any trendy skincare routines or homemade remedies that you’d like to debunk?
There’s a lot of concern about sunscreen lately: it’s bad for coral reefs, endocrine system disruption and so on. So many folks are seeking natural sunscreens or just going without it altogether. I completely get the fear of harming our body and our earth; that’s a legitimate concern. However, the science is continuing to develop on sunscreen but the type of sunscreen under fire are chemical sunscreens* so the safe bet would be a physical sunscreens like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. *There are two “types” of sunscreens – physical and chemical. They work in different ways; the chemical sunscreens absorb UV radiation from the sun while physical barriers block that radiation.

Career and/or life advice for other babes?
The best advice I’ve received and continue to share with students is that we train people how to treat us every day. If we conduct ourselves as a professional—keeping our word, doing quality work, showing up on time, all that good stuff—people treat us like a professional. If we don’t follow through or take our work seriously, others won’t either.

Connect with Julie:

Website

This interview has been condensed and edited.

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