K. Ellicott Colson

Post-Bachelor Fellow

kecolson@uw.edu

BA, Mathematics; BA, Community Health
Tufts University

Hometown: Dorset, VT

Profile

What attracted you to the health metrics field?

In high school, I was convinced I wanted to be a doctor. Arriving at college, however, I was exposed to the field of public health and found that I was less interested in biology, chemistry, and the biomedical sciences, and more interested in the social phenomena that lead people to be sick or healthy.

The community health philosophy and the prospect of preventing illness at the population level rather than treating illness at the individual level was particularly appealing to me and convinced me to pursue a career in public health. I was interested in global health, specifically, because my family traveled a great deal and lived overseas when I was little, so I developed a very international perspective from a young age.

My mother founded a nonprofit organization called the Boma Project, which does economic empowerment work in northern Kenya. I was inspired by her compassion and the positive impact she had on lives of others.

At the same time, I was obsessed with math, numbers, puzzles, and problem solving. In high school I participated in math competitions and in college I spent much of my time exploring ways to combine my dorky mathematical persona with my save-the-world persona through internships, coursework, and volunteering.

I found that epidemiology and quantitative health research suited my interests well, and I discovered that I was particularly interested in evaluation work after doing an internship in which I helped to evaluate several education programs at a community center. In my explorations, I found that many people in the field of public health had a strong background in medicine or the social sciences, but that more people who could do high-quality data analysis and quantitative work were needed. Thus, pursuing health metrics allowed me not only to follow my own interests and passions but also to help fulfill an unmet and crucial need in global health.

What work are you doing at IHME?

I am on the Integrated Survellance Systems research team focusing on the Inter-American Development Bank project. We are evaluating a results-based financing initiative called Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative, established by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). IDB is working with the ministries of health in eight Mesoamerican countries to reduce inequalities in the provision of basic health care services for the poorest 20% of their population, with emphasis on reproductive, maternal, and child health.

IHME is involved in the measurement and evaluation of the initiative to determine how key health indicators are changing as a result of Salud Mesoamérica 2015 interventions. We have already carried out some baseline data collection in El Salvador. I am developing and modifying a household survey, based on the instrument used in El Salvador, that will capture the indicators of interest in the other Mesoamerican countries.

This team is exciting, in part because it involves a great deal of primary data collection; the survey will be carried out in about 3,800 households in relevant countries and will cover information related to reproductive and maternal health, communicable diseases, immunization, and child nutrition.

How do you think your experience at IHME will contribute to your future work?

Beyond IHME and the University of Washington, I plan to pursue a PhD in epidemiology and to work either in academia performing global health research and teaching, or possibly work for a global health agency. I hope to design and evaluate health interventions in developing countries so that we are better equipped as a global community to create lasting positive change.

Building on my background in mathematics, I am learning to think more and more critically about research methods – what we know and what we don’t. I expect that the technical skills I develop at IHME will be extremely valuable as I pursue a future career in research, and that IHME’s emphasis on answering the right question, not just the question that’s easy to answer, will lead me to other high-quality research institutions.

I expect that the great network of personal and professional contacts I am developing at IHME will be meaningful and valuable as I continue to explore the field of global health.

Published Works

Vos T, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M, Lozano R, Michaud C, Ezzati M, Shibuya K, Salomon JA, Abdalla S*, Aboyans V*, Abraham J*, Ackerman I*, Aggarwal R*, Ahn SY*, Ali MK*, Alvarado M*, Anderson HR*, Anderson LM*, Andrews KG*, Atkinson C*, Baddour LM*, Bahalim AN*, Barker-Collo S*, Barrero LH*, Bartels DH*, Basáñez MG*, Baxter A*, Bell ML*, Benjamin EJ*, Bennett D*, Bernabé E*, Bhalla K*, Bhandari B*, Bikbov B*, Bin Abdulhak A*, Birbeck G*, Black JA*, Blencowe H*, Blore JD*, Blyth F*, Bolliger I*, Bonaventure A*, Boufous S*, Bourne R*, Boussinesq M*, Braithwaite T*, Brayne C*, Bridgett L*, Brooker S*, Brooks P*, Brugha TS*, Bryan-Hancock C*, Bucello C*, Buchbinder R*, Buckle G*, Budke CM*, Burch M*, Burney P*, Burstein R*, Calabria B*, Campbell B*, Canter CE*, Carabin H*, Carapetis J*, Carmona L*, Cella C*, Charlson F*, Chen H*, Cheng ATA*, Chou D*, Chugh SS*, Coffeng LE*, Colan SD*, Colquhoun S*, Colson KE*, Condon J*, Connor MD*, Cooper LT*, Corriere M*, Cortinovis M*, Courville de Vaccaro K*, Couser W*, Cowie BC*, Criqui MH*, Cross M*, Dabhadkar KC*, Dahiya M*, Dahodwala N*, Damsere-Derry J*, Danaei G*, Davis A*, De Leo D*, Degenhardt L*, Dellavalle R*, Delossantos A*, Denenberg J*, Derrett S*, Des Jarlais DC*, Dharmaratne SD*, Dherani M*, Diaz-Torne C*, Dolk H*, Dorsey ER*, Driscoll T*, Duber H*, Ebel B*, Edmond K*, Elbaz A*, Eltahir Ali S*, Erskine H*, Erwin PJ*, Espindola P*, Ewoigbokhan SE*, Farzadfar F*, Feigin V*, Felson DT*, Ferrari A*, Ferri CP*, Fèvre EM*, Finucane MM*, Flaxman S*, Flood L*, Foreman K*, Forouzanfar MH*, Fowkes FGR*, Franklin R*, Fransen M*, Freeman MK*, Gabbe BJ*, Gabriel SE*, Gakidou E*, Ganatra HA*, Garcia B*, Gaspari F*, Gillum RF*, Gmel G*, Gosselin R*, Grainger R*, Groeger J*, Guillemin F*, Gunnell D*, Gupta R*, Haagsma J*, Hagan H*, Halasa YA*, Hall W*, Haring D*, Haro JM*, Harrison JE*, Havmoeller R*, Hay RJ*, Higashi H*, Hill C*, Hoen B*, Hoffman H*, Hotez PJ*, Hoy D*, Huang JJ*, Ibeanusi SE*, Jacobsen KH*, James SL*, Jarvis D*, Jasrasaria R*, Jayaraman S*, Johns N*, Jonas JB*, Karthikeyan G*, Kassebaum N*, Kawakami N*, Keren A*, Khoo J-P*, King CH*, Knowlton LM*, Kobusingye O*, Koranteng A*, Krishnamurthi R*, Lalloo R*, Laslett LL*, Lathlean T*, Leasher JL*, Lee YY*, Leigh J*, Lim SS*, Limb E*, Lin JK*, Lipnick M*, Lipshultz SE*, Liu W*, Loane M*, Lockett Ohno S*, Lyons R*, Ma J*, Mabweijano J*, MacIntyre MF*, Malekzadeh R*, Mallinger L*, Manivannan S*, Marcenes W*, March L*, Margolis DJ*, Marks GB*, Marks R*, Matsumori A*, Matzopoulos R*, Mayosi BM*, McAnulty JH*, McDermott MM*, McGill N*, McGrath J*, Medina-Mora ME*, Meltzer M*, Mensah GA*, Merriman TR*, Meyer AC*, Miglioli V*, Miller M*, Miller TR*, Mitchell PB*, Mocumbi AO*, Moffitt TE*, Mokdad AA*, Monasta L*, Montico M*, Moradi-Lakeh M*, Moran A*, Morawska L*, Mori R*, Murdoch ME*, Mwaniki MK*, Naidoo K*, Nair MN*, Naldi L*, Narayan KMV*, Nelson PK*, Nelson RG*, Nevitt MC*, Newton CR*, Nolte S*, Norman P*, Norman R*, O’Donnell M*, O’Hanlon S*, Olives C*, Omer SB*, Ortblad K*, Osborne R*, Ozgediz D*, Page A*, Pahari B*, Pandian JD*, Rivero AP*, Patten SB*, Pearce N*, Perez Padilla R*, Perez-Ruiz F*, Perico N*, Pesudovs K*, Phillips D*, Phillips MR*, Pierce K*, Pion S*, Polanczyk GV*, Polinder S*, Pope III CA*, Popova S*, Porrini E*, Pourmalek F*, Prince M*, Pullan RL*, Ramaiah KD*, Ranganathan D*, Razavi H*, Regan M*, Rehm JT*, Rein DB*, Remuzzi G*, Richardson K*, Rivara FP*, Roberts T*, Robinson C*, Rodriguez De Leòn F*, Ronfani L*, Room R*, Rosenfeld LC*, Rushton L*, Sacco RL*, Saha S*, Sampson U*, Sanchez-Riera L*, Sanman E*, Schwebel DC*, Scott JG*, Segui-Gomez M*, Shahraz S*, Shepard DS*, Shin H*, Shivakoti R*, Singh D*, Singh GM*, Singh JA*, Singleton J*, Sleet DA*, Sliwa K*, Smith E*, Smith JL*, Stapelberg NJC*, Steer A*, Steiner T*, Stolk WA*, Stovner LJ*, Sudfeld C*, Syed S*, Tamburlini G*, Tavakkoli M*, Taylor HR*, Taylor JA*, Taylor WJ*, Thomas B*, Thomson WM*, Thurston GD*, Tleyjeh IM*, Tonelli M*, Towbin JA*, Truelsen T*, Tsilimbaris MK*, Ubeda C*, Undurraga EA*, van der Werf MJ*, van Os J*, Vavilala MS*, Venketasubramanian N*, Wang M*, Wang W*, Watt K*, Weatherall DJ*, Weinstock MA*, Weintraub R*, Weisskopf MG*, Weissman MM*, White RA*, Whiteford H*, Wiersma ST*, Wilkinson JD*, Williams HC*, Williams SRM*, Witt E*, Wolfe F*, Woolf AD*, Wulf S*, Yeh PH*, Zaidi AKM*, Zheng ZJ*, Zonies D*, Lopez AD†, Murray CJL†‡. Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet. 2012 Dec 13; 380: 2163–2196.

* Authors listed alphabetically

† Joint senior authors

‡ Corresponding author

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Lozano R, Naghavi M, Foreman K, Lim S, Shibuya K, Aboyans V*, Abraham J*, Adair T*, Aggarwal R*, Ahn SY*, Alvarado M*, Anderson HR*, Anderson LM*, Andrews KG*, Atkinson C*, Baddour LM*, Barker‐Collo* S, Bartelsn DH*, Bell M*, Benjamin EJ*, Bennett D*, Bhalla K*, Bikbov B*, Abdulhak AB*, Birbeck G*, Blyth F*, Bolliger I*, Boufous S*, Bucello C*, Burch M*, Burney P*, Carapetis J*, Chen H*, Chou D*, Chugh SS*, Coffeng LE*, Colan SD*, Colquhoun S*, Colson KE*, Condon J*, Connor MD*, Cooper LT*, Corriere M*, Cortinovis M*, Courville de Vaccaro *, Couser W*, Cowie BC*, Criqui MH*, Cross M*, Dabhadkar KC*, Dahodwala N*, De Leo D*, Degenhardt L*, Delossantos A*, Denenberg J*, Des Jarlais DC*, Dharmaratne SD*, Dorsey EJ*, Driscoll T*, Duber H*, Ebel B*, Erwin PJ*, Espindola P*, Ezzati M*, Feigin V*, Flaxman A*, Forouzanfar MH*, Fowkes FGR*, Franklin R*, Fransen M*, Freeman MK*, Gabriel SE*, Gakidou E*, Gaspari F*, Gillum RJ*, Gonzalez‐Medina D*, Halasa YA*, Haring D*, Harrison JE*, Havmoeller R*, Hay RJ*, Hoen B*, Hotez PJ*, Hoy D*, Jacobsen KH*, James SL*, Jasrasaria R*, Jayaraman S*, Johns N*, Karthikeyan G*, Kassebaum N*, Keren A*, Khoo J-P*, Knowlton LM*, Kobusingye O*, Koranteng A*, Krishnamurthi R*, Lipnick M*, Lipshultz SE*, Ohno SL*, Mabweijano J*, MacIntyre MF*, Mallinger L*, March L*, Marks GM*, Marks R*, Matsumori A*, Matzopoulos R*, Mayosi BM*, McAnulty JH*, McDermott MM*, McGrath J*, Mensah GA*, Merriman TR*, Michaud C*, Miller M*, Miller TR*, Mock C*, Mocumbi AO*, Mokdad AA*, Moran A*, Mulholland K*, Nair MN*, Naldi L*, Narayan KMV*, Nasseri K*, Norman P*, O’Donnell M*, Omer SB*, Ortblad K*, Osborne R*, Ozgediz D*, Pahari B*, Pandian JD*, Panozo Rivero A*, Perez Padilla R*, Perez‐Ruiz F*, Perico N*, Phillips D*, Pierce K*, Pope CA III*, Porrini E*, Pourmalek F*, Raju M*, Ranganathan D*, Rehm JT*, Rein DB*, Remuzzi G*, Rivara FP*, Roberts T*, Rodriguez De León F*, Rosenfeld LC*, Rushton L*, Sacco RL*, Salomon JA*, Sampson U*, Sanman E*, Schwebel DC*, Segui‐Gomez M*, Shepard DS*, Singh D*, Singleton J*, Sliwa K*, Smith D*, Steer A*, Taylor JA*, Thomas B*, Tleyjeh IM*, Towbin JA*, Truelsen T*, Undurraga EA*, Venketasubramanian N*, Vijayakumar L*, Vos T*, Wagner GR*, Wang M*, Wang W*, Watt K*, Weinstock MA*, Weintraub R*, Wilkinson JA*, Woolf AD*, Wulf S*, Yeh P-H*, Yip P*, Zabetian A*, Zheng J-J*, Lopez AD†, Murray CJL.†‡ Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet. 2012 Dec 13; 380: 2095–2128.

* Authors listed alphabetically

† Joint senior authors

‡ Corresponding author

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View the Publication Summary and Data