Seiryo Sasaki

District 2 North – Gainesville

Hometown: Manila, Philippines

Graduate Alma Matter:  Emory Rollins School of Public Health

What excites you most about the fellowship program: The opportunity to expand my applied epidemiology experience from a focused surveillance role to a broader district-level perspective. During my graduate assistantship with the Georgia Emerging Infections Program — a collaborative project between GDPH and CDC — I concentrated primarily on COVID-19, RSV, and influenza surveillance in District 3. I look forward to building on that foundation by engaging with a wider range of notifiable diseases, utilizing state-owned surveillance resources and databases, and serving the communities of District 2. This fellowship represents the next step in translating my academic training into meaningful public health impact at the population level.

What do you love most about epidemiology: What I love most about epidemiology is how much of it operates in the background of everyday life. Most people have never heard the word, yet the work of epidemiologists shapes the public health decisions that protect entire communities. Whenever someone asks me what I do and I explain the field — disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, understanding how and why illness spreads — I consistently see that moment of realization on their face. That reaction reminds me of the importance of the work and why I chose this path.

Epi Interests: My interests span both applied and global epidemiology. I am most drawn to field epidemiology and outbreak investigation, alongside global health, tropical disease, health systems, One Health, and health equity epidemiology — reflecting my broader goal of contributing to public health on a global scale.

Hobbies and favorite pastimes: Outside of work, I am an avid sports fan — basketball, football, and baseball keep me entertained throughout the year. I also enjoy staying active at the gym and spending time with friends exploring new places and experiences.

Fun fact: I have lived in three different countries — Japan, the United States, and the Philippines — and have had the opportunity to visit around 15 countries across multiple continents.