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Rutgers logo
Rutgers logo
Rutgers logo

Rutgers Population Health Fellowship 

The Population Health Fellowship provides hands-on training in the many facets of population health. Fellows have opportunities to work in academic, health system, community, and government environments, as well as contribute to and support a variety of population health projects throughout Rutgers, Rutgers Health, and with our clinical partners, RWJBarnabas Health and University Hospital in Newark. Fellows are mentored and supervised by the Executive Director for Health Systems Integration and Population Health and the Vice Chancellor for Population Health.

Overall, the fellowship aims to prepare and train individuals for management and leadership roles in population health through their experiences in the program and mentorship by population health leaders.

    • This program is a one-year fellowship with an optional second year for renewal. Fellows are full-time and salaried staff. Upon entering the program, fellows will be onboarded as a member of the Office of Population Health and will complete rotations with different organizations and departments.
    • The fellowship is grounded in the following Core Curriculum Content Areas:
      • Health policy and systems 
      • Population health management and financing 
      • Data, analytics, and technology 
      • Community health and social determinants 
      • Health care quality, safety, and value improvement 
      • Leadership 
      • Research, scholarship, and publication 
    • During the program, fellows will complete and contribute to various project rotations and will participate in professional development opportunities.
      • Project rotations will be tailored to the individual based on their area of expertise, professional and academic background, experience, and the needs of the organization. Examples of project rotations can be found in the “Meet the Fellow” section below.
      • One example of a professional development opportunity that is available for population health fellows is the Rutgers Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships Professional Development Days. 

  • Donna Meeker-O’Rourke (2023 – Present)

    Donna Meeker-O'Rourke

    Donna Meeker-O’Rourke joined our team in summer 2023 as our second population health fellow, bringing valuable support to a diverse array of population health projects. Her contributions span various initiatives such as supporting student wellness and HPV prevention, establishing a high school educational pathways program collaborative, and spearheading the production of the office’s population health newsletter. Donna is also actively involved in two projects exploring the relationship between firearm ownership and intimate partner violence.

    Donna is currently pursuing her doctorate in the Family Science and Human Development program at Montclair State University, where she focuses on understanding the systemic factors contributing to intimate partner violence. Her current research involves assisting a study on Asian/Asian American women who encountered intimate partner violence while attempting to leave their partners during the COVID pandemic.

    Learn more about Donna in the Consortium Member Spotlight section of the fifth issue of Pop Health Central, our population health newsletter. 

    Horacio Hernandez (2024 – Present)

    Horacio Hernandez

    Horacio Hernandez joined our team in the summer of 2024 as our third Population Health Fellow. He is a Certified Health Education Specialist and holds certification in COVID Contact Tracing. His professional interests include immigrant and migrant populations, occupational health, food insecurity, and health education and literacy.

    Before joining our fellowship, Horacio served as a Member Life Coach in the Community Health Program at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. His previous experience includes a graduate assistantship at the Community Engaged Learning Center at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and a role as Outreach Coordinator for the Hopewell Township Health Department.

    He holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Global Health and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology and Public Health from TCNJ. Passionate about community work, Horacio is fluent in Spanish and is a native of Trenton.

  • Kathryna Corpuz (2022 – 2024)

    In early 2022, our team launched the Population Health Fellowship with the hiring of our first fellow. Kathryna Corpuz worked on a variety of projects such as elevating quality and equity of inpatient care, improving student wellness, establishing the Rutgers Population Health Consortium, and participating in a Healthy New Jersey 2030 planning initiative.

    A fellowship rotation with the Believe in a Healthy Newark Initiative (BHN) and the Rutgers School of Public Health enabled her to explore health communications, specifically how messaging can build knowledge and drive actions and outcomes. She supported the BHN social media team by creating and disseminating relevant health messages for the Newark community.

    Kathryna was also awarded an RBHS IDEA grant for a project to capture students’ perspectives on pathway programs in the health professions and biomedical sciences field.

    Learn more about Kathryna's work during her fellowship in the Consortium Member Spotlight section of the first issue of Pop Health Central, our population health newsletter.

Fellowship Recruitment

Applicants are required to have completed an advanced degree (e.g., master’s or doctorate) before the start of the fellowship in related population health content areas such as public health, nursing, medicine, social work, pharmacy, health professions, health policy, business administration, or other health programs. Applicants are also required to have 3–5 years of work experience.

The fellowship recruitment process involves several steps:

  1. Submit Fellowship Application
    Information on the application requirements and program eligibility is provided in our job postings during active recruitment.
  2. Submit Applicant Interest Survey
    Applicants will be invited to complete a brief survey that describes curriculum areas and project works of interest and what they hope to gain from participation in this program.
  3. Participate in Group Information Sessions
    Selected applicants will be invited to this session to learn about the program, its core curriculum, potential projects, and next steps in the recruitment process.
  4. Participate in a Series of 1:1 Interviews
    Finalists will be invited to interview with the directors, staff, and current fellows of the program.
  5. Receive Fellowship Offer and Onboard
    The selected fellow will receive an offer and if accepted, will be onboarded to the fellowship program.