Austin T. Jones, MPHTM

Austin Jones is a sixth-year MD-PhD candidate studying epidemiology. After completing his undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, Austin lived in rural Panama conducting community health education with the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé and the non-governmental organization, Floating Doctors. He subsequently attended Tulane University where he completed a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Austin’s research is on the delivery of infectious disease services for hard-to-reach populations. His dissertation focuses on hepatitis C, particularly opt-out testing in the emergency department. While at Tulane, Austin established Acacia NOLA, a student-run hepatitis C community screening organization. Austin’s work also extends internationally. Austin was 2019 Kean Fellow for the World Health Organization in Congo and South Sudan where he worked on improving regional preparedness for the Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC.

An aspiring physician-scientist, Austin will begin residency in emergency medicine. Austin aims to integrate public health interventions with emergency services, using the emergency department for infectious diseases surveillance and linkage to care.