Alastair Matheson

Alastair Matheson holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and an MPH in Public Health from the University of Auckland. Alastair was a START Center Research Assistant from its inception in 2011 through 2013. His research focused on childhood acute febrile illness in western Kenya, specifically the influence of declining malaria on other causes of fever and clinical practice. After completing his PhD, Alastair joined the Assessment, Policy Development, and Evaluation team at Public Health—Seattle & King County, working as an epidemiologist. At PHSKC, he used population data to assess the health of King County residents and investigates the impact of policy changes such as the Affordable Care Act on health outcomes.

In reflecting on his time with START, Alastair shared that "START provided a fantastic opportunity to apply the skills I was developing in my PhD to real-world situations. My peers and mentors were fantastic to work with and it was gratifying to see our work used to influence global health programs and funding decisions. The project-based nature of START also taught us to absorb information quickly and ensured that we learned a great deal about a wide array of public health issues. In my work today I still use the techniques I learned at START to translate what the data show us into meaningful communications that a wider audience can understand."

Alastair currently works as Data Modernization Director for Public Health - Seattle & King County.