Episode #447 Plain Language As Resistance, With Catherine Troisi, PhD, MS
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
When Credentials Meet Community: The Power of Plain Language
What happens when a viral epidemiologist completes over 600 media interviews in five years? Dr. Catherine Troisi discovered something critical: the ability to translate "upstream gene regulation" into dinner table language matters more than any credential on your CV.
In this conversation, Dr. Troisi returns to the podcast after six years, bringing hard-won insights from navigating pandemic media demands, political hostility toward science, and the question every public health professional faces right now: how do we rebuild what's being dismantled?
From Lab Bench to Health Department to Advocacy Frontlines
Dr. Troisi's career path defies the typical academic trajectory. She moved from biochemistry to viral epidemiology, spent seven years practicing public health at the Houston Health Department (including managing jail health programs and serving as Incident Commander during Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 pandemic), then returned to academia with a practiced understanding of how public health actually works beyond the ivory tower.
This blend of laboratory expertise and frontline experience shaped her approach to science communication. When colleagues present research using language like "upstream regulation of the gene" to community audiences, she recognizes the disconnect. Her media work prioritizes clarity over complexity, speaking slowly enough to find everyday words that resonate with neighbors, not just colleagues.
Daily Advocacy: Small Actions That Accumulate Into Change
The conversation turns practical when Dr. Troisi shares her advocacy routine: calling her two Republican senators almost every day during her drive to work. She's realistic about the impact (probably not changing their minds) but clear about the necessity (they need to hear dissenting voices). She writes on weekends, uses her personal phone and computer to protect her position as a state employee, and focuses on one issue at a time to avoid overwhelming staffers.
This isn't performative activism. It's sustained, strategic engagement that recognizes advocacy as marathon work, not sprint effort.
Marching for Public Health: Finding Community Support in Unexpected Places
Dr. Troisi participated in the first-ever March for Public Health on the National Mall during the 2024 APHA conference. What surprised her most? The enthusiastic support from people driving past, honking horns and giving thumbs up. In a deeply divided political landscape, these small gestures of solidarity reminded her that community support for public health exists, even when it feels invisible.
Mentoring Through Crisis: Supporting Young Faculty Facing Uncertain Futures
Perhaps the most sobering part of this conversation addresses the reality facing early-career public health faculty. When young colleagues must cover 50% or more of their salary through grants, and federal funding for climate change research or infectious disease work evaporates, reinventing yourself becomes nearly impossible. Dr. Troisi serves as therapist, mentor, and realist for faculty navigating this uncertain landscape.
She's clear-eyed about the challenge ahead: we need to react to current threats while simultaneously planning for how we'll rebuild public health when this political moment passes.
The Work That Matters Right Now
This episode offers both immediate tools and long-term perspective. You'll hear specific guidance on contacting elected officials, communicating science clearly to non-expert audiences, and maintaining professional advocacy boundaries as a government employee. You'll also hear an experienced epidemiologist grapple honestly with what it means to support the next generation when traditional career pathways feel increasingly unstable.
The work of translation matters: turning complex science into clear communication, building coalitions beyond traditional health departments, and showing up consistently even when outcomes feel uncertain. Your voice shapes what comes next.
About Our Guest
Dr. Catherine Troisi, PhD, MS
Dr. Catherine Troisi is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, where she plays a major leadership role in the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute. She previously served as Assistant Director at the Houston Health Department, where she was Incident Commander for both the Hurricane Katrina and H1N1 pandemic responses.
Dr. Troisi holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan and completed the National Public Health Leadership Training. She was elected to the APHA Executive Board and currently serves as Chair of the Evidentiary Review Committee and Chair-Elect of the International Network of Epidemiology in Policy. She also serves on numerous local and state public health advisory boards.
She is co-editor of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual and recipient of the 2018 ASPPH Academic Public Health Practice Excellence Award. Her career bridges academic virology and frontline public health practice, bringing both laboratory expertise and real-world implementation experience to her teaching, research, and extensive media work.
Listen To This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Conversation Highlights
Plain language is advocacy work.
Translating complex science into everyday language that neighbors understand creates community buy-in for public health. This communication work matters as much as credentials or research publications when building public support for health interventions.
Consistent contact with elected officials accumulates impact over time.
Calling senators almost daily, focusing on one issue per contact, and using personal devices to protect your employment status creates a sustainable advocacy routine. Staffers need to hear from constituents who support science-based policy, even in states where representatives hold opposing views.
Public health careers benefit from practice experience alongside academic work.
Spending seven years at a health department after years in academic research provided real-world context that strengthens teaching, shapes research questions, and builds credibility with both students and community partners.
Supporting young faculty through funding uncertainty requires honest conversations about rebuilding.
When early-career professionals face disappearing grant opportunities in their expertise areas, mentors must acknowledge both current realities and longer-term strategies for how public health will recover and rebuild.
Media engagement serves multiple advocacy purposes simultaneously. Completing over 600 interviews in five years educates the public, builds credibility for public health perspectives, and demonstrates that epidemiologists can communicate clearly without sacrificing scientific accuracy.
Community support for public health exists even when it feels invisible.
Participating in the first March for Public Health on the National Mall revealed unexpected encouragement from the public, reminding advocates that support exists beyond the vocal opposition that dominates headlines.
Advocacy doesn't require agreement, just persistent voice.
Contacting representatives who consistently vote against your positions still serves a purpose: they need to know not everyone in their constituency agrees, and their staffers appreciate hearing supportive voices on difficult issues.
"When you have to put it in everyday language, it takes a little bit longer. So yes, absolutely it's important to talk to people in language they can understand, not dumbing it down, but just not using acronyms and putting it in everyday language and also making it clear why it matters." - Dr. Catherine Troisi
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