Mel Jeske

Pursuing two undergraduate degrees enabled me to explore multiple areas of research as an undergraduate student. As a STAR student, I worked in an environmental science lab;  as a co-op, I worked at an regional economic consulting firm; as a research assistant, I worked with a political science faculty member (Christian Hunold) on environmental politics research. These experiences, combined with my coursework and academic research interests, led me to pursue the accelerated master's program in an interdisciplinary field (science and technology studies). STS analyzes societal  interactions with and impacts of science, technology, and medicine.

My research interests are at the intersection of medical and environmental health knowledge production and public health policy. My master's thesis research examines the history and organization of obesity research, the usage of BMI (body mass index) as tool of measurement and standardization, and the translational practices which serve to extrapolate knowledge produced in obesity labs and epidemiological studies to inform public health policy and health guidelines. In the fall 2015 I will begin my doctoral work in sociology at University of California, San Francisco.