10/15/2026
Meet Brandon Horvath, MPH, CHES®! Brandon is a 2018 graduate of our Public Health program who currently serves as Assistant Program Manager for the Bioterrorism & Public Health Preparedness Program at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
Why did you apply to the MPH program, and why did you choose Thomas Jefferson University? My interest in public health stems from a course I had taken as an undergraduate student at Arcadia University called, "Homes, Housing, & Homelessness." A portion of the course was devoted to service learning with a Philadelphia-based organization of our choosing. As part of my service hours, I served as an overnight host at one of the organization’s temporary housing sites and spoke with the families about their experiences. Having these conversations and working directly with trusted messengers in the community provides us with an opportunity to home in on key determinants of health and develop people-focused strategies. I chose Jefferson because of its focus on experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration.
What was the best part of your time at Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH)? Opportunities to learn, grow, and collaborate. During my time as a JCPH student, I completed an internship with Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) in Washington, D.C., where I deepened my understanding of health education and advocacy. I also worked as a graduate assistant for the University’s Health Science Pipeline Programs, supporting curriculum development, peer-to-peer mentorship, and STEM programming for middle- and high-school students. In my final semester with JCPH, I participated in a hotspotting program where I was placed on a cross-disciplinary team that helped people who frequently utilized emergency services receive more targeted, coordinated care. Through these opportunities and the courses led by JCPH faculty, I made great professional connections and lasting friendships and developed many of the skills needed to continue my public health journey in Philadelphia
Describe your capstone project. Why were you interested in that topic? My capstone project, POPPED©: Prescription Overdose Prevention through Pre-Professional Education and Discussion, was a health education program developed as part of a SOPHE/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fellowship in Unintentional Injury Prevention. The competency-based curriculum was intended to equip future health professionals with the knowledge, skills, and advocacy tools, and raise awareness about the opioid epidemic and initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels. At the time, overdose rates were at an all-time high, and I was particularly interested in creating an educational resource that practitioners and pre-professional students could reference that highlighted recent changes to legislation and opportunities for additional training and education.
In what ways has the Jefferson degree facilitated your career? Jefferson is where my public health journey began. Without the foundational skills I gained through the MPH program and the opportunities that followed, I would not have landed my first role as a Health Communications Coordinator (on graduation day!).
Read full profile: https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/population-health/about-the-college/news-and-events/2026/meet-alumnus-brandon-horvath.htm
