Field epidemiologists are the backbone of a country’s defense against public health threats like COVID-19, Ebola, and other disease outbreaks. When an outbreak occurs, field epidemiologists deploy to communities, acting as the “boots on the ground” to investigate where a disease originated, how it is spreading, and actions to protect populations from further disease spread.

In honor of the inaugural World Field Epidemiology Day held on September 7, The Task Force’s Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET) asked field epidemiologists why they chose this profession.

From Indonesia to Turkey, Madagascar, Brazil and many countries in between, field epidemiologists shared what makes them passionate about their work and the reasons they take on this necessary role. Watch the videos to hear what some of them had to say.