EPITalk: Behind the Paper

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Dr. Jenna Sanborn joins EPITalk: Behind the Paper to discuss the GLP-1 access gap and her newly published research article, “GLP-1 receptor agonist medications for weight loss: Sociodemographic patterns of awareness, use, and access in a U.S. national cohort,” published in the October 2026 (Vol. 122) issue of Annals of Epidemiology. This study aimed to describe patterns of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP1-RA) medication awareness, use, and access in a US adult cohort.

Read the full article here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279726001493

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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Dr. Katherine Rucinski and Yuanqi Mi explore their newly published article,“Defining strata of women at risk for HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: a pooled latent class analysis,” published in the October 2026 (Vol. 122) issue of Annals of Epidemiology. This study investigates the different profiles and levels of HIV risk among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa using combined survey data.

Read the full article here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1047279726001912

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief, is joined by co-guest and recent graduate from the University of Texas, Dr. Priya Thomas, to discuss her paper, "Disentangling Race and Ethnicity in Predicting Symptoms of Depression among Young Adults: A Machine Learning Approach.” In this episode, Dr. Thomas describes how categorizing race and ethnicity could impact how well we could predict an outcome. Dr. Thomas’ article is published in the June 2026 Issue (Vol. 118) of Annals of Epidemiology.

Read the full article here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279726000918

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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This episode, we are featuring Dr. Alexandra Zimmer to discuss her riveting publication "Cough acoustic analysis using artificial intelligence for COVID-19 detection: A comparative study of patient cohorts from Lima, Peru and Montreal, Canada.” We dive into questions regarding COVID-19 detection and the usage of artificial intelligence on cough acoustics in both Lima, Peru and Montreal, Canada. Dr. Zimmer’s article is published in the June 2026 Issue (Vol. 118) of Annals of Epidemiology.

Read the full article here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279726000748

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Amy Lansky, and Dr. Lisa M. Lee, our guest editors come together and explore the Annals of Epidemiology’s special issue: ‘what happens to science that is abruptly cut short?’ This episode explores what our guest editors are looking for and their expectations when science is interrupted.

The Editorial: Science, Interrupted was published in the September 2025 Issue (Vol. 109) of Annals of Epidemiology, find more here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1047279725001760 

For instructions on how to submit to the special issue, click the following link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/324263/science-interrupted

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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Emaan Rashidi, a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, joins us on EPITalk to discuss her article review, covering AI's role in future epidemiologic research and its broader implications. “Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe to epidemiology?“ is published in the March 2026 Issue (Vol. 115) of Annals of Epidemiology. 

Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1047279726000116

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

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Dr. Stanhope, Dr. Hamilton, and Dr. Roll join EPITalk host and co-author, Dr. Patrick Sullivan, to take a deep dive into their exciting recently published study regarding how guaranteed income improves financial and mental wellbeing in a randomized trial among Black women in Georgia. “Improvements in stress and sleep following 24-months of Guaranteed Income, results from a randomized trial among Black women in Georgia“ is published in the February 2026 Issue (Vol. 114) of Annals of Epidemiology. 

Read the full article here:

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2025.12.010 

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Derek Ng joins EPITalk host and co-author, Dr. Patrick Sullivan to explore whether a neural-network model utilizing two blood biomarkers can more accurately estimate kidney function in pediatric chronic kidney disease than current standard equations. “A comparison of neural networks and regression-based approaches for estimating kidney function in pediatric chronic kidney disease: Practical predictive epidemiology for clinical management of a progressive disease” is published in the May 2025 issue (Vol. 105) of Annals of Epidemiology.

Read the full article here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1047279725000717 

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Larry Hearld illustrates multiple methods that implementation scientists can use to better inform adaptation and implementation of evidence-based interventions in complex organizational settings. “Integrating existing and novel methods to understand organizational context: A case study of an academic-public health department partnership” is published in the December 2024 issue (Vol. 100) of Annals of Epidemiology.

Read the full article here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1047279724002473

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier
  
  
  

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Dorthe Pedersen unpacks the paradoxical relationship between childhood body size, breast density, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk among a large cohort of Danish women. Her article, “Associations of early life body size and pubertal timing with breast density and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: A mediation analysis,” can be found in the February 2025 (Vol. 102) issue of Annals of Epidemiology. 

Read the full article here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279725000109

Episode Credits:

• Executive Producer: Sabrina Debas (Episodes 1-18) and Sofina Tran (19-)
• Technical Producer: Paula Burrows
• Annals of Epidemiology is published by Elsevier