Sundus Siddique

When Sundus Siddique was a physician in Pakistan, she rotated among specialties during a dengue fever epidemic. Her original plan was to become a surgeon, but she was burned out.

This stress triggered a change in Siddique’s career path. She thought about how community health policies could prevent infectious diseases, and she started reading about occupational hazards such as burnout and stress.

“During my time as a physician, it became increasingly clear that we needed better safety policies for health care workers,” says Siddique, who chose to come to the U.S. and study in UMass Lowell’s Master of Public Health, Epidemiology program to learn about evidence-based research and policies that protect public health. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Science in Public Health program.

As a full-time research assistant for the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW), Siddique is mentored by Professor Emerita Laura Punnett of the Biomedical Engineering Department.

“I appreciate the support and mentorship that I’ve received from all of my professors through my journey in preventive occupational epidemiology, especially health and safety, at UMass Lowell,” says Siddique.

During her six years as a researcher and student at UMass Lowell (UML), Siddique has published four papers; she is the lead author of two.

Involved in studying psychosocial work stressors such as job strain, safety hazards and emotional labor burnout, Siddique is training as an occupational epidemiologist to find solutions that promote health in the workplace.

She has recently published two studies in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine — one about emotional exhaustion in health care workers, and another examining the impact of organizational commitment to safety and the COVID-19 work experience of health care workers.

“This research allows me to assess the safety climate at the workplace while examining work environment exposures to develop holistic interventions for mental health problems in health care to improve job retention,” says Siddique.

Once Siddique graduates with her doctorate, she plans to work in the United States as an occupational epidemiology researcher and faculty member.