PHS Insider - Dr. Maria Paz Salazar Ocampo

| 2 May 2025

“Public health is a field driven by passion and the desire to create meaningful change. Keep that motivation at the center of everything you do and enjoy your journey!”

Meet Dr. Maria Paz Salazar Ocampo, a Colombian physician from the Universidad de Los Andes, a student of the 2024-2025 Masters of Public Health program at Queen's University, and winner of the 2024 IPAC Canada Scholarship.

Maria hopes to bring equitable care to underserved populations through healthcare policies, establishing prevention procedures, and championing infection control strategies that prioritize community voices and evidence-based action. How she got here was the result of a pivotal moment during her training in Colombia. Alongside her colleagues, Maria's previous work on the Mpox vaccine and outreach to the LGBTQ+ community reinforced her belief that “improving health outcomes goes beyond clinical care, it requires addressing the social determinants of health, tackling healthcare access barriers, reducing stigma surrounding infectious diseases, and implementing evidence-based public health interventions that integrate community perspectives."

With Maria's list of accomplishments, it leads anyone to wonder what stood out to her at Queen's as opposed to anywhere else. The uniqueness of the IPAC specialization in the MPH program, "aligned perfectly with [her] professional goals".

Maria describes the MPH program as “both rewarding and eye-opening” with courses that deepened her understanding of health policy, community-driven approaches, and global health challenges. What truly enriched her experience, though, was the support and diverse perspectives of her peers and professors, who helped ease her transition into the Canadian academic and cultural environment.

“A big shoutout to my friends: Xu, Carol, and Rox.”

In the summer, she will be applying her knowledge on a project with Public Health Ontario’s IPAC Outbreak Response and Support team. Her work will focus on updating reprocessing checklists for medical equipment, aligning them with new national standards set by the Canadian Standards Association and the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee. The goal is to reduce infection risks from contaminated reusable devices, while also gaining deeper insights into provincial-level IPAC operations and policy.

Looking ahead, Maria hopes to work in healthcare settings that serve vulnerable or underserved communities, where she can focus on infectious disease prevention and control. She is especially passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice and aims to improve the implementation of evidence-based strategies in real-world settings related to prevention and infectious disease control.

When asked to reflect on her success at Queen’s, she emphasized the value of getting involved both on and off campus. She encouraged students to attend events and connect with peers beyond the classroom, highlighting how these experiences help open doors to new opportunities that elevate both personal and professional growth.

To international students, Maria recommends reaching out to the Queen’s University International Centre, enroll in courses offered by Queen’s that will strengthen your English proficiency, as well as connect with the supportive community of students, administrators, and professors within the MPH faculty

“There are always people willing to support you.”

She encourages newcomers to embrace the learning curves that come with navigating a new academic system and adapting to a different culture, while staying confident in the skills and knowledge they bring with them.

“Remember you are in the way of opening doors for the present and for your future, don’t be shy to knock doors! Most importantly, remember why you chose this path. Public health is a field driven by passion and the desire to create meaningful change. Keep that motivation at the center of everything you do! And lastly, enjoy your journey! Get to know Kingston, it is a wonderful city. Life is not only academic studies, go outside and enjoy the conversations, laughs and stories of your classmates, friends and people from Kingston."

Master of Public Health

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PHS Insider - Dr. Maria Paz Salazar Ocampo

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