The Specialists Cohort (Alabama)
We are working to complete our profiles for the more than 500 nominees submitted during the month of February. If you’d like to add to this profile, please email us at: Contact@Data-Usa.org
Not one to shy away from correcting misinformation, Dr. Bertha Hidalgo has spent the last year combatting internet campaigns using misleading or false data about the effectiveness of lockdowns, masks, and vaccines.
Dr. Hidalgo, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at in Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama, uses Instagram, Twitter and a bit of traditional media here and there to ensure that the public has the right information, right when they need it.
Dr. Hidalgo creates simple graphics on topics from proper mask fitting to symptoms of long-haul COVID-19. She leverages the available resources around her to supplement her work, including resources from one of our other nominees, David Marconnet.
“He’s definitely provided a significant service to the state, but also a great resource that many who are working on COVID-related issues in the state can reference and use in our communication,” said Bertha Hidalgo, who has regularly shared BamaTracker updates on her social media.
Her reach and success with communicating outside of academic (while still serving as a leader within it) helped her secure a $300,000 grant from Research Goes Red in November.
The two-year grant is aimed at increasing education and awareness in women about cardiovascular disease and stroke….and enhance the messaging about these health issues, through a public-facing awareness campaign aimed at millennial and underrepresented women to target cardiovascular disease prevention early on.
“Millennial women should care about cardiovascular health, and developing healthy lifestyles early on can make a big difference,” Hidalgo said. “We are interested in understanding what information women will be most receptive to in order to change behaviors. The end goal is helping women become more heart-aware and heart-healthy.”
University of Alabama News, Nov. 4, 2020
A few words from those who submitted Dr. Hidalgo:
“Dr. Hidalgo has been using her social media platform (where she has 1000s of followers) to disseminate covid data and studies to lay people. She uses easy to read infographs and is everyone I knows “go-to” for evidence based covid information. Her posts are informed by the questions her followers ask.”
Click here to visit Dr. Hidalgo’s Twitter page
Click here to see Dr. Hidalgo’s Instagram
COVID-19 Data Hero Awards 