An Interview with Christopher Yopp: 11 Questions from The Berkeley Graduate

TBG:.Where are you from?
Christopher Yopp: I was born in Miami, FL but went to high school in Tucson, Arizona and Haifa, Israel. Ethnically, I’ve got a bit of Irish and Native American in me, but unfortunately don’t have as strong a connection to my roots as I would like.

What did you study as an undergrad/earlier in your career?
I double majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Asian History at Cornell University. At first I was solely going for my MCB so I could move into research to fulfill a personal obligation to my mother who died of cancer, however, I fell in love with the Japanese culture after being exposed to the famed Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa and I decided I wanted to also learn more able Asian cultures. I was originally planning on getting a PhD in MCB, but my interest took me to Japan and Asia for a couple of years instead. When I finally came back, I spent the next year taking care of my grandfather, who was dying of Parkinson’s disease. My interactions with doctors and the health care system raised my interest in public health and set me on my path to getting a MPH in Infectious Diseases at UC Berkeley.

What's the focus of your current work?
I am currently working on HPV and cervical cancer in Ethiopia. I spent the last summer in a rural hospital in Western Ethiopia working on determining the HPV strain types that were responsible for the cases of terminal cervical cancer. The health disparities there are truly astounding, and it is devastating to see a disease that is preventable be ignored in the face of other “sexier” diseases. Now I am working to bringing HPV vaccines to those same populations.

How did you become interested in your field?
I have had a lot of personal experiences that have lead me down this path. My family and friends have had their share of diseases and improper care. Specifically, my mother passed away of cervical cancer when I was young. I grew up in an impoverished situation and proper surveillance was not a priority. Knowing that she died of something 100% preventable has propelled me into public health research and now medical school. I was 14 years old and had been dealing with my mother’s death for over a year when a teacher informed me about a program at University of Southern California. This program was meant to inform younger high school students about research positions in cancer. I applied, made it in, and my life has never been the same. I really enjoyed the work I did on Parkinson’s disease at the University of Arizona some years ago, but haven’t felt truly fulfilled until my most recent work in HPV.

What were your aspirations when you were younger?
Every year when the Wizard of Oz would come on I would be reminded that I wanted to become a scientist. I used to tell my friends that I would go into genetics so that I could finally make one of those flying monkeys. I don’t know where along the way I went wrong.

How has your work been seen in the community at large? I don’t think it has been seen all that much. Malaria, AIDS, and TB are the Big Three in developing countries and it is difficult to bring other diseases into the spotlight. It can almost be seen as an “Orphan Disease” in the developing world.

What's the best part of your work? Public health is meant to affect large populations and it is extremely rewarding to see initiatives that can help and improve the lives of people be implemented. Unfortunately, I haven’t actually been able to do that yet, but I’m working on it. I have started to become involved in the Suitcase clinic. They do some wonderful things for the local homeless community and I hope I can contribute to their project.

Career-wise, where would you like to end up? I’m looking at med school right now, so I’d like to be involved in small-scale international medical initiatives that can push forward some programs that will make a difference. I need some more training, but I’m getting there!

What has your experience in Berkeley been like? I have loved being here! The relative openness of the student body and professors has been refreshing and the beautiful weather hasn’t hurt. I lived here for a year before starting my graduate degree and I knew what I was getting into. However, I have come to enjoy the city more and more. The connections I made on campus these last two years have added to my quality of life in ways I’m sure I won’t understand until I leave Berkeley. I have seen the neighborhoods become more and more gentrified. Also, the campus itself is slowly losing funding, and I fear that it will lose that edge that makes it such a cutting-edge institution. Specifically, Public Health has lost its building and is now spread throughout campus. This is disturbing, considering the large need for public health officials in California. I have been involved in the Student Health Advisory Committee at the Tang center and am happy to say that the administration is taking student input to heart and have pushed forward some changes that have made access much easier. There has been a big push by the Graduate Assembly and also some initiative within the Tang center. They legitimately want to offer the best services they can. I’d like to see more money invested in the campus and better input from both the Academia and Grad students as to how to use the money.

What advice do you have for students who might be interested in your career path? It is a worthwhile career path, but it is filled with many frustrating pitfalls.

What's the most important part of your day? Breakfast. I also work out at the RSF most days, I have a garden I like to putter around in and I rock climb when I have the time.