School of Public Health

Alumni Profile – Sally Hoger

July 5, 2019 • Uncategorized

By Sally Crocker

Sally Hoger, DrPH, MS, SM(ASCP), is Associate Professor, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Public Health, at Tarleton State University. She has served on the Tarleton faculty for 15 years.

In 2012, Dr. Hoger completed the DrPH degree with a concentration in health policy from the UNTHSC School of Public Health. In addition to her UNTHSC degree, she holds an M.S. in Biomedical Science and a B.S. in Microbiology.

She teaches undergraduate clinical microbiology and graduate-level statistics courses for the Medical Laboratory Science program at Tarleton’s Fort Worth campus.

What attracted Dr. Hoger to public health?

“As I progressed in my career,” she says, “I decided a background in public health would allow me to better explain the role of the laboratory in infectious disease surveillance and as part of the healthcare delivery system. The graduate students learn research methodology using healthcare related datasets.”

Before moving into education, Dr. Hoger worked in two large clinical microbiology laboratories as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in the local area, gaining “valuable and relevant experience” within the JPS Health Network and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

How did the UNTHSC degree help her prepare for the work she’s doing now?

“In addition to enhancing my teaching, my background in public health helped me to design a three-track undergraduate degree in public health that is offered on our Stephenville campus,” she says. “I have also embarked on some collaborative efforts with the Stephenville campus faculty to evaluate the potential for transmission of drug-resistant bacteria in livestock to humans.”

At UNTHSC, as she began taking her first few courses, Dr. Hoger says “it became evident that I had made the right choice.”

“The field of public health opened my eyes to the many determinants of human health, such as the behavioral, policy and real-world challenges involved in improving the health of the population, that may not be evident to the average person,” she notes.

Her advice for current students? “Evaluate the many aspects of public health and pursue the area that interests you most. Over the long-term, it is your passion that sustains and builds your career.”