In a mere two years with Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B), Jacob Otile, M.D. has proven to be a trailblazer for public health equity, healthcare access, and global health research. Prior to graduating last month from SPH-B with his master of public health (M.P.H.) in epidemiology, Otile was named Most Outstanding Public Health Student of the Year 2024 by the Indiana Public Health Association (IPHA) and served on both the Hoosier Sport research team and IPHA Student Advisory Group.
For Otile, continuing his educational journey after being a practicing medical doctor in Northern Uganda was driven by a desire to polish his quantitative and qualitative research skills especially study design, data management and analytical skills, understand the process of systematic review, and harness manuscript and grant-writing skills to help advocate for policies and practices to address the health needs of those in his home village of Apac.
"There are a lot of struggles our healthcare system [in Apac and Uganda at large] has in terms of accessibility to healthcare across the board—OBGYN, pediatrics, surgery and internal medicine, to name a few," says Otile. "It was a big challenge continuing to work in that setting just waiting for patients to come to me…it wasn’t enough. Achieving the bigger goal of reaching more needs in the community with research clicked in my mind."
Otile says that in Uganda, the doctor to patient ratio is about 1:25,000, far from the World Health Organization’s 1:1000 recommendation—and the gap increases in rural settings. In August 2023, Otile was admitted to an M.P.H. program in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Otile found a position as a Hoosier Sport research assistant shortly after arriving at IU and immediately set to work developing out the research and sport-based youth development interventions to address physical inactivity and cardiovascular disease risk among middle school children in rural Indiana; working alongside Hoosier Sport founding faculty member and mentor Kyle Kercher, Ph.D.
"I have played soccer, volleyball, track and field all my life and to date I am very active in those sports," says Otile. "Having this opportunity to get hands-on experience with research in community intervention programs through physical activity effortlessly identified with my personal and professional goals."
A community partner for Hoosier Sport Global has already been identified in Apac – Friends of Goodwill Soccer Academy (FOG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to positive youth development through sport that is run by Tommy Okada, a childhood friend of Otile’s. Thanks to a $4,000 grant received in March 2024 from SPH-B and another $5,000 from the Center for Survey Research, the needs assessment survey to bring Hoosier Sport Global one step closer to a reality is currently in development. Otile, Kercher, and additional Hoosier Sport team members plan to travel to Apac in early 2026 to conduct the first aim of this project. Considerations include barriers and facilitators of organized physical activity and sport within the community as well as the specific health challenges.
"We don’t want to go in as researchers and assume what we have learned in Indiana on cardiovascular health is what is going to work in that community," says Otile. "We want to first understand what the community really needs from us before we try to implement strategies we’ve developed in rural Indiana."
Post-graduation, Otile is dedicated to advancing Hoosier Sport Global to include a summer exchange program where SPH-B students can engage with youth in Apac for college credit, while students from Apac can come to IU Bloomington and experience everything the campus has to offer. As he seeks opportunities to continue working in the field of clinical research, Otile is also searching for partnerships to advance his registered nonprofit Reach Apac, which is dedicated to improving healthcare access in his home village.
Kercher adds, "Otile is the kind of person whose presence and insight elevate all the teams and projects he is a part of. I have so much gratitude for his kindness, consistency, genuine care for others, and collaborative spirit. Thankfully, we share a vision for improving the health of kids around the world and I anticipate the true impact of our work together will be our lasting relationship and commitment to Hoosier Sport’s mission."
For more stories on SPH-B students, faculty, and staff making a difference locally and worldwide, visit go.iu.edu/48bx.