Eszter Rimányi ’23 used her UNC interdisciplinary studies major to explore how epidemics can be caused by more than viruses or germs — they can be fueled by commerce.
Eszter Rimányi drew on her upbringing in Hungary and a passion for improving global health outcomes to create her own major at Carolina.
Rimányi graduated in December 2023 with an interdisciplinary studies major in epidemiology policy with minors in neuroscience and art history.
She combined classes in public policy, epidemiology and biology to create the major. Rimányi said she particularly enjoyed a medical geography course in the College of Arts and Sciences taught by Michael Emch, W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Geography and Epidemiology.
“I crafted my studies to learn about disease from the perspectives of public health, biology, neuroscience, medical anthropology and medical geography,” she said. “My major helped me to answer questions about how we mitigate disease from the personal to the population scale. I also utilized my minor to understand the psychology of how people respond to disease and different mitigation tactics.”
As a senior, Rimányi received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award — one of the Chancellor’s Awards — given to a student who has best demonstrated unselfish interest in human welfare.
The interdisciplinary studies major is directed by Lauren Leve, an associate professor in the department of religious studies in the College.
“The IDST major attracts amazing students like Eszter and prepares and empowers them for the world of the future,” Leve said. “Her work is evidence of the seriousness and quality of students’ research and of high-impact learning.”
Rimányi’s passion for undergraduate research led to first authorship of a paper in the journal PLOS Global Public Health last July and an article in TIME magazine on the idea of “market-driven epidemics.”
She and her co-authors examined how products such as cigarettes, sugar and prescription opioids can harm people for decades before companies stop promoting them. These epidemics arise when companies aggressively market products with proven harms, deny that the harms exist and resist mitigation efforts.
According to the TIME article, market-driven epidemics “contribute to the deaths of 850,000 people in the U.S. and 23 million worldwide each year. They underlie some of the most urgent health crises on the planet.”
Today, Rimányi is continuing her work as a chronic disease and addiction epidemiologist in her career at the Duke Global Health Institute, where she focuses on market-driven epidemics under the mentorship of her co-author, professor Jonathan Quick.
“Regardless of the specific consumer product, there is a predictable patten that companies follow to cover up the tracks of their harmful products and push back against public health,” Rimányi said.
Rimányi said she first read Quick’s book, The End of Epidemics: The Looming Threat to Humanity and How to Stop It, in high school and became hooked on the idea of studying epidemiology. She was born and raised in Hungary until age 14; the country has the highest lung cancer rate in the world. When Rimányi moved to North Carolina, she also became interested in the opioid epidemic.
“While these epidemics seem to be completely different, the similarities have shown me just how connected the world is and how universal some problems are,” she said. “These problems hit close to home for me, and I was eager to contribute to research as soon as I could, starting as an undergrad.”
Rimányi continues to write both scientific papers and non-academic articles in her job post-graduation. Although she works at Duke, Rimanyi shared that she is a loyal Carolina fan and an example of the collaborative work that happens between the two universities.
“I still live within biking distance to UNC and interact heavily with martial arts and aerial silk clubs on campus,” she said.
What advice would Rimányi share for future Tar Heels who want to get involved in undergraduate research?
“Aim as high as you can,” she said. “Write cold emails to the places you dream of researching — and hope one accepts you! Don’t wait for a post to open up. Create the perfect opportunity for yourself, and don’t be afraid to take up that space.”
By Kim Spurr, College of Arts and Sciences