Hamid Torabzadeh is graduating with his AB in public health from Brown University as part of the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME). He is passionate about scaling innovative care delivery models which extend healthcare beyond the four walls of a clinic or hospital and transform care delivery from a fragmented, episodic, and reactive series of encounters to an integrated, continuous, and proactive partner in health for every American. While at Brown, he was involved as a research assistant with the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research, as Editor-in-Chief of the Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public Health, and as an intern for two not-for-profit health insurers, SCAN and Blue Shield of California. He was also involved with the local Providence community as a proud E-Board member of the American Cancer Society and Board Member for American Lung Association Rhode Island.

Kira Philips graduated from the Online MPH program, in addition to being SPH administrative staff. She is an advocate for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and is devoted to this work to honor her late mom, Clare Philips. Kira believes MAID is a compassionate, autonomous, healthcare option for individuals dying of terminal illness, and has translated her rigorous academic work into meaningful public health impact through delivering guest lectures across Brown's campus, co-authoring a publication in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, representing Brown SPH at the Gerontological Society of America's 2025 conference in a MAID special interest session, and testifying for numerous legislative public hearings across New England. Her capstone, "Suicide Amongst Terminally Ill Patients and MAID as Prevention: A Systematic Review" is currently being reworked for potential publication.

Ambree Robinson is a Master of Public Health student from Mississippi, graduating with a focus in reproductive justice and health policy. At Brown, she has worked as a Research Assistant at BWell Health Promotion, a Graduate Assistant for the Reproductive Justice Collaborative, and a teaching assistant for the PHP2023 Maternal and Child Health course. She has also served in leadership roles on both the Graduate Student Council and the School of Public Health Graduate Student Council. Together, these experiences have prepared her to be a thoughtful and effective advocate and leader in public health, particularly in reproductive justice.

Shuo is a graduating Ph.D. student in Biostatistics at Brown University. His research focuses on the evaluation of public health policies and their applications to facilitate evidence-based healthcare decision-making. His thesis provides practical guidelines for applying commonly used policy evaluation methods to model infectious disease outcomes. Prior to Brown, Shuo was a consultant and health applied scientist at UNICEF.

Amelia Bailey is graduating with a PhD from the Behavioral and Social Health Sciences program. Her research focuses on reducing substance use-related harm by evaluating and optimizing healthcare delivery systems like treatment programs. In her dissertation, she investigated how multilevel factors impact the quality and effectiveness of receiving medications for opioid use disorder during incarceration. After graduation, Amelia intends to continue her work at a research-intensive university.

Meghan Bellerose is a health services researcher whose work examines the impact of health insurance policies on reproductive and maternity care use. Meghan's research has been published in leading health policy journals and cited in state and federal policy reports, including the 2025 Economic Report of the President to Congress. Before coming to Brown, Meghan received an MPH at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and a BA in biochemistry and sociology from Bowdoin College. In July, Meghan will start as an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Jacqueline Larson grew up in the bordertown of Nogales, Arizona, where her involvement in youth mental health advocacy, journalism, athletics, and the arts sparked her passion for community health. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona in Public Health with an Art Studio minor while working in environmental health research and serving with the Pima County Health Department as an AmeriCorps volunteer. At Brown University, she has focused on health equity and community engagement through leadership in student organizations, cervical cancer prevention work at Clinica Esperanza, and research developing an environmental health literacy program for middle school students. In the future, Jacqueline hopes to continue working in community and global public health spaces that foster cross-cultural connection, health equity, and youth empowerment.

Marymar Vacio Lazalde, a Los Angeles native, is a second-year MPH student and Health Equity Scholar passionate about destigmatizing mental illnesses and increasing the access to mental health resources in disadvantaged communities. Marymar holds various positions in organizations such as Brown's Writing Center, Womxn in Public Health, Latinos/Latinx in Public Health, Infectious Disease Society Magazine, Student Health and Wellness Advisory Committee, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Rhode Island.

Gray Babbs is a Ph.D. candidate in Health Services Research at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He uses epidemiologic and econometric methods to identify barriers to high-quality care for individuals with chronic diseases and mental health conditions. His research evaluates the impact of Medicare and Medicaid policies on population health, with a particular focus on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex communities

Olivia was nominated based on her contributions to a team project with Meridian Senior Living, "Exploring Physical and Emotional Benefits of an Exercise Program for Older Adults in an Assisted Living Community." According to Ms. Baier, Ms. Reddy, and Dr. McCreedy, “Olivia played a pivotal role in this community-academic partnership by leading the qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews conducted with residents, staff, and corporate leaders at Meridian's Chapel Hill assisted living community in Cumberland, RI. Her insightful thematic analysis effectively identified resident- and staff-prioritized outcomes, laying a critical foundation for future efficacy trials.” This work resulted in a Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation Lab Issue Brief and poster presentations at the 2025 Public Health Research Day and the 2025 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, as well as a submitted, co-authored manuscript.

Naomi was nominated based on her honors thesis, “Provider-Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Implementation of the Community-Based Integrated Care Initiative in Fussa City, Tokyo, Japan.” According to her advisor, Dr. Gadbois, “with minimal direction from me, [Naomi] led an extremely ambitious and rigorous qualitative case study that included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis… It is apparent from the care she’s put into this work as well as the quality of the work produced that she is highly committed to improving care for older adults.” This work resulted in a poster presentation at the 2026 Public Health Research Day, as well as a manuscript currently being prepared for submission.