Student News

After witnessing stark racial disparities in Alzheimer’s care, Jada Owens pivoted from medicine to policy. The Brown Health Equity Scholar is headed to D.C. for a one-year Winston Fellowship to help shape the future of U.S. health care.

From PrEP to mindfulness to maternal mortality, a team of 36 Brown undergraduates has published a diverse collection of 12 scholarly articles, bridging the gap between classroom learning and professional research in the field of public health.

With mass layoffs at the CDC dismantling decades of oversight born from the HIV/AIDS crisis, blood safety advocates like MPH student Shanthi Hegde warn that repeating the deadly mistakes of the past threatens maternal health, trauma care and national security.

Students in PHP1720 rolled up their sleeves this semester, conducting community-engaged research at 180 local sites, from downtown Providence to the new Pawtucket soccer stadium, revealing disparities in noise pollution and other public health concerns.

MPH student and CEO Ishan Shah and his co-founder built the Peerakeet platform after realizing the transformative power of peer connection, creating a safe, moderated “digital front door to recovery” for Gen Z.

With immigrant communities under heightened strain, Aidea Downie ’18, MA ’20 has earned a prestigious Royce Fellowship to study the support immigrant mothers and babies receive from culturally-aligned birth doulas.

As the Brown University School of Public Health welcomes 232 new graduate students, school leaders urge the incoming class to view public health not just as a career, but as a calling—one that demands resilience, collaboration and commitment to solving the world’s most pressing challenges.

Brown MPH student Quynh Le brought her passion for global health to a local setting this summer, working to improve patient satisfaction and language accessibility at CODAC Behavioral Healthcare.

Balancing the demands of a Ph.D. program in public health is hard enough—try doing it while starring in “Into the Woods.” This Brown University doctoral student proves you don’t have to choose between data and drama.

Brown public health and medical students team up to provide culturally attuned care to Rhode Island’s South Asian, Middle Eastern and African communities.

This is the fourth article in a series by undergraduate student Chris Walsh. His last essay explored the new self-advocacy possibilities that openness can offer autistic people interested in autism research and advocacy. Now, he examines the relationship between greater autism openness and mental health for people on the spectrum.

Explore highlights from this year’s Commencement & Reunion Weekend at Brown University.

The School of Public Health community gathered to celebrate community members’ achievements in research, teaching and innovation.

Balancing the rigorous demands of a doctoral program is challenging for the most motivated students, but for those keen to position themselves for profound impact, Brown’s Open Graduate Education program allows Ph.D. students to concurrently pursue a master’s degree in another field.

With climate change bearing down, Online MPH student Sean MacLean’s work with the Red Cross takes him from one natural disaster zone to another, where he leads recovery efforts and provides assistance to devastated communities.

The School of Public Health’s MPH Practicum Poster Session showcases the results of students’ hands-on work beyond the classroom.

This summer MPH student Derrick Webb performed mixed-methods research in Nairobi, attended an HIV conference in Munich and finally joined other emerging leaders in HIV/AIDS research at the prestigious White House Rising Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.

Bart Hearn, a Brown undergraduate concentrating in public health, earned the prestigious Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship and spent his summer researching HIV/AIDS interventions abroad.

New students gathered at the School of Public Health for orientation events, eager to take on the academic year.

Without a professional background in public health, but with passion for improving the health of vulnerable populations and for acquiring the tools needed to meet her goals, Iranian immigrant Navid Nickpour is creating connections at PACE Organization of Rhode Island.

Trinity Perkins shares her experience working as a health policy and educational legislative intern for Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

Brown researchers partnered with influencers to screen potential participants for eligibility into ongoing trials and compare the effectiveness of public health-based influencer ads with traditional advertising.

Pioneering class of graduate biostatistics students reflect on their experiences at Brown University’s School of Public Health

After Joe Silva graduates from Brown’s School of Public Health, he will begin a two year role as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the U.S. Government.

Elizabeth Lawton, a nurse practitioner and an online MPH student at Brown, provides care to medically underserved communities in Connecticut.

Batool Behnam, Graduate Assistant with Swearer Center’s community partnership team and current master's student at Brown’s School of Public Health, is concentrating on Global Health and graduating this Spring 2024. Through research, teaching and community services, Behnam’s dream is to reduce inequalities among communities.

This is the third article in Unmasked, a series by undergraduate Chris Walsh ’25.5. With a mix of personal perspective and research analysis, Unmasked addresses the public health value of greater openness and self-advocacy around autism.

Geronimo Bejarano, originally from Colombia, stood out in a field of 2,323 graduate applicants to win merit-based fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants

Online MPH student Saylor Lewtschenko combines her passions for elder care, Veterans’ health and data science to improve care options for those who have served.

Student-run journal features scientific articles authored by undergraduate students at Brown.

Troy Nash, family business owner, makes big moves in his home state of Missouri

Brown MPH student Michael Thompson was awarded an inaugural Royce Graduate Student Research Award to build a tech solution that connects the recently incarcerated with health and wellness resources.

The world’s first MPH graduates with a concentration in mindfulness completed their degrees at Brown in 2023. Instructed by interdisciplinary faculty from the Mindfulness Center at Brown, the concentration focuses on the impacts of mindfulness on physical and mental health, analysis of mindfulness-based interventions and applicable theoretical frameworks.

One of the newest branches of the Health Equity Scholars program equips Rhode Islanders with the skills to make their home state healthier.

Summit led by Brown researchers makes shared space between mindfulness training and Indigenous cultural practice

Brown researchers study how unhealthy noise levels are impacting Cranston's schools and neighborhoods

Second-year Brown MPH students share outcomes from their MPH Practicum during annual poster session

For her summer MPH Practicum, MPH student Yuchan Cao investigated the patterns between smoking and cancer progression among lung cancer survivors in China.

In orientation address, Dean Ashish Jha highlights school’s distinct approach and key areas of focus.

MPH student Nargis Faizy spent her summer working to improve care for elderly Rhode Islanders.

Azia Johnson is working to alleviate food insecurity in her hometown of Providence, Rhode Island.