Recent Alumni
Our alumni go on to a variety of healthcare and healthcare-adjacent careers. The MHS MA program has consistently shown strong employment outcomes year after year. Our graduates leave the MA program with knowledge and skills in the social and structural foundations of health that help them become leaders in their professions and communities. The most common career fields include:
- healthcare professions (physician, dentist, and nurse),
- clinical research administration,
- healthcare consultant,
- policy or data analyst, and
- healthcare technology.
Other fields include law, academic research, non-profit advocacy, and healthcare administration.
Below is a partial list of our graduates. If you are an alum and would like to update your information or find out about being added, please email mhs-ma@vanderbilt.edu.
2020-2021 Alumni
Leila Azari (BA '20, MA '21)
Leila Azari was a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her master's practicum research focused on exploring the topic of structural competency and the structural factors affecting the health of immigrant populations. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Juleigh Petty and Professor Danielle Picard. After graduating with her MA, Leila began medical school in Fall 2021.
Gabrielle Dyson (BA '20, MA '21)
Gabrielle Dyson is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and double minored in Studio Art and Human and Organizational Development. Her master's thesis research focused on the representation of race in dermatology education during medical school. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Aimi Hamraie.
Lauren Elcan (MA '21)
Lauren Elcan is a graduate of Princeton University where she majored in Cultural Anthropology with a certificate in American Studies and a focus on global health. Her master's thesis research centered on rural white populations in the United States and their attitudes towards healthcare, such as the Affordable Care Act, vaccines, and medical technologies, forming identities within American Society and why individuals act against their own self-interest. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Johnathan Metzl.
William Fesmire (BA '20, MA '21)
Witt Fesmire is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he majored in English with Honors and Medicine, Health, & Society. His research interests include the creation, maintenance, and evolution of the public understanding of health. For his thesis project, Witt worked with Professor Danielle Picard to examine how news media has contributed to the public understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. After graduating with his MA, Witt began medical school in Fall 2021.
Rachel Gross (BA '20, MA '21)
Rachel is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Anthropology. Her master's thesis research focused on structural competency, specifically on food access and food insecurity as structural barriers to health. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Dr. JuLeigh Petty. After graduating with her MA, Rachel began medical school in Fall 2021.
Ryan Hale (BA '20, MA '21)
Ryan is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and European History. His master's thesis research focused on healthcare policy and how it influenced the spread and containment of COVID-19. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Professor Tara McKay. After graduating with his MA, Ryan began working in the health policy sector for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Natalie Jones (MA '21)
Natalie is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her MA practicum research focused on the healthcare experiences of geriatric patients in the Emergency Department, specifically looking at what patient-oriented outcomes matter most among the aging population. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Lauren Gaydosh and Professor JuLeigh Petty.
Sarah Marriott (BA '20, MA '21)
Sarah is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and Spanish. Her MA practicum research focused on structural vulnerability and its potential operationalization in public health. She plans to complete a practicum with Dignidad Obrera, a grassroots organization in Nashville striving to reduce wage theft and workplace injury among Latinx laborers in the city. While in the M.A program, she worked under the guidance of Dr. JuLeigh Petty.
Andre Mintze (BA '19, MA '21)
Andre Mintze is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society with a minor in Cinema Media Arts. His MA practicum project research focused on the structural vulnerability surrounding the NCAA having student-athletes play sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. While in the MHS 4+1 program, he worked with Professor JuLeigh Petty. After graduation, Andre began playing professional football.
Madison Noall (BA '20, MA '21)
Madison is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. She is currently a research assistant in Dr. Jennifer Urbano-Blackford’s Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab. Madison's research interests include anxiety and anxiety neurocircuitry, as well as the role of interdisciplinarity in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. For her MA practicum project, Madison worked under the guidance of Dr. Laura Stark to examine interdisciplinarity within the field of neuroscience. After graduating with her MA, Madison began medical school.
Enna Pehadzic (MA '21)
Enna is a graduate of the University of South Florida, where she majored in psychology. During her time in the MA program, she researched mental health among athletes.
Katie Phillips (BA '20, MA '21)
Katie is graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health and Society and Economics and minored in Spanish. Her MA thesis research focused on the intersection of health policy and economics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Tara McKay. After graduation, Katie began working for a healthcare consulting firm.
Olivia Post (BA '20, MA '21)
Olivia is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Psychology, Spanish, and Medicine, Health, and Society. For her MA thesis project, Olivia worked with Dr. Danielle Picard to examine public health campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christina Rosca (BA '20, MA '21)
Christina is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she graduated with highest honors in Neuroscience. Her current areas of interest in research include health disparities, visual and cognitive science, and mental health. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Dr. JuLeigh Petty on a structural competency practicum project.
Kimberly (Cecile) Saleh (MA '21)
Cecile is a graduate of North Carolina State University where she majored in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology. She also has a minor in Philosophy and a minor in Health, Medicine, and Human Values. Her research uses a biomedical ethics lens for assessing health disparities, and making practical changes in health policy. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Dr. Derek Griffith to examine the success of structural competency curriculum.
2019-2020 Alumni
Rowan Godwin (MA '20)
Rowan is a graduate of the University of South Alabama, where he majored in Criminal Justice. His practicum research addressed the concepts of order and autonomy in America’s correctional facilities and how these concepts affect correctional health care. While in the M.A.program, he worked with Professor Kenneth MacLeish. After graduation, Rowan began working in law enforcement.
Kylie Hardin (MA '20)
Kylie graduated from Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Biology and English. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor JuLeigh Petty to examine the influence of different forms of media on the way patients conceptualize and engage with the medical encounter. After graduation, she began working in research administration for a pharmaceutical company.
Breanna Herron (BA '19, MA '20)
Breanna graduated from Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her research focused on how to minimize health care access disadvantages to elderly patients through the use of mobile clinics. While in the MA program, she worked with Dr. Jonathan Metzl. After graduation, Breanna began medical school.
Andriana Johnson (BA '19, MA '20)
Andriana is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her research centered on the role that social media plays in acting simultaneously as a site of trauma and as an arena for collective coping following exposure to trauma. While in the M.A.program, she worked with Professor Danielle Picard.
Wilfred Morse
Wil is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and Economics. He is currently a full-time Business Development Analyst at Contessa Health. Through his employment, Wilworks with hospitals and healthcare institutions to increase efficiency and decrease healthcare costs. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Dr. JuLeigh Petty.
Caleb Peart (BA '19, MA '20)
Caleb is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he majored in Medicine, Health and Society and African American Studies. His master's thesis research focused on masculinity, racial identity, and gun violence. He worked with Professor Jonathan Metzl and Professor Danielle Picard. After graduation, Caleb began working as a healthcare research analyst.
Payton Robinette (BA '19, MA '20)
Payton graduated from Vanderbilt University where she majored in English literature. Her master's thesis research focused on the social determinants of pain. Her primary research interests are health literacy and the patient-provider relationship. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Gilbert Gonzales. After graduation, she worked in healthcare research and policy.
2018-2019 Alumni
Henning Ander (MA '19)
Henning is a graduate of Rollins College where he majored in mathematics. He has broad interests within medicine and hopes to tie in clinical research with the study of mental health. His thesis research – overseen by Professor Dominique Béhague – examined perceptions of mental health and illness at U.S. universities. After graduation, Henning entered medical school.
Summer Brown (BA '18, MA '19)
Summer graduated from Vanderbilt University as a student-athlete with a double-major in English and Medicine, Health and Society and a minor in Chemistry. Her research in the BA/MA 4+1 program focused on analyzing and critiquing literature that effectively and efficiently communicates health information, diagnosis, and treatment plans between a doctor and patient. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Kym Weed on a thesis project involving narrative medicine in graduate medical education. After graduation, Summer began working in research administration for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Brittany Cox
Brittany graduated from Emory University in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. Her research interests include food deserts in America, specifically, how low fruit and vegetable consumption affects the health of people who live in these areas. She is also interested in learning about effective interventions to promote access to healthy foods and education on how to easily incorporate them into one’s diet. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor JuLeigh Petty and Professor David Schlundt on a thesis project involving structural interventions in food deserts. After graduation, she began working as a bilingual health coach.
Mary Claire Dachille
Mary Claire graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University where she majored in Sociology. Her research focused on the quality of life of injured student-athletes and how there are deeper links of depression and anxiety disorders from traumatic career ending injuries. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Dr. Lauren Gaydosh on a practicum project involving career mentorship of student-athletes. After graduation, Mary Claire began working as a business analyst.
Jennifer Edobi
Jennifer is an American born Nigerian from Union, New Jersey. She graduated from Vanderbilt University as a student-athlete in track and field with a major in Medicine, Health and Society and a minor in Psychology. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Martha Jones.
Samuel Edwards
Samuel graduated from Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health and Society. His research focuses on understanding how those with chronic illnesses and those surrounded by chronic illness or trauma perceive what it means to be healthy. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Dr. Hector Myers on a thesis project entitled, "Quality of Life for Pediatric Cancer Patients and their Families: The Application of Palliative Care Principles into Care by Children’s Hospitals." After graduation, Samuel served with the Peace Corps before beginning a career in university research administration.
Merna El-Rifai
Merna is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and Psychology. Her research interests include health policy, specifically policies that target health disparities and improve the quality and accessibility of care. Merna is also interested in the mental health of immigrant populations in the US and how acculturation may affect mental health. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Hector Myers on a practicum project involving Medicaid expansion in Tennessee. After graduation, Merna began working in research administation for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Sahar Fakhruddin
Sahar is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Corporate Strategy. Her research interests included the intersection between immigration and health policy, specifically looking at immigrant health disparities through the lens of biopower and critical race theory. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Kenneth MacLeish on a thesis project entitled "National Security, Economization, and the Rhetoric of Refugee and Veteran PTSD." After graduation, Sahar began working as a healthcare analyst.
Briana Gochett
Briana is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Psychology. Her research focused on physician boundary violations, the patient-physician relationship, and professional development resources for healthcare professionals. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Dr. Jonathan Metzl on a practicum project entitled "A Doctor in Trouble: History, Education, and Implications of Physician Boundary Violations." After graduation, she began working as a healthcare consultant.
Daniel Hecht
Daniel is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Chemistry. His research was focused on how the political leaning of a state impacts the access to mental health resources in low-income communities. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Professor Martha Jones.
Maggie Mang
Maggie is a graduate of Emory University where she majored in philosophy and biology. She has broad interests in critical health studies, philosophy and history of science and medicine, feminist studies, and biopolitics. While in the M.A. Program, she worked with Professor Aimi Hamraie in the Critical Design Lab. She completed a thesis entitled "Contesting Compulsory Mental Wellness: Unwellness, design, and pedagogy in Open in Emergency as conduits for politics, negotiation, and new imaginaries." After graduation, Maggie began a PhD program in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Jeremy Mani
Jeremy is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Psychology and Spanish. His research interests include an evaluation of mental-health triage checklists for targeting opioid addiction in emergency departments. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Professor Derek Griffith on a thesis entitled "Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle: The Development of an Opioid Abuse Triage Checklist for Emergency Departments." After graduation, Jeremy began medical school at Howard University.
Manisha Mishra
Manisha is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she majored in Biology and Medical Humanities and minored in Chemistry. Her research interests include the doctor-patient relationship, medical pedagogy, clinical empathy, and bioethics. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Jonathan Metzl on a thesis entitled "Exemplifying Clinical Empathy: An Analysis of Physicians’ Narratives About Empathetic Practices in 21st Century Healthcare." After graduation, she moved into research administration.
Jordan Moody
Jordan is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and Women’s and Gender Studies and minored in French. Her master's practicum research focused on the integration of global health, justice, spirituality and communities of faith, and social activism. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Aimi Hamraie. After graduation, she worked as a public health associate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Qianhui (Loro) Pi
Loro is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double majored in Anthropology and Medicine, Health, and Society. Her master's thesis research focused on the phenomenon of global medical brain drain and ethical policy making. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Kym Weed.
Rebecca Rahimi
Rebecca is a graduate of California State University, Northridge where she majored in English literature. Her research centers on the roles of storytelling, nostalgia, and home in forming the identities of Iranian Revolutionary migrants and their American-born children. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Kenneth MacLeish on a thesis entitled "Storytelling, Memory, and Nostalgia: The identities of Iranian Revolutionary Migrants and First-Generation Persian-Americans."
Mathias Schreiner
Mathias graduated from Vanderbilt University where he majored in Neuroscience and Russian. His master's practicum research used cost-utility analysis to guide clinical health decision-making. While in the MA program, he worked with Professor Jonathan Metzl in MHS and Professor Ashley Leech in the Health Policy department. After graduation, Mathias began working as a data analyst for TennCare.
Lauren Taylor
Lauren is a graduate of Clemson University, where she majored in Sociology. Her research interests include social determinants of health, health disparities, medical sociology and health policy. Her master's thesis research focused on evaluating financial burdens and cost-related non-adherence in patients with chronic blood cancers. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Tara McKay in MHS and Professor Stacie Dusetzina in the Health Policy department. After graduation, she began working in clinical trials research management.
Grayson Thompson
Grayson is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Medicine, Health, and Society. His master's thesis examined gun violence and gun control legislation in the Nashville area. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Professor Derek Griffith. After graduation, he began working for a healthcare venture capital firm.
Elsa Young
Elsa graduated from Vanderbilt University where she double-majored in Molecular Biology and Medicine, Health, and Society. Her research interests include the social determinants of malnutrition as well as the intersection of agriculture and nutrition, with a specific focus on Latin America. While in the MA program, she worked with Dr. Kym Weed on a practicum project. After graduation, she began working for United Way.
2017-2018 Alumni
Simone Charley
Simone Charley is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double-majored in Psychology and Sociology. During her time in the master's program, she worked with Professor Derek Griffith to study mental health and how it intersects with criminality and race. After graduation, she began playing professional soccer.
Ryan Dal Degan
Dal Degan is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in MHS and minored in Psychology and Spanish. He was particularly interested in public health research and the emerging field of mental healthcare. He worked in Professor David Schlundt’s lab within Vanderbilt’s Psychology department, where he assisted with data analysis on a variety of research projects related to improving health outcomes through diet based interventions targeting SNAP recipients funded through the AARP. While in the M.A. program, he worked with Professor Derek Griffith. After graduation, he began working as a virtual health coach.
Ashley Ehlert
Ehlert is a graduate of of Clemson University where she majored in Biological sciences. During her time in the MA program, her two main interests included improving healthcare for veterans and continuing to improve global healthcare and policy. She worked on a thesis with Professor Laura Stark entitled "Assessing the Utilization of Therapeutic Outlets for the Alleviation of Symptoms Associated with PTSD in Military Veterans." Since graduation, she began working as a project manager for a health tech startup firm.
Elizabeth Manning
Manning is a graduate of Oberlin College where she majored in Biology. Her thesis research centered on how transgender people who do not identify as men or women navigate relationships with their health care providers. She worked with Professor Hector Myers.
Meredith Mattlin
Mattlin is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double majored in Medicine, Health & Society and Sociology and minored in film. She is interested in health disparities in urban environments and food deserts’ impact on health. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Laura Stark on a thesis entitled "Examining the Social Construction of Health, Illness, and Wellness in Anti-Science Communities." Since graduation, she has worked as a clinical data analyst.
Alexis Mundo
Mundo is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he received a degree in Medicine, Health, & Society and Spanish. He worked with Professor Jonathan Metzl on his practicum project that examined addiction recovery programs. He currently works for a healthcare technology firm.
Beatríz Satizábal
Satizábal is a graduate of the University of Tennessee where she majored in Race & Ethnicity in the United States and minored in Leadership Studies. Her research interests are health disparities among Hispanics in the United States and the effects of migration on global health. She is interested in pursuing a PhD in global or population health sciences. While in the M.A. program, she worked with Professor Hector Myers on a thesis title "Reshaping Fotonevelas in a Cultural Competent Healthcare System." She currently works as a program coordinator and wellness coach.
Lydia Simmons
Simmons is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double-majored in Child Development and Medicine Health and Society. During her time in the MA Program, she was interested in researching health disparities in minorities as well as the effects of gentrification. She worked with Professor Jonathan Metzl.
Kristin Troutman
Troutman is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health & Society and Spanish. For her MA work, she was interested in the effects that language barriers have on healthcare access and health outcomes, specifically within the Spanish-speaking population. She worked with Professor Dominique Béhague on a thesis project entitled "Decoding Underlying Meanings of Cultural Competency in Medical Institutions: a Qualitative Case Study."
Courtney VanHouten
VanHouten is a graduate of Belmont University where she majored in Sociology and Psychology. Her academic interests include the social foundations of knowledge, specifically the sociology of scientific knowledge, and the modern construction of mortality. While in the MA program she worked with Dr. JuLeigh Petty in the Center for Medicine Health and Society and Dr. Laurie Novak in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Her thesis examined sense-making narratives of people with Type I Diabetes. After graduation, she began working as a medical ethnographer.
2016-2017 Alumni
Alexandra Blair is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Managerial Studies Corporate Strategies. Her interests include the political, racial, and socioeconomic dimensions of HIV/AIDS, and the intersection of intervention and theory involved in reducing the burden of HIV/AIDS. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Tara McKay and examined HIV/AIDS in the U.S. South. After graduation, she began working as a business consultant on corporate social responsibility.
Muhammad ‘Zain’ Chauhan is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society with a minor in Neuroscience. Zain’s interests revolved around the intersections of medicine, technology, and health. More specifically, he wished to understand the factors that influence medical decision making in private practice. While in the MA program, he worked on a thesis project with Dr. Michael Richards and Dr. Martha Jones analyzing the factors that influence adoption rates of electronic dental record technology in rural and urban areas across several states. After graduation, he went on to medical school where he hopes to become an ophthalmologist.
Venus Green is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine where she majored in Political Science, African American Studies, and Women’s Studies. Her interests include examining how micro-aggressions and the psychosocial wellbeing of middle class African American women contribute to adverse birth outcomes, and exploring how medical school curricula incorporate the effects of racism on health. While in the MA program, she worked with Professors Johnathan Metzl, Hector Myers, and Tony Brown to study multigenerational inheritance of risk, how racism causes health disparities, and how sociological inquiry models can draw from African American women’s epistemologies of combating structural violence to sustain well-being. After graduation, Venus entered a PhD program in Sociology at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Safiah Hassan is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Spanish. Her master's thesis research examined how discrimination based on religion and citizenship status plays an added role in racial and ethnic health disparities. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Gabriel Mendes to study how health disparities manifest in Muslim communities. After graduation, she began working as a public health consultant.
Peter Kent-Stoll is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine where he majored in public health policy. His interests include examining racial health disparities, the politics of knowledge production in the health fields, and the sociopolitical context of disease. While in the MA program he worked with Professors Derek Griffith and Kenneth MacLeish and study the relation between biomedical and political discourses of individual responsibility, causal frameworks of disease, and African Americans’ illness experiences. After graduation, Peter began a PhD program in in Sociology at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Miller Morris is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and Cognitive Studies, with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. While in the MA program, she completed a practicum project examining the emerging field of radical epidemiology through studying the way patriarchal discrimination can influence the spread of sexual transmitted infections, and how social justice can intersect with infectious disease prevention. After graduation, she went on to earn a Master's of Public Health (MPH) and currently works as a global health researcher and social entrepreneur.
Yemi Olubowale is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology where he majored in Biological Sciences. His interests include international acute care systems, domestic disparities in healthcare access, global health and the political and social dimensions of healthcare for the homeless. While in the MA program, he worked with Dr. Maya Yiadom in the Vanderbilt Department of Emergency Medicine to study the disparities in care concerned with STEMI heart attacks. After graduation, he went on to medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Megan Ward is a graduate of The University of Alabama where she majored in Biology and minored in Addiction and Recovery. Her research interests include different types of addictions and treatments for them, Traumatic Brain Injuries in sports, mental health problems resulting from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and the refugee and immigrant populations, specifically at Siloam Family Health Center in Nashville. While in the MA program, she worked with Dr. Ronald Cowan in studying the neurobiology of sexual addiction and sexual health.
Trixie Yabut is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her interests include Global Health, social justice, and barriers to healthcare access and health disparities in refugee and immigrant populations. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Dominique Behague and study the health risks unaccompanied minor asylum seekers and refugees face as they migrate and transition to their new homes.
2015-2016 Alumni
Juliana Buccino is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. Her interests include, maternal and infant health, the midwifery movement, holistic healthcare practices, and the political, racial, and socioeconomic dimensions of women’s healthcare, especially regarding birth & breastfeeding. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Tara McKay and study the impacts of race, maternal education level, and socioeconomic status on birth outcomes and breastfeeding rates in Davidson county. After graduation, she began dental school.
Sharon Zipporah Champion (“Z”) is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in African American & Diaspora Studies and Medicine, Health, & Society. Her interests include dance, social awareness activities and volunteering. While in the MA program she worked with Professors Behague and Metzl to study prevention and intervention strategies to measure and reduce racial & ethnic inequities, and she explored how language describes and shapes health in different types of bodies. After graduating, she went on to a career as a registered nurse.
Betsy Galenti is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health and Society and was a scholarship. Her interests include swimming as she was a scholarship swimmer during her time at Vanderbilt and currently coaches and instructs at the Nashville Aquatic Club. While in the MA program she worked with Laura Stark and study dental health disparities. After graduation, she began a career in clinical research administation.
Alonzo Jones II is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he doubled majored in Medicine Health and Society and Classical Studies. His interests include healthcare administration, global health, and health policy. While in the MA program he worked with Professor Laura Stark and study the health effects of gentrification in metro Nashville. After graduation, he went on to medical school at the University of Chicago.
Julianne Locher is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society. Her interests include Chicago sports, Vanderbilt athletics, mental health research, and technology. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Hector Myers and study the effects of concussions on athletes’ mental health. After graduation, she began working for an environmental consulting firm.
Meera Nagarsheth is a graduate of the University of Miami where majored in Microbiology and Immunology. Her interests include social medicine, social justice and community-based participatory research (CBPR). While in the MA program, Meera worked with Professors Derek Griffith and Hector Myers to study the extent to which medical school curricula incorporate social medicine principles. She also worked on CBPR interventions, conduct clinical research and study how social and health inequalities. Upon completion of the program, Meera began medical school at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Sabre Rucker is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double majored in Anthropology and Medicine, Health, & Society. While in the MA program, her interests included understanding how the body regulates itself to stave off illness and disease and the intangible factors that can affect the health of an individual and various populations. While in the MA program, she worked with Professor Aimi Hamraie to study the effects of the built environment and urban planning on the health of Nashville communities.
Rachel Turner is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she majored in Medicine, Health, and Society and minored in Chemistry. Her research interests include the social determinants of health disparities and the role of epidemiological evidence in medical decision-making. While in the MA program she will work with Professors JuLeigh Petty and Jonathan Metzl and study the pre-med curriculum to determine the extent to which MHS and non-MHS students are culturally competent and structurally competent. After graduation, Rachel began medical school.
Graduates prior to 2015
Christopher Gross is a graduate of the Vanderbilt 4+1 program who was interested in how individual patient and provider narratives interface and influence each other, as they relate to quality of health service delivery. His thesis, "Spirituality and Religion as a Social Determinant and Social Mediator of Health," examined the influence of a patient's spirituality and religion on health outcomes and suggested a framework for program evaluation. After graduation, Christopher began medical school.
Katie Marrero is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she double majored in Sociology and Medicine, Health, & Society. While in the MA program, her interests included racial and ethnic health disparities focusing specifically on men’s health both in a local and global setting. After graduation, Katie began medical school.
Ashley Stephens earned her MA in MHS in 2014. She completed a thesis on biobanking and ethics under the supervision of Professors JuLeigh Petty and Elizabeth Heitman. After graduating in summer 2014, Ashley accepted a full-time position in Nashville as the Clinical Ethics Fellow for Saint Thomas Health where she assumed a leadership role with each hospital’s ethics committee and ethics consultation service. She also worked as a research assistant with Tennessee Orthopedic Alliance to continue pursuing her interest in research ethics via participating in efforts to maintain IRB protocols, informed consent procedures, participant recruitment, and data collection. Since then, she has gone on to serve as a clinical ethicist and published in the field.
Michael Cross (BA '12, MA '13) is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he majored in Medicine, Health, and Society. He worked with Professors Jonathan Metzl and JuLeigh Petty on a thesis project involving food insecurity in the Nashville area. After graduation, he went on to earn his medical degree.
Corey Kalbaugh (MA '10) is a graduate of Clemson University where he earned a BS in Ceramic Engineering and a MS in Bioengineering. After graduation, Corey earned his PhD in Epidemiology. He currently works as an Assistant Professor at Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences.