Undergraduate

nehanda-jones

Epidemiology Business Leader Focused on Improving Health of Future Generations

Nehanda Jones, BS '19, MPH ’21

Having worked on cancer biology for so many years, Nehanda Jones was inspired by the potential of applying the principles of precision medicine — tailoring medical decisions to an individual’s known genetic and environmental profile — to improve health at a population level. She's now using those lessons to promote sustainable solutions in health through the work of her own public health technology firm.

Cassie Gaskins, master's student in Environmental Health Sciences

First Generation Student Works to Protect Energy Workers

Cassie Gaskins

Keeping workers safe while on the job is a passion for master’s student Cassie Gaskins, especially as new technologies present new challenges. With the construction and energy industries booming in Michigan, she will have plenty of opportunities to apply her expertise.

Kennedy Dubose

Turning Experience, Knowledge, and Education into Better Public Health

Kennedy Dubose

Kennedy Dubose studies public health not only for personal and intellectual reasons but also for what she sees as moral, ethical imperatives. Growing up, she saw public health systems failing Black communities. With a combination of local and global training, she is looking to promote more equitable community health in Detroit and around the globe.

Omar Ilyas

Choose to Act: How to Build An International NGO While Graduating from School

Omar Ilyas, BS ’19

Driven by a desire to do something about an emerging water crisis in Pakistan, Omar Ilyas and some friends started fundraising to build a well. About 24 months later, they had completed funding and construction on their 750th water well through their nonprofit Paani. The 2019 graduate is not stopping there.

Briana Nelson

Total Transformation: Focus, Execution, and What We Want to Do with Our Lives

Briana Nelson

In eighth grade, Briana Nelson decided to improve her fitness. With personal initiative and family support, a lifetime passion for nutrition was born. “It was a total transformation,” Nelson says, and her ability to focus and move herself forward toward big goals is helping her achieve great things as a student-athlete and as an ambassador for health equity.