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Jennifer Garner, the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences, reflects on growing up in rural Michigan, learning “strategically applied stubbornness” from her parents, and finding an unexpected path from dietetics to academia. Through mentorship and community-based research, she builds a career in food security, policy and science communication—grounded in care, curiosity and purpose.
Dr. Larry Brilliant, MPH ’77, arrived at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in the 1970s with perhaps the most impressive résumé for a prospective student. He and his wife, Girija, had just returned from India after helping eradicate smallpox. Of course, the physician and medical epidemiologist has gone on to have a world-class career in public health and in the technology industry.
When Heather Lanthorn assumed the role of program director of the new Mercury Project at the Social Science Research Council in December 2021, she was ecstatic. Not only was she helping to build the field around a current phenomenon with long-term implications, but she also was returning to her roots and work that led her to the University of Michigan School of Public Health and deepened while she was there.
From regional outbreaks to global pandemics, local public health experts respond regularly to public health crises. Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, MPH ’04, says the current pandemic has clarified the need for ongoing investment in public health.
Undergraduate public health student Reem Fawaz always wanted to make an impact in her community. She began her journey to medical school, then decided to include in her education a public health foundation, which she says is vital to achieving her goal of building healthier communities.
Current trends toward a future where disease outbreaks happen more often due to globalization, human migration, and climate damage can be slowed and even reversed when we ensure every public health intervention accounts for the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment.