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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.
How witnessing hardship guides purpose, and how students and faculty turn resolve into action: Why people choose public health often highlights community, equity, and the drive to improve systems that fail people—encouraging prospective students to remember their “why” and keep building change.
University of Michigan senior Owen Chun earned a CDC John R. Lewis Scholarship, taught himself database coding to help communities access HIV resources, and leads 80 students in public health advocacy. Chun is the president of the Star Wars Club at the university. He credits the club with helping him make connections and build community across campus.
Michigan Public Health’s Nutrition Counseling Center trains future dietitians while providing free nutrition services to University of Michigan students and community members. The innovative program integrates hands-on counseling experience throughout graduate education, using motivational interviewing techniques to help clients discover sustainable solutions while building students’ confidence and clinical skills.
What if the power behind the programs that keep us leashed to our devices actually delivered good health, disease prevention—even digital vaccinations? Rahul Ladhania, assistant professor of Health Informatics, Biostatistics and Health Management & Policy at Michigan Public Health, is part of a team of global researchers doing the painstaking work of subverting the formidable powers of computer algorithms into a force for good.
The introductory course Foundations of Sustainable Food Systems explores the complexities and nuances of this topic, offering students all across the University of Michigan the ability to explore some of the interrelationships between core concepts within a food system, looking through the lenses of public health, environmental sustainability and the food policy process.