Alumni,Epidemiology

Umaima Abbasi

From Pakistan to New York City: Alumna strives to improve vaccination programs

Umaima Abbasi, BA ’20

Umaima Abbasi, BA ’20, has encountered many reasons to care about addressing vaccine-preventable diseases. She grew up in Pakistan, where few immunizations were available and several infectious diseases ran rampant in her area, including malaria, dengue and polio. And in 2020, she lost her mom to the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were widely distributed.

Lloyd Lyons

Focus of alumnus is 'always on the people'

Lloyd Lyons, BA ’19

Even while wading through rafts of spreadsheets, profit reports, inventory assessments and analyses of retail store efficiencies, Lloyd Lyons, BA ’19, never loses sight of the real reason he is here, working as a manager of customer experience strategy for CVS Health. Lyons is one of the 95 students who made up the first cohort of public health majors at Michigan Public Health in 2019.

Elisabeth Repp

Alumna focuses on environmental side of public health

Elisabeth Repp, BA ’23

To an average kid growing up in Michigan, water might seem abundant. They don’t call it the Great Lakes State for nothing. Only about 3 percent of the Earth’s water is fresh, however, and only about 1 percent can be used as drinking water. If you’re an inquisitive 12-year-old growing up 70 miles south of Flint during one of the country’s worst water crises on record—like Elisabeth Repp, BA ’23 was at the time—it would be natural to question what a lot of people take for granted.

Meghna Singh

Alumna embraces humanistic approach to public health

Meghna Singh, BA ’23

Nearly 10 years ago, Meghna Singh, BA ’23, lost a family friend to suicide. That loss was a catalyst to what has become her life’s work. Singh, who earned a Bachelor of Arts Community and Global Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, didn’t know it at the time, but the steps she started taking in eighth grade were part of mental health advocacy, a component of public health.

Hassan Beydoun

Global health advocate: A journey from Michigan to Thailand

Hassan Beydoun, BS ’22

Hassan Beydoun, BS ’22, has always aspired to explore the field of public health on a global scale and one day bring the knowledge and insights he gains back to the United States. Beydoun, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health Sciences, is living out his dream in Bangkok, where he holds the position of foreign expert at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Public Health.

shayla-zimmerman

Social work leader integrates public health knowledge in the pursuit of social change

Shayla Zimmerman, MPH ‘23

Even with a wealth of experience, Shayla Zimmerman, a dedicated community organizer and social worker, encountered challenges growing her career without a graduate degree. She turned to Michigan Public Health to expand her skillset and earned her MPH online while she continued the work she’s passionate about. Since graduating, she’s been able to pair her dedication to social justice with new public health knowledge to take her career in social work to new heights.