Public Health Heroes!

Nilufar Kayhani graduated with her bachelors in public health from UC Berkeley in May 2022. Kayhani is the child of Afghan refugees and is committed to resolving health inequities among forcibly displaced communities. Motivated to address the health needs she witnessed growing up, Nilufar decided to pursue a career in public health. During her time at UC Berkeley, she initiated multiple community-...

Dr. Salvador Moncada is a Honduran-British Pharmacologist and professor born in 1944. He studied medicine at the University of El Salvador, and earned his doctorate at Royal College of Surgeons in London. His research has contributed substantially to the understanding of cardiovascular disease and diabetes treatment. Dr. Moncada helped discover how aspirin works in the body, which led to the use o...

Dr. Margaret Chung lived from 1889 to 1959. Dr. Chung was born in Santa Barbara in 1889 to Chinese immigrants and was the oldest of 11 children. She studied at the University of Southern California, obtaining her bachelor's and medical degrees. She was the first American born Chinese woman to become a physician. She was originally rejected by her medical missionary due to her race, but instead...

Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías lived from 1929 to 2001. Dr. Trías studied at the University of Puerto Rico and graduated in 1960, completed her residency in Pediatrics and began teaching there. She established Puerto Rico’s first infant health clinic, and her efforts paid off, reducing infant mortality by 50 percent. Dr. Trias moved to New York in 1970 and headed the Pediatrics department at Lincoln Ho...

Lisa Pivec was born in 1969, and is a Cherokee Nation citizen in Oklahoma. She has worked for the Nation for over 25 years, most recently serving as Cherokee Nation's senior director of Public Health. Under her leadership, Cherokee Nation Health Services became the first accredited tribal public health department in the United States. The Cherokee Nation public health department educates citiz...

Dr. Min Chueh Chang was a Chinese American scientist who lived from 1908 to 1991. He was born in Dunhòu, China. He earned his bachelors in animal psychology at Tsinghua University. He went on to receive his doctorate in animal breeding from Cambridge. Dr. Chang would go on to pioneer techniques in reproductive biology, running a number of high profile research initiatives in the US, primarily at Y...

Dr. Minnie Joycelyn Elders was born in 1933 in Schaal, Arkansas. In her youth, she worked as a Nurse’s Aid until she graduated from Philander Smith College with a bachelor's in Biology. She joined the U.S. Army in 1953, becoming a second Lieutenant. She then attended the University of Arkansas Medical School receiving her doctorate of medicine in Pediatrics and a Masters in Biochemistry. She w...

Dr. Sherman A James is an epidemiologist who was born in 1944. After receiving his PhD in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis Missouri, Dr. James began his research, studying social determinants of health in relationship to discrimination. His most well-known hypothesis is “John Henryism” which describes the phenomenon of African Americans having shorter lifespans than their white c...

Faye Wattleton was born in 1943 in St. Louis Missouri. Her family would often travel for work, which meant she had to stay with other family members and friends. During that time frame, she developed her future interest in Family planning and Reproductive rights. She graduated from Ohio State University at age 20 (began at age 16) and obtained her Bachelor of Nursing, in which she worked at a Chil...

Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, lived from 1919 to 2013. Born in Manhattan, New York, she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and became a Physician, graduating from New York Medical College at the top of her class. Her early medical career had her working in Cancer Research at Harlem Hospital, studying chemotherapy drugs and treatments. At age 33, she was appointed Head of Cancer Research, leading...

Born in North Carolina, she had an innate interest in inventing as her father and grandfather were known inventors at the time. She initially went to Howard University, but due to financial limitations, was unable to continue school. She also faced sexism and discrimination. During this period in history, women were much less likely to pursue higher education or gain scientific training due to the...

Dr. Roscoe Conkling Brown Senior, lived from 1884 to 1963. Born in Washington D.C., he had an early interest in Public Health and Dentistry, and he graduated from Howard University with his Dental Degree in 1906. While practicing, he became an instructor of Oral Hygiene and Sanitation For the Richmond Hospital School of Nursing. Dr. Brown was a founding member of the Office of Negro Health Work an...

Dr. James McCune Smith lived from 1813 to 1865. He is known as the first African American Medical Doctor. He was denied admission to multiple universities in the United States, but due to his unwavering determination, he sought education in Scotland at the University of Glasgow and received not only his Bachelor's degree but his Master's and Medical degrees. Dr. McCune Smith took part in m...