Alumni Spotlights
For Cole Jamal (they/she), working on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is more than a dream job in federal policy—it’s personal. “At one point in my past, I was on SNAP,” they recall. “Now, I get to help ensure the program is run with integrity—and that people get benefits in a timely way when they need them.” As a SNAP Management Analyst with the USDA’s Northeast Regional Office, Jamal supports SNAP operations across eight states and territories, helping to administer one of the nation’s most critical safety net programs. They serve as a connector across the region’s multiple branches—coordinating logistics, streamlining communications, and strengthening oversight…
Explore the 2025 Cornell Public Health Magazine, a collection of stories celebrating the amazing accomplishments of our students, faculty, alumni, and partners!
From the bench to the clinic and to the field, our faculty are making discoveries that help create a healthier world for animals and people. Check out some of their recently published research below…
A survey of 645 residents of Tompkins County, conducted by the county’s Whole Health department between February and April 2024, highlighted significant disparities in oral health care across the county. More than half of the survey respondents reported difficulties finding a dentist in Tompkins County. Among those who struggled to find dental care, 40% had trouble locating a dentist who accepted their child’s insurance, and 36% found it difficult to access a pediatric dentist. Nearly half of the survey respondents reported traveling outside of the county to obtain dental treatment for their children…
Vaccines save lives, and myriad groups at Cornell have a hand in their research, development, and advocacy. For millions of children worldwide, life-saving immunizations are still out of reach. That’s why students from Cornell’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program and faculty from Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics recently joined forces at the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life Advocate to Vaccinate Summit to champion global vaccine access. Shot@Life is an initiative that has been active for over ten years and brings together champions from around the country with the sole focus of advocating for vaccine access and funding for global public health…
Qijin Wang joined Cornell Public Health’s inaugural cohort of MPH students in 2017. “There were only twelve of us that first year,” she remembers with a smile, “so we got a lot of attention!” These days, Wang lives in Beijing while working for China IQVIA, a healthcare-focused data consulting company. “Our clients are some of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world,” she says. These companies come to IQVIA for business solutions for their products. Clients have different goals for each unique product, says Wang, so she tailors her research to each unique situation. “We do studies, and then we offer solutions,” says Wang, who is involved in every stage of research for each client, starting with a literature review to understand existing studies…
Sonja Lockhart had long-standing interests in sustainable agriculture and food justice when she first came to Cornell. As an MPH student, two of Lockhart’s community-engaged projects—writing a grant proposal for Acres4Change in Baltimore, and developing an evaluation plan for Khuba International’s Quarter Acre for the People Project in Upstate New York—inspired a newfound interest in supporting Black farmers. After graduating in 2022, a job posting by Black Farmer Fund immediately caught Lockhart’s eye. Black Farmer Fund (BFF) is a nonprofit that provides grants and low interest loans, paired with tailored technical assistance, to Black farmers from Pennsylvania to Maine…
Lauren Singh was interested in tickborne diseases before she applied to Cornell Public Health. “I remember coming across Dr. Goodman’s lab and her work with ticks while researching different public health programs,” she says, “and it immediately caught my attention.” Singh joined the lab this summer and began working on an effort known as the New York State Tick Blitz. Supported by the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEVBD) and USDA, the goal of the Tick Blitz is to identify and track the expansion of different tick species throughout the state due to climate change and urbanization…
Avni Patel ‘22 was committed to advancing social justice as an MPH student, and was determined to continue doing so through a career in health policy. After graduation, Patel began working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Legislative Affairs Office as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF)—a highly prestigious leadership program with the U.S. government. After completing a rotation on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health, Patel’s next rotation was in the White House, working on Vice President Kamala Harris’s public health portfolio…
Our Master’s Program publishes an annual magazine to provide students, alumni, prospective students, donors, advisors, and friends with a beautiful annual summary of our work. In this year’s magazine we focus on engagement. To have the greatest impacts, we must reach beyond classroom walls to work directly with communities and organizations in New York and around the world.
Veterinary diagnostic laboratories across the United States had a substantial positive effect on human health during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from researchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine The paper, published June 25 in...
