Jheannelle Johnson is a Life Science Research Professorial at Stanford University School of Medicine She plans to take the experiences gained in the THESIS program and apply them to her long term goals of doing health advocacy work with underrepresented communities. She says, “I hope to increase global support for initiatives such as increasing health literacy, decrease health disparities and expand access to culturally competent care among marginalized populations.”
Jheannelle’s advice to the future applicants is to allow yourself the opportunity to be curious throughout this process especially if you are coming from a limited background. She noted that the program is designed in a way that nurtures and cultivates that curiosity so you are able to brainstorm new ideas and collaborate in this communal space with your peers and mentors.
She enjoyed the opportunity to connect with professionals who are currently working in the space of Native American public health. Given that her background is in STEM, this was a great introduction not only to the challenges faced in the field, but specifically how people can use their voices and storytelling to aid in the collective efforts to advance initiatives in tribal public health.