Health Policy & Management

Prior to attending Mailman, Jennifer Cummins was a pre-med student at Claremont McKenna College. She notes, “I always thought I wanted to go directly to medical school after graduation until I spent a semester studying in Botswana where I had the opportunity to live in different villages and interact with the communities. This, along with living in the refugee camp and working with the Red Cross, opened my eyes to the impact that public health interventions and health policy changes could have on the lives of communities in a larger scale.” This change was reinforced the following summer when Jennifer completed an internship at a public hospital in Quito, Ecuador. After graduation she worked with the California Family Health Council as a Senior Research Associate doing clinical trials.

In addition to pursuing her current studies, Jennifer works as a research assistant with Mailman School faculty member Dr. Daniel Esser, examining the relationship between funding and specific chronic diseases. She also recently joined Team Epi at the New York Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene. “As I take more classes and hear more speakers, my interests have expanded. Wherever I end up, I know that the education I receive at the Mailman School is providing me with a solid base from which to begin my future career.”