Aishwarya Nagar

What inspired you to study public health?

Public health was the perfect intersection between my social justice interests and my passion for STEM (specifically medicine and human health), and offered the opportunity to target grave health equity issues on a population-health level.

What has been the single most rewarding experience of your career/studies so far?

The most rewarding experience was when a cherished professor/mentor brought me in as a consultant for an independent global health consulting project within her organization, after recognizing my passion for gender equity & global public health during our classes together!

What is the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were starting out in public health?

I wish someone would have told me to not feel pressured to identify with one specific topic area in public health. This is a unique field because of its transdisciplinary nature, and you owe it to yourself to explore every aspect of it that you find interesting!

What do you think is the biggest challenge that the public health field should be focusing on?

The biggest challenge that public health should be focusing on is viewing all public health challenges through the lens of health equity and social determinants of health. Also, we need more robust international cooperation and stable funding to tackle global public health issues, especially in LMICs.