Alison Kwok

Alison P. Kwok, MPH (they/them) is an incoming ASPPH/CDC Public Health Fellow in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. They will be working in public health messaging and policy for suicide prevention and mental health. They earned their Master’s of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health with a certificate in Public Mental Health Research. They earned their Bachelor’s degrees in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science, then went on to work in clinical research. Alison is a passionate and innovative community leader dedicated to studying suicide in LGBTQ people of color. In their spare time, they have pledged their life to satisfying every whim of their rapscallion of a cat, Mouse.

Suicide is the greatest philosophical paradox. How can the suffering of an individual be so great as to overcome the existential drive to survive? I have witnessed this immense pain burdening LGBTQ communities of color, in my very own community.

I want to research and create solutions to counter the excess risk people are forced to face. Inequity needs to be tackled at the root of the problem through community-driven empowerment and action.

From this program, I hope to learn how to prevent suicide from our nation’s greatest leading organization in public health. I want to learn how policy and language shape public perception of mental health and suicide and how we may use that knowledge to prevent harm and violence who have helped me to understand what a long term career in CDC may look like depending on my interest.

They will engage in a policy analysis project. They will update a 2011 report on suicide definitions and track ongoing legislation related to suicide and mental health (with attention to language and how suicide is being framed). They will participate in refining and disseminating messages related to suicide and mental health.