Students
Meet Our HBS Students
The Department of Health, Behavior and Society hosts students from all over the nation and around the world—each contributing in a unique way to a dynamic learning environment on the leading edge of science and practice.
HBSSO
The Health, Behavior and Society Student Organization (HBSSO) is the student organization for the Department of Health, Behavior and Society. Learn more about HBSSO, including its mission, structure, and current leadership.
HBS Doctoral Student Pages
The Department of Health, Behavior & Society currently hosts over 30 doctoral students. Together, our HBS doctoral students are working to tackle critical public health issues around the country and the globe. Learn more about our doctoral students' research, publications, and more through our HBS doctoral student pages.
HBS Stories
Get to know our students through HBS Stories, our Department's editorial series showcasing the unique interests, backgrounds, and public health journeys of our HBS community.
Student Spotlights
Every HBS student brings their own mix of interests, educational and professional backgrounds, and lived experiences to the Department. Explore our recent Student Spotlights below to read more about the special pathways our students took to HBS and the Bloomberg School, as well as some of the highlights they've encountered since joining our community.
Student Spotlight: Makenna Lindsay
Makenna Lindsay is a first-year doctoral student in the Health, Behavior, and Society department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on reproductive justice, sexual health, and wellness for marginalized and underrepresented communities. At Hopkins, Makenna examines Black American women’s susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), exploring the sociocultural factors that contribute to this risk. Outside of her research, she enjoys travel, music, and acrobatics/pole fitness.
Student Spotlight: Tifanny Widya Ekayultina
Tifanny Widya Ekayultina is a first-year student in the MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication degree program whose passion lies in health communication. Her goal is to bridge the gap between health information and behavior change, with a particular focus on improving the health outcomes of women and children. She’s on a mission to leverage strategic communication and behavioral science to create lasting health interventions, especially in her home country of Indonesia.
Student Spotlight: Innocent Grant
Innocent Grant is a first-year student from Tanzania in the MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication program, who brings his passion for transforming sexual and mental health practices through community engagement. Outside the classroom, Innocent explores Baltimore's hiking trails, travels, watches documentaries, and shares stories as part of the Family Planning News Network media team covering global family planning initiatives.
Student Spotlight: Soumya Menon
Soumya Menon is a first-year MHS student in Health, Behavior, and Society degree program. As a communications professional and first-generation Indian American woman, Soumya's serendipitous research work in health communication fortified her interest in public health. Having previously worked with rural women in India, she knows first-hand the challenges in accessing, processing, and translating information to adopt health protective behaviors, especially for cancer prevention. Soumya's research interests lay at the intersection of communication inequalities, cancer disparities, implementation science, and community-based approaches.
Field Placement Journals
To prepare for domestic and international career opportunities in public health, all MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication students participate in a full-time field placement for least six months. In our Field Placement Journals, our MSPH students explain how they found and landed their placements (and what they discovered about themselves and their fields of interest along the way).
HBS Field Placement Journals: Kanagavalli Mathivathanan
In her HBS Field Placement Journal, recent MSPH graduate, Kanagavalli Mathivathanan, reflects on her field placement experience as an intern with the World Health Organization-Headquarter, Geneva, Switzerland.
HBS Field Placement Journals: Heidi Chow
In her HBS Field Placement Journal, second-year MSPH student, Heidi Chow, reflects on her field placement experience as a Maternal and Child Health Program Officer at Samaritan's Purse, Cambodia.
HBS Field Placement Journals: Megan McWright
In her HBS Field Placement Journal, second-year MSPH student, Megan McWright, reflects on her field placement experience as a graduate student intern at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI/CMS).
HBS Field Placement Journals: Sophia Jung
In her HBS Field Placement Journal, second-year MSPH student, Sophia Jung, reflects on her field placement experience as a clinical research coordinator at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.