Students and Alumni
The Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health program has a vibrant community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. We will spotlight items on this page, and we invite you to find more updates on our LinkedIn page and by joining our email list.
Alumni Spotlight
2024 Graduate Writing for USA Today
Alyssa Goldberg, class of 2024, is a Wellness Reporter at USA Today.
Alumni Interview
Using Art to Teach Oral Cancer Screening
An Interview with Razan Baabdullah, alum of the Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health program
"I've always thought that as healthcare providers, we have an obligation towards our patients... The media has shaped our past and is certainly the way of the future, so it is good to incorporate media into education. You want to be sage when it comes to using the media."
Alumni Interview
Bringing Accessibility to Bio-Tech
An Interview with Larry Weru, alum of the Media and Medicine Certificate program and Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health program
"I learned how to come up with stories that you can pitch and how to actually go from “I have an idea,” to thinking about the audience, developing that story and understanding the places that might want to share that story."
Student & Alumni Accomplishments
Selected Student & Alumni Accomplishments
Sahana Narayan, MS, MSPH, SM '23, wrote "The Power of Storytelling to Spark Connection, Catharsis, and Change" for Massachusetts General Hospital's OB-GYN Newsletter.
Alyssa Goldberg, SM '24, is a wellness reporter at USA Today. She has published dozens of articles on mental health, how women’s pain goes unaddressed in healthcare settings, and other topics.
Josephina Lin, SM '23, received the Equity Social Justice and Advocacy Award at Harvard Medical School.
Vivian Kobusingye Birchall, SM '24, is the founder of several projects, including Health Care Blind Spots, an initiative dedicated to identifying overlooked areas in healthcare and proposing effective solutions. More on here work here.
Mary L. Peng, MPH, MS, SM '24, artwork has been exhibited at The Palace of Fine Arts, Oculus World Trade Center, and the United Nations Headquarters, among others. View her work here.
Nadir Al-Saidi, SM '24, published "Saving Rural Psychiatry Services Will Require Higher Medicaid Payments" in STAT News.
Larry Weru, SM '23, was interviewed on his work in this article in the Harvard Gazette "Tech offers promise to help yet too often perpetuates ableism, say researchers. It doesn’t have to be this way" in the Harvard Gazette.
Ashley Cooper’s, SM '23, play Reveriepremiered at the National Women’s Theatre Festival.
Tolani Yesufu, SM '23, published "New Malaria Vaccine Offers a Ray of Hope to Nigeria. There’s Just One Thing ..." in NPR.
Hannah Proctor, SM '24, is the first-ever Reproductive Health Coordinator at Vanderbilt University.
Ramya Chunduri, SM '23, and her capstone animated video were featured in a Harvard Medical School series on remarkable graduates.
Complete List of Student & Alumni Accomplishments
Ashley Cooper, SM '23,co-authored an article in JAMA Pediatrics entitled, "The Exposome as a Key to Understanding Pediatric Health Disparities." The article is accessible here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2823153.
Ashley Cooper, SM '23,presented her research "Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among US Adolescents by Race and Gender in Three Large US Cohorts" American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's 71st Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
Jacki Huntington, SM '23, is a film producer and podcaster. Examples of her work include Pillars, a documentary about seeking abortion in Haiti currently in production.
Alicia Whittington, PhD, SM '25 (expected) is one of the authors of "Perceived Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Suicidality in Former Professional Football Players" published in JAMA Neurology.
Bailey Merlin, MFA, SM '23, led the charge to advocate a Celebrate Bisexuality+ Day proclamation from the City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.
Katarina Cook, SM '23, published "My Colleague Was Struck and Killed in Sacramento. Her Death Was Not a Traffic ‘Accident’" in the Sacramento Bee.
Razaan Babdullah, BDS, FRCD(C), SM '23, published "Empathy at the Bedside: a Gaping Injury in Our Training" in KevinMD.
Liz Zonarich, SM '23, is a digital and multi-media designer at the Office of Public Affairs at Harvard University in collaboration with the Harvard Gazette.
Mary L. Peng, MPH, MS, SM '24, was an author on an publication on digital health and health justice titled "Enhancing Healthcare Accessibility Through Telehealth for Justice Impacted Individuals" in Frontiers Public Health.
Swathy Karamchedu, MD, SM '24, founded Sleep Doodles, an organization that provides workshops on sleep education.
Larry Weru, SM '23, is first author on "Using OpenKeyNav to Enhance the Keyboard-Accessibility of Web-based Data Visualization Tools" in ResearchGate.
Mary Peng, MPH, SM '24, had three pieces of art exhibited at the Palace of Fine Arts during the International GenAI Summit in San Francisco.
Larry Weru, SM '23, spoke on the podcast Disability & Artificial Intelligence.
Sahana Narayan, MS, MSPH, SM '23, co-taught an introductory level course for continuing education (CE) credit at the South Asian Mental Health Consortium.
Ramya Chunduri, LMSW, SM '23, launched Saurya Media, a continuation of her work during with the Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health and Harvard Innovation lab.
Ramya Chunduri, LMSW, SM' 23, spoke on the podcast That Desi Spark about domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2024.
David Edward Perry, SM '23, founded Perry Comedy for Mental Wellness.
Larry Weru's, SM '23, work on accessibility and inclusion was mentioned in the Forbes article "Prioritizing Accessibility And Inclusion In AI Development."
Uma Khemraj, SM '23, co-authored "An Exploration on the Reverberations of Health-Related Social Needs on Loneliness Among Minority Older Adults" published in the The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Ramya Chunduri, LMSW, SM '23, spoke on connecting with people on an emotional level on the Oh My Curry Goodness YouTube channel.
Bailey Merlin, MFA, SM '23, hosts the Bisexual Killjoy podcast.
Sahana Narayan, MPH, SM '23 founded My Precious Genes, a genetic counseling company.
Swathy Karamchedu, MD, SM '24, was interviewed on the podcast Curious Vendanth.
Sahana Narayan, MPH, SM '23, was interviewed on the Young Professionals of Sexual and Reproductive Health Speaker Series for Women's Health Month.
Vivian Birchall, SM '24, published an op-ed in STAT News on breast cancer awareness in men.
Ashley Cooper, SM '23, hosted an engaging panel of speakers at a Global Mental Health Conference & Gala to discuss how criminalization and racialization of substance use shapes disparities in opioid addiction treatment.
Sahana Narayan, MPH, SM '23, and Bailey Merlin, MFA, SM '23, spoke about their capstone projects at Sai Connect's "Creativity and Mental Health Awareness" panel.
Bailey Merlin, MFA, SM '23, published A Lot of People Live in This House.
Elizabeth Zonarich, SM '23, designed cover art for Bailey Merlin's novel A Lot of People Live in This House.
Bailey Merlin, MFA, SM '23, wrote a chapter titled "Building Community Where You Cannot Find It" in Voices of Women.
Razaan Babdullah, BDS, FRCD(C), SM '23, is a contributor to Holistic Approach For Caring of Cancer Patients With Emphasis on Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Patients.
David Edward Perry, SM '23, has written multiple online reviews for Broadwayworld.com.
Ramya Chunduri, LCSW, SM '23, presented "South Asian Mental Health Needs: Survivors of Violence" at the women's Mental Health Conference at Yale.
Eniitan Tejuoso, SM '23, is Technical Adviser for Nigeria's Presidential Initiative for Unlocking Healthcare Value Chains (PVAC).
Ashley Cooper, SM '23, is co-director of the Clinical Problem Solvers' Antiracism in Medicine podcast series.
Sahana Narayan, MPH, SM '23, is the Editor in Chief of 11 Seconds Magazine.