#UMNMCH student Diana Augustin (MPH 2025) reflects on their public health journey spurred by an interest in reproductive health. From a quirky theater class to an NIH research fellowship and roles at the Justice-Involved Women and Children’s (JIWC) Collaborative and the Cannabis Research Center, Diana’s focus has been on the societal and sociopolitical determinants of health. During an Applied Experience (APEX) at the Minnesota Department of Health, Diana examined determinants of sexual and reproductive health services access, including grant funding to local organizations in Greater Minnesota.

My journey began in an unexpected place: a virtual theater class at Carleton College, at the start of a world-shattering pandemic, where I first encountered readings like Beloved and works by SisterSong. This experience sparked an overarching desire to understand how structural factors get under the skin to impact health and sexual and reproductive experiences for communities.

That curiosity led me to a post-baccalaureate research position at the NIH, where I studied maternal inflammation and birth outcomes, and I deepened this work at the University of Minnesota through roles with the Justice-Involved Women and Children (JIWC) Collaborative and the Cannabis Research Center. As the lead editor of the JIWC’s newsletter, I explored topics like pregnancy criminalization and co-organized a book club that inspired a research collaboration on adolescent police contact and sexual and reproductive health outcomes. At the Cannabis Research Center, I’ve focused on the social and health implications of cannabis criminalization, especially its impact on Black and Native communities and pregnancy.

My APEX practicum at the Minnesota Department of Health helped me examine obstacles to sexual and reproductive health access in Greater Minnesota. There, I saw how policy language, funding structures, and geography all intersect to condition possibilities of care for communities. The APEX and my broader academic, personal, and research-based experiences have shaped a lifelong commitment to public health. My work at MDH was just one microchapter in this ongoing exploration, and I strive to continue advocating for improved health trajectories for all.

BIO

Diana Augustin is a second-year MCH MPH student with minor concentrations in Epidemiology and Population Studies. Diana received a BA from Carleton College and afterwards worked as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In 2025, Diana completed a 20-week internship with the Minnesota Department of Health’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Grant Program. Outside of school, Diana enjoys biking, dancing, powerlifting, cooking, reading, and crate digging at local record stores.

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Edited from the original Student Spotlight for brevity.