A journey of persistence, passion and public health
Nalani Thomas, a doctoral graduate from Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions, has just successfully defended her dissertation and will graduate this May with a PhD in Population Health. Her path to this moment was not straightforward — she faced early challenges adjusting, and at one point was advised to leave school altogether.
Instead, she persisted. Through exploration and redirection, she ultimately found her way into public health through hands-on community work and research focused on maternal and child health, ethics and policy.
Can you tell me about your journey into public health and what shaped your focus?
Early in my undergraduate career, I knew I wanted to work in health and with people. Initially, I decided to pursue a major in biology and nursing, but I ended up on academic probation and even had a career advisor tell me to drop out entirely.
Looking back on that experience, I found myself at a crossroads. It pushed me to re-evaluate what I wanted and where I felt most aligned. As a result, I shifted my major to Public Health, and everything began to click. I began to have a snowball of opportunities that have heavily influenced my trajectory. I was able to participate in a study abroad program focused on reproductive health in Northern Europe. Then, I became an intern at a nonprofit working with local pregnant and parenting teens in Arizona, which led me to apply and be selected for a CDC-funded fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s MCHC/RISE-UP program.
These experiences solidified my passion for public health, especially in maternal and child health. I became deeply connected to public health, and that sense of alignment has guided me ever since.
What is the focus of your research?
My dissertation focuses on perinatal mental health, public health ethics and legal epidemiology. I looked at how ethics and law intersect, especially how we balance individual autonomy with protecting population health.
Maternal health outcomes in the U.S. have been worsening, especially those related to mental health, and at a certain point, allowing disparities to persist becomes an ethical concern. My work explores the responsibility public health practitioners have to address them, and how population health systems can change course in ways that are both effective and ethically grounded.
If you had a magic wand to address one issue, what would you prioritize?
There’s a quote in the systems science and the health care improvement world that goes, “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”
With that in mind, I would prioritize cross-level system change by continuously and substantially investing in public health, social programs, providers, and individuals because public health is both collective and individual. Supporting individuals strengthens communities.
Through my academic and professional experience, research shows financial stress shapes everything: your mental health, where you live, what you eat, the quality of your education, your ability to access health care services, and long-term intergenerational health outcomes.
I’d also support providers — many want to address mental health but don’t feel equipped. There’s a disconnect between patient expectations and provider training — any way to reconcile all the worlds that influence health to eliminate health disparities and improve quality of life — I’m game for!
What brought you to ASU and your doctoral journey?
I grew up in Arizona, but when I was considering graduate school, I was living in California for some time and wanted to come back home to be closer to my family.
ASU’s online master’s program gave me the flexibility to continue to work full-time in cancer research at the Mayo Clinic. During this time, I had the opportunity to not only directly apply what I was learning in the program into practice at work, but also, I was able to come back to maternal and child health by becoming one of the earliest members of the Maternal and Child Health Translational Research Team at the College of Health Solutions.
The unwavering support and recognition of the merit of my work from the Graduate College and the College of Health Solutions is what defined my doctoral journey. When I was finishing my master’s, I received the Graduate College Enrichment Fellowship, which funded my first two years of the PhD.
Later, I received travel funding, which helped me attend trainings and conferences to expand my network in legal epidemiology and perinatal mental health. For my last year in the program, I was a recipient of the Graduate College Completion Fellowship. Collectively, these awards have allowed me to worry less about finances, so I can really focus on my research and to blossom into being a future leader in my field.
Who supported you along the way and what does earning a doctorate mean to you?
My co-chairs, Dr. Rizwana Biviji and Dean Michael Yudell, along with my entire committee and the population health PhD program leadership and classmates. They have all been among my greatest champions and directly facilitated my growth as a scholar.
From a personal perspective, my husband has been my biggest support. We’ve been together since undergrad, so he’s seen me through every part of my journey, from the uncertainty to the growth, and everything in between. His love helped me endure the rigors of the program.
Lastly, I would also say my family. Recently, I’ve been reflecting on what getting a PhD means to me as a first-generation American. My grandparents and parents immigrated to the US from the Caribbean, and in only three generations, they get to see their granddaughter earn their doctorate. This accomplishment feels like I’m honoring my family for all the sacrifices made to make this reality possible. Just so happy I can make them all proud.
What advice would you give to graduate students?
My piece of advice is to make friends and have them join your writing group.
I’m serious. Community made all the difference for me. During my doctoral program, I was co-president of the Black Graduate Student Association and built relationships with students across disciplines. From there, our writing group was created and became a space for both accountability and support.
Every week, we showed up for each other virtually. Whether it was processing tough moments, celebrating progress, or just getting words on the page together. That sense of community carried me through the program, and I genuinely don’t think I would have finished without this important space.
What’s next for you?
I accepted a postdoctoral position focused on policy related to the health and well-being of rural residents who are pregnant and their infants. I’ll be working with a team whose work I’ve cited often throughout my dissertation, which is really exciting.
Getting to this milestone, still doesn’t feel real. I’m trying to take it all in and recognize how much this journey has meant, what it’s taken to get here and the endless opportunities to come.
