From Pre-Med to Public Health

This spring 2026, Mackenzie Senn, MPH, prepares to graduate with a Doctor of Philosophy in epidemiology from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. For Senn, her journey from pre-med student to PhD student in public health is one paved by chance, purpose, and a commitment to good health. Public health was a concept she hadn't yet named but had always experienced.

Growing up in a small town in Alaska, public health first took root in Senn's life through her mother and community. Senn watched her mother run an environmental lab and serve on the local emergency planning committee, playing a crucial role in protecting and safeguarding the community. Local leaders, including school , fire, police, and medical professionals, actively engaged children in public health awareness campaigns by organizing events such as D.A.R.E., Safe Kids Alaska, and community health fairs. Through these efforts, Senn not only learned about public health initiatives but was also encouraged to volunteer and take an active role in promoting community well-being. Witnessing the impact of community leaders working together was a formative experience in Senn's journey to advocate for good health.

"Those early experiences showed me how important community-level planning and prevention are in protecting people before crises happen," she shared. These ideas took root in Senn and eventually led her to Colorado, where she pursued a pre-med track during college.

There she would be introduced to public health during a first-year calculus class, showcasing the intersection of math and disease modeling. From math models to equations, Senn's interest in epidemiology began to take root in a class she would've thought farthest from preventative medicine.

  
"It was the first time I really started thinking about health in a quantitative, population-level way, and it honestly sparked my interest in epidemiology," Senn shared on the impact of her calculus class.

Her direction began to shift through hands-on experiences outside the classroom. While participating in Global Medical Brigades trips to Nicaragua and Panama, Senn worked directly with communities on health education initiatives. Those experiences reframed her understanding of healthcare, highlighting the impact of prevention and community-based approaches over treatment alone. An introductory public health course brought together her experiences in prevention, global health, and quantitative analysis, solidifying her decision to pursue a career in epidemiology. 

"I liked how public health focused on prevention, systems, and the bigger picture behind health disparities—not just treating people once they're sick."  

After earning her Master of Public Health in epidemiology from UTHealth Houston, Senn continued building on that foundation by pursuing her doctorate degree. Her research has focused on nutrition, health behaviors, and chronic disease prevention, with an emphasis on children and underserved populations.  

For Senn, earning a PhD was a natural next step — an opportunity to move beyond understanding public health challenges to actively contributing to the evidence base that shapes interventions and policy. Through her training, she has developed the skills to design studies, analyze complex data, and translate findings into meaningful public health action.  

As she prepares to graduate in May 2026, Senn's journey reflects a clear motivation: to use research to better understand and address upstream factors that influence health.