Health Policy Research Scholars (HPRS)

Beyond the $275 Billion: What Happens When Communities Are Threatened with Deportation - Health Policy Research Scholars How one scholar is using research to reveal the many costs of mass deportation.  Immigration policy has been in the headlines, but for Sarina Rodriguez, a Cohort 8 Health Policy Research Scholar and p...

Sarina Rodríguez (Cohort 2024) contributed to a study on the human and economic costs of mass deportation. Governor Newsom cited the study in California’s 2025 state budget press release. But her work is about more than numbers.

Read: bit.ly/41epbUT

@ucmerced.bsky.social

@rwjf.bsky.social

Reflecting with gratitude on an amazing week at #HPRSSI2025 full of connection, learning, and celebration. Honoring our C5 (& some C6) grads was the highlight, surrounded by friends and family. Here’s to their impact and the future of health equity! @rwjf.bsky.social @rwjfclpan.bsky.social

Ended Day 3 of #HPRSSI2025 with Pride Night at Camden Yards! Loved sharing an evening of fun, baseball, and community with scholars, alumni, some members from our National Advisory Committee, and staff. Thanks for making these moments so special. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️⚾️🧡 #PrideNight

@mlb.com @orioles.com

Day 3 of #HPRSSI2025: All 4 cohorts gathered for cohort sessions & connection! Cohort 5 shared policy pitches with C8, & scholars + alumni led sessions on disability, storytelling, academia, & teaching. Loved seeing scholars reconnect for health equity! @rwjf.bsky.social @rwjfclpan.bsky.social

Day 2 of Summer Institute #HPRSSI2025! Cohort 6 is bringing amazing energy to the @jhu.edu Bloomberg Center in DC, conducting mock Hill visits & engaging with local orgs & community leaders. Proud to see future health equity leaders in action! @rwjf.bsky.social @rwjfclpan.bsky.social

#Juneteenth is both a celebration of Black freedom, and a call to dismantle the systems that still deny it.

At HPRS, our scholars are building a future where health is a right, not a privilege. We honor the legacy of Juneteenth through research, policy, and collective action.

@rwjf.bsky.social

@academyhealth.bsky.social #ARM25 allowed our Cohort 7 scholars (+HPRS alumni!) to reflect on the role of health services research in a quickly changing policy landscape.

A highlight: Dr. Keshia Pollack Porter’s plenary reminder: “We need you. We see you. The work you do matters.”
@rwjf.bsky.social

Headed to AcademyHealth #ARM25? HPRS scholars & alums are presenting equity-driven research across sessions on Medicaid, disability justice, data equity, mental health and more.

Don’t miss their work: bit.ly/HPRSatARM25

@academyhealth.bsky.social @rwjfclpan.bsky.social @rwjf.bsky.social

Center the interests and knowledge of people in the communities you serve and start by engaging your community in non-academic contexts. Quote by Isaac Morales, PhD Student, Sociology, American University. Health Policy Research Scholars.

Meet Cohort 2024 scholar Isaac Morales, who is studying how neighborhoods and colorism impact child development. Drawing on his experience as a Mexican American, he uses geospatial data to understand how environmental factors influence family health outcomes. Read more: bit.ly/HPRS-Isaac-Morales

This #PrideMonth, we honor our scholars advancing queer and trans health equity, from gender-affirming care to mental health, reproductive justice, and carceral harm. LGBTQIA+ health is public health. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ #HealthEquity #TransJustice @rwjf.bsky.social @bsph-hpm.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social

We’re proud to share that Dr. Keshia Pollack Porter, director of HPRS, has been named the next dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Keshia leads with compassion, courage, and vision, exactly the kind of leadership this moment demands.

Congratulations, Keshia! bit.ly/3SWG4im

"I envision a world of health equity that doesn't ostracize individuals based on ability, linguistic, cultural, or religions background" Melody Mann, PhD Student, Sociology, University of Maryland - College Park

Meet cohort 2024 scholar Melody, advancing educational equity through cultural representation. Drawing from her Punjabi American background, she studies how cultural sensitivity impacts learning, especially for students with disabilities. Read more: bit.ly/HPRS-Melody-Mann

@melodymann.bsky.social

This #EarthDay, we honor our scholars reimagining environmental policy to center communities most impacted by climate injustice—from air pollution to water equity to Indigenous land care. Environmental justice is health justice. 🌱 #HealthEquity #ClimateJustice @rwjf.bsky.social @bsph-hpm.bsky.social

YouTube video by Health Policy Research Scholars Community and Belonging at HPRS

"Thinking doesn't happen in isolation - it happens between people." See how HPRS builds community for doctoral scholars pursuing health equity: youtu.be/qLnbVwFl3FU

Apps close for our FINAL cohort in just 5 days on March 11! Apply now: rwjf.org/cfp/hprs9

@rwjf.bsky.social @bsph-hpm.bsky.social

A group photo of the 40 scholars in cohort 8. A sign that says Health Policy Research Scholars is next to the group.

My heart is full after a weekend with these incredible humans. I’m grateful to be part of this community of thinkers and doers. I cannot wait to spend the next 3.5 years and beyond learning and growing along side such kind, compassionate, and brilliant scholars. @hprscholars.bsky.social #hprs

Health Policy Research Scholars HPRS is a four-year national leadership development program for full-time doctoral students from a wide range of nonclinical, research-focused disciplines in which policy is a key lever for change.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars @hprscholars.bsky.social is a four-year leadership program for doctoral students in research-focused disciplines where policy drives change. Details at:
www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

Incredible weekend at HPRS Winter Institute with Cohort 8! 40 doctoral students from clinical psych to environmental justice came together in Baltimore to share their visions for health equity, serve the community & build lasting connections. So excited for their journey ahead!
@rwjf.bsky.social

YouTube video by Health Policy Research Scholars HPRS Policy Impact and Systems Change

Watch Health Policy Research Scholars alumni share how they turned research into action and found their voice in policy work: youtu.be/AM5Ul4s0qQw.

Final call! Apply to join HPRS by Mar 11: rwjf.org/cfp/hprs9

@rwjf.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social

#HealthEquity #PhDLife

How do we value labor? How do we ensure that every worker is treated with dignity? How do we create good jobs? How do we strengthen policy mechanisms that protect workers? These are the questions that guide my research. - Resha T. Swanson-Varner HPRS Cohort 2022, PhD student, Social Work and Social Policy, University of Chicago

"How do we value labor? How do we ensure every worker is treated with dignity?"

For #BlackHistoryMonth, read scholar Resha Swanson-Varner's reflection on Southern labor rights and worker justice.

Read Resha's reflection: healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org/black-histor...

@rwjf.bsky.social