Jasmine Gaillard is a second year doctoral student within the College of Public Health’s (CPH) Department of Health Promotion and Behavior. Her current research interests include mental health, nutrition and health equity.

After earning her MPH from UGA in 2021, Gaillard became an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the COVID-19 Emergency Response team. She assisted schools and health departments in evaluating testing programs.

Gaillard continued to pursue evaluation through the CDC Evaluation Fellowship. As a fellow, she led evaluation projects for the Epidemiology Elective Program (EEP), a training initiative for medical and veterinary students. Additionally, she worked on qualitative analysis projects for the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) and Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS) fellowships.

Following her work at CDC in August 2024, she began her PhD at UGA under the guidance of Health Promotion and Behavior Associate Professor Heather Padilla.

Passion for Public Health and Community Impact

Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gaillard was previously exposed to an internship program for high school juniors and seniors that allowed her to intern during the summer. For two consecutive summers, she worked in internship placements focused on health policy and food insecurity in Charlotte, NC, inspiring her choice in major. She earned her B.S. in Health Science at Spelman College, a historically black college in Atlanta.

According to Gaillard, her time at Spelman deepened her interest in public health. While she was there, she completed an internship with a focus on food insecurity within the west end of Atlanta. Gaillard described the area as a historically lower-income community in Atlanta, largely made up of Black and Brown residents. She noted that the neighborhood highlighted disparities in health and access to quality food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, especially when compared to nearby communities.

Gaillard remains deeply committed to advancing public health through real-world solutions that are both evidence-informed and grounded in community needs. Through her doctoral training, she seeks to strengthen her ability to identify systemic challenges and contribute to the development and implementation of strategies, including policy, practice and innovation that make a tangible impact.

Support and Mentorship at UGA

During her MPH program, Gaillard’s graduate assistantship with Heather Padilla introduced her to program evaluation, with a particular emphasis in process evaluation. This included examining how programs are being implemented, whether they operate as intended and if they’re reaching the intended audience. She also gained insight on data collection methods and dissemination of findings.

Gaillard was initially attracted to the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior because of its comparatively smaller size and because of funding from the UGA Feeder Program (now known as “FUSE program”). After completing her MPH at UGA and working under her advisor, she knew it was where she would return for her PhD.

“I’ve always felt very seen by her and supported. She is just a great individual, a great supervisor and a mentor,” Gaillard said. “I knew there wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to go. What brought me back was the warmth and care I felt as an MPH student, and I still feel that same support from the people here today.”

The student experience

When deciding to return to school, Gaillard knew funding was an important part of the process. Her faculty mentors were her advocates.

“They went above and beyond: Dr. Heather Padilla , Dr. Jessica Muilenburg, as well as Dr. Lucy Ingram, nominating me for this program called the UGA Presidential Graduate Fellows,” Gaillard said.

This prestigious fellowship is only awarded to a handful of doctoral students each year. It provides an annual stipend, travel support and an assistantship.

She also received a Graduate Education Advancement Board fellowship position and was awarded within the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) State Doctoral Program. The SREB provides financial assistance as well as professional development opportunities for doctoral students in the southern United States.

Future Goals and Reflections

One of Gaillard’s favorite aspects of her time in the CPH so far has been the personal relationships she and other students are able to build with professors and faculty members. On some days instead of holding a traditional class, her professors will take the group out for coffee and talk about their experiences, passions and goals. Gaillard particularly appreciates how faculty are “providing perspective” in students’ lives and how she has professors that “genuinely care about how you’re matriculating, how things are going, and who maintain an open door policy.”

Right now, Gaillard is just “trying to be a sponge.” She aims to learn how to disseminate findings or data and conduct research in communities that may not have a previous understanding of academic jargon within the public health sphere. Her goal is to translate information in a way that is “digestible, but then also innovative.”

“If I could just express my experience so far in this program, the faculty, people in my cohort, and the administration within this department, I would just say warm,” Gaillard said. “I feel very warm, I feel very seen here. And I would recommend this program to anyone. I’m just very thankful and grateful for the opportunity that I have here.”

By Alexia Rule