Influential Woman · Public Health

Tatiana Aguilar

Graduate Researcher, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree PhD Student at Emory Rollins School of Public Health (current Degree Second year) Degree Master's degree from UNC Degree Undergraduate degree from UNC Member SACNAS

Her Story

About Tatiana

Violence prevention was introduced to me through an opportunity at a lab when I was at UNC during my master's, but it was really during my master's when I got into it. Working at Boys and Girls Clubs as a youth and in my adolescence is really what got me into public health, just wanting to serve families and help others. This is a good intersection, a good interdisciplinary field to do that. I had an opportunity to go to a conference in Puerto Rico through SACNAS during my master's, and this was one of my first major conferences. This is where I really fell in love with the art of disseminating science, particularly to those who don't know very much about the research that I do, about the topics that I touch on. Going to this new setting that was multicultural and very diverse, and disseminating the research that I had been working so hard on for the first time, that was definitely a moment of pride and achievement. Another proud moment was working at the CDC as a fellow after I had just graduated from undergrad while preparing to go to my master's. I was able to publish my first publication with CDC public health advisors. That was an incredible experience and my first quantitative work that I had done. Apart from that, being able to do my PhD at Emory and have it fully funded is one of my greatest achievements.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Tatiana

01What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

The most important thing to me is to inspire other women, especially women of Latin American descent. Only 1% of doctoral candidates in the U.S. are women of Latin American descent. I am so proud, and I want to see that percentage increase. That's the goal, so I just want exposure. I want other women like me to see me and to know that it's possible for them. That is what matters to me. I also value expanding my perspective through multicultural experiences. Going and learning about other cultures, understanding the history of other cultures, being exposed to the music and the dance and the food of other cultures makes me more empathetic and a better person in general, but also a public health professional.

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