Co-Director of MHNSC

Dr. James Huỳnh, PhD, MA, MPH

Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan

James (he/him) is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of anti-racist health policy at the School of Public Health. He uses a community-engaged approach in his research that focuses on issues of health inequities in communities of color, immigrants, refugees, Indigenous people, and LGBTQ people. 

Interests: Pampering his demanding Shiba Inu, taking film photos, or playing JRPG video games. You can find more about James at his personal website.

Contact: huynhjam@umich.edu

Research Coordinator 

Tyler Tran, BA, MSI Candidate

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan - Dearborn; School of Information, University of Michigan

Tyler (he/him) is a Graduate student in the Master of Science in Information program at the University of Michigan. With his multicultural background, he is motivated to contribute to the cause of the MHNSC, and to promote healthier practices in nail salons. Tyler’s academic interests include User Experience Research, and Industrial / Organizational psychology. 

Interests: Being physically active, playing musical instruments, and cooking. 

Research Assistant 

Andrea Birkhofer, BS

School of Public Health, University of Michigan 

Andrea (she/her) is a graduate student of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology. Her research and academic training focuses on evaluating population health disparities in relation to workplace and community exposures. Andrea is excited for the opportunity to work with the nail salon community to evaluate exposures and promote safety practices. Since nail salons are a key staple in our communities, she understands the importance of worker well-being and safety within salons to be a necessity. 

Interests: Enjoys reading short-stories, foraging wild plants and mushrooms, and spending time with friends and family.

Lena Dang, BS, MPH Candidate

School of Public Health, University of Michigan

Lena (she/her) is an epidemiology graduate student in the Master of Public Health program at the University of Michigan. Her research experiences and interests focus on improving health for underserved populations and evaluating how workplace, environmental, and nutritional exposures impact health disparities. As the daughter of a former nail salon worker, Lena is excited to work with the Michigan nail salon community to promote healthy and safe work environments. 

Interests: Playing tennis, spending time with friends and family, exploring new food spots, going on walks, and cooking.

Robert

University of Michigan

Robert is a Sociology major with a sub-major in Law, Justice, and Social Change. He previously studied at the University of Richmond and New York University, where he earned a 4.0 GPA. He is now a Research Assistant in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, studying the history of Black women’s political activism in Michigan. His earlier sociology research explored topics such as social class and TikTok identity, and the role of family wealth in student decision-making. These 

projects strengthened his skills in archival research, grounded theory, and data visualization. Outside of research, he manages transportation for over 500 students, coaches international graduate students on cross-cultural communication, and has supported voter registration efforts that reached 5,000+ students. He also assist with campus sustainability initiatives and enjoys staying active while bridging his native Mandarin and professional English in multicultural settings.

Natalie 

University of Michigan

Natalie is an environmental and neuroscience undergraduate student interested in learning about public health research. She is excited to contribute her enthusiasm for learning about health equity to this project of promoting healthy practices for nail techs. Natalie is interested in learning about different types of research and found that Dr. Rosenberg’s projects are really impactful. 

Interests: Enjoys being active outside and spending time with family.