About Us

Who we are

The Michigan Healthy Nail Salon Cooperative (MHNSC) was formed in 2016 following increasing national concern for the health and safety of nail salon owners and workers in the United States. This group of salon workers includes many minority individuals, especially of Vietnamese descent, who are often underserved and underrepresented by government resources and protections. MHNSC is made up of a team of professors, researchers, and students at the University of Michigan. The team includes expertise and experience in industrial hygiene and workplace health and safety, Vietnamese language skills, community-based research practices, consulting, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Our Mission

The mission of MHNSC is to investigate and raise awareness of health and safety issues faced by nail salon owners and employees and work together to find solutions to ensure healthy and safe workers and salons.

Our team

Current Team Members

Dr. Marie-Anne Rosemberg, PhD, RN, MN, FAAOHN, FAAN

Director of MHNSC

Associate Professor, Department of Systems, Population and Leadership, School of Nursing, University of Michigan

Deputy Director of the UM Occupational Health Nursing Program.

Marie-Anne (she/Her) was trained as a nurse and an occupational health and safety research scientist. Her work focuses on promoting the health and wellbeing of youth and adult working populations. As an immigrant herself, she is keenly aware of the disparities that the immigrant workforce experiences across multiple service industries such as nail salons. Marie-Anne enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, reading, going to museums and walks.

Dr. James Huỳnh, PhD, MA, MPH

Co-Director of MHNSC

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. In his free time, James is pampering his demanding Shiba Inu, taking film photos, or playing JRPG video games.

You can find more about James at his personal website.

Tyler Tran, BA, Master of Science in Information Candidate

Research Coordinator

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. Outside of school and work, he likes being physically active, playing musical instruments, and cooking.

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. Lena enjoys playing tennis, spending time with friends and family, exploring new food spots, going on walks, and cooking.

Andrea Birkhofer, BS

Research Assistant

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. In her free time, Andrea enjoys reading short-stories, foraging wild plants and mushrooms, and spending time with friends and family.

Former Team Members