Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health

Juliana Hall, MPH

Juliana Hall started her journey in public health at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she double-majored in their public health and environmental studies. She chose these two majors because they encompassed the contemporary issues facing New Orleans, including concerns about water quality, air quality, and climate change. During her time at Tulane, she was able to approach these issues by working in a water quality lab and in mosquito abatement research. Through having these experiences, she decided to further her education in Fall 2017 by pursuing a MPH degree in Environmental Health at UTHealth School of Public Health.

Unsure of where to focus her interests, she enrolled in Dr. Lawrence Whitehead’s Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene (IH) class and learned about a field that is focused on ensuring the health, safety and well-being of workers.  Soon after, she competitively applied for and received an IH traineeship, which is part of a NIOSH-funded Education and Research Center (ERC) training grant housed within the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH).  This class – along with the other IH courses and “outside of the classroom” SWCOEH training opportunities– put her on the path to becoming an industrial hygienist.  Juliana says that “the hands-on education she received within the EOHS program at the UTHealth School of Public Health – which included an internship at ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) in summer of 2018 - gave her the foundation and experience to seamlessly transition into her career this June as part of the industrial hygiene team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is located in Livermore, California and is a government owned contractor operator (GOCO) facility that for over 65 years has focused on research and development in science and technology to address the nation’s national security most pressing issues.  Dr. Whitehead, Director of the SWCOEH’s Industrial Hygiene Program, says “Juliana follows in a long line of knowledgeable and capable graduates in IH.  We are pleased that she found her way to IH and are confident that she will have a successful career in the field".