From surviving to thriving: A scholar's journey at Yale

When I arrived at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in September 2023 as its first-ever Scholar-at-Risk, I was focused on survival. The war in my country, Sudan, had ruptured everything that once felt secure: my role in health system reform, my home, my community, and my trajectory. I stepped onto campus burdened by uncertainty and fear.

What I found here was a place that refused to let my story end at disruption. Yale as a place insisted I could thrive.

Soon after I arrived, my supervisor, Dr. Mayur Desai, MPH ’94, PhD ’97, professor of epidemiology (chronic diseases) and associate dean for the Office of Community & Practice, helped me design a structured plan for my time here. I audited the course Reforming Health Systems in LMIC, where I met Dr. Robert Hecht, YC ’76, PhD, professor in the practice (microbial diseases). Based on my engagement and contribution to class discussions, Teaching Fellow Josiane Mumukunde Alix, MPH ’24, recommended me to Dr. Hecht. He and I discussed my experiences with health system reform in Sudan and I am now serving as a teaching fellow for his course.

I have mentored more than 80 graduate and undergraduate students across YSPH, the Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale School of Medicine (YSM), and Yale College. Students come to me not only with academic questions but to ask about leadership, careers, identity, and service. Supporting their growth has become a central part of my purpose, and in 2025, I was honored to receive the Yale Postdoc Mentor Award, a reminder that even in displacement I can help others find their direction. Last spring, I served as a guest instructor for Health in Humanitarian Crises with Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood, MPH ’89, PhD ’95, associate professor of epidemiology (microbial diseases). I am using my experience from Sudan—particularly in the research I am conducting with him on access to communicable disease care in Sudan amid the ongoing war.

My research sits at the intersection of conflict and continuity. I co-lead Strengthening Health Intelligence through Electronic Linked Data (SHIELD)–Sudan, a project that won a 2025 Hecht Global Health Faculty Network Award, working with colleagues in Sudan and the region to strengthen disease surveillance. I collaborate closely with Dr. Khoshnood, Dr. Hani Mowafi, MD, MPH, associate professor of emergency medicine at YSM, and Dr. Sheela Shenoi, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at YSM, on strengthening health systems in humanitarian settings for communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). I’m also working on NCDs in Uganda with Dr. Jeremy Schwartz, MD, associate professor of medicine (general medicine) at YSM and epidemiology (chronic disease) at YSPH. It is unlikely that such depth and reach of collaboration could have been realized had I not been here, within a community that actively bridges research, policy, and global engagement.

One project especially close to my heart is the study I’m working on with Dr. Shenoi and Dr. Julia Rozanova, PhD, associate research scientist in medicine (AIDS), about mental health and well-being for health care workers in humanitarian crises. Its goal is bold and overdue: to ensure that the people holding health systems together—even as their own worlds fall apart—are not forgotten in policy, research, or funding.

Throughout this journey, I have been guided by the exceptional mentorship of Dr. Desai. He has shaped not only my academic trajectory but the confidence with which I pursue it. His support has helped me refine my research questions, strengthen methodological rigor, and navigate the broader landscape of academic growth. He reminds me constantly that leadership is measured not only by what we build but by how we build others. Beyond my formal academic and research roles, thriving at Yale has also meant finding and nurturing community. Guided by YSPH’s vision of connecting science with society_­—both globally and locally—I became deeply involved in supporting New Haven’s refugee and immigrant communities through my collaboration with Havenly, a nonprofit organization in New Haven. There, I mentor community health workers who are rebuilding trust and restoring dignity, one household at a time. Through this work, I have come to see how the boundaries between local and global health dissolve, revealing a shared resilience that transcends geography and circumstance.

I also serve on the Yale Postdoctoral Association’s Professional Development Committee, helping create opportunities for young scholars—especially those navigating transitions across countries. And through my role on the Scholars at Risk U.S. Steering Committee, I advocate for those whose academic lives are at risk of being extinguished. I know what it means to be one decision away from losing everything you’ve worked for—which is why defending academic freedom feels like defending futures.

None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary support of YSPH leadership, especially Dean Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, and the school’s faculty and students who welcomed me not as a temporary visitor but as a contributing member of the community. All of the people I've mentioned by name and many others saw not what I had lost to war, but what I still had to offer.

My journey here is no longer defined by survival but by expansion: of ideas, partnerships, impact, and hope. The war in Sudan only interrupted my path, it did not end it. From New Haven, I continue to work toward a healthier, more peaceful Sudan—and toward a future in which scholars are never silenced by the conditions they are trying to change.

I came here to survive. Yale empowered me to thrive— and to help others do the same.