Student News
Spring 2026 Highlights
Startup Columbia Competition Winner
HPM's Isabella Gartner, MHA‘27 and co-founder Emily Cory ’26CBS/SEAS took home the $15,000 Helen Brown Gurley Foundation Prize at the 2026 Startup Columbia Competition for Inside Outside Health. Isabella and Emily also participated in the Columbia Healthcare Ventures Fast-Pitch Competition this past fall.
Second Place at UT MD Anderson Case Competition
HPM students Angela Seo, MHA‘27, Aspen Schwind, MHA'27, and Tommy Park, MHA'27, placed second at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center's 6th Annual National Health Administration Case Competition.
“Our case put us at the intersection of healthcare policy, strategy, and operations. Wrestling with that challenge alongside them - and presenting it to MD Anderson's executive leadership - was the kind of experience that makes everything you've been studying feel real.” - Aspen Schwind
United Nations Invitation
Pablo A. Rodríguez Rosales, MPH'26, Ecuadorian physician and activist in the defense of Public health and its social, environmental, and political determinants, was invited by the United Nations to attend the 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. During the Forum, Indigenous leaders and representatives from around the world engaged with UN agencies, including WHO, PAHO, and UNICEF.
Pablo also recorded a new episode of his podcast “Disenso” (Dissent) featuring Indigenous leader and former presidential candidate Leónidas Iza on Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and their impact on population health.
Additional student news items:
Young-eun Kim, MHA'27, worked with Prof Kai Ruggeri to build an interactive toolkit for real-time mental health data from over 70 countries, which launched before the World Cup.
Dr. Rafaella Osores Urday, MPH'26, is a co-author on a 92-country mental health study led by Prof Kai Ruggeri.