The COVID-19 outbreak sparked Joseph P. Nano’s interest in public health.  

Nano, recipient of the 2023 Henry Masters Award at Dartmouth College, which honors students who make a lasting difference in health and healthcare, especially for underserved populations, says, “I wanted to learn more about the role of public health in ensuring the delivery of equitable healthcare in rural communities and preventing the next pandemic.” A native of Falmouth, Maine, Nano earned a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) degree from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine in 2023.  

A student, author, and researcher with three published books and more than 100 pieces of writing to his credit—Nano has long been fascinated by science. At Boston College, he was the recipient of the 2017 Nicholas H. Woods Ever to Excel Award and the prestigious 2019 Mary and Edmund Shea, Jr. Family Scholarship. In 2020, Nano became the first student at Boston College to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in both biology and neuroscience. Below, he talks about the value of attaining an MPH degree at Geisel. 

Q: Why did you choose to pursue your MPH degree at Dartmouth? 

A: Dartmouth has an excellent accelerated MPH program and classes are taught by extraordinary professors. I chose this program because Dartmouth provides students with all the skills and resources for innovation and creativity to make a difference in the world.  

Also, Dartmouth encourages teamwork, which is essential in healthcare and medicine. 

Q: How has your Dartmouth MPH education influenced your career? 

A: The MPH program inspired me to continue to further my education at Dartmouth. I’m currently enrolled in the MS Graduate Program in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in health data science.  

Through my MPH experience, I recognized the need for additional training in healthcare data analytics to achieve my career goals—to succeed as a physician-scientist (holder of an MD-PhD) focused in the areas of cardiovascular disease, mental health, and chronic disease. 

Written by: Timothy Dean