Health Equity Media Fellowship

Medical Humanities & the Arts

The Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship is a paid graduate-level training opportunity for doctors and journalists to help fill gaps in solutions-driven reporting on health equity across the United States. Starting with an in-person fall bootcamp, fellows are introduced to a wide scope of health topics, while also taking a deep dive into cross-platform media production. Over the course of six months, fellows engage in mentorship opportunities while producing stories that deepen our understanding of health disparities — while also featuring the innovative searches for solutions that are targeting these issues head-on. 

Applications are now closed for the current funding cycle. To receive notification about new funding cycles, please sign up here

Welcome to our 2025-2026 Fellows!

FARRELL BRENNER

MPH

Farrell Greenwald Brenner, MPH is a public health practitioner, health equity advocate, and freelance journalist based in Atlanta, GA. She is a recent graduate of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As a trauma-informed storyteller, Farrell writes on topics such as violence, harm reduction, and LGBTQ health. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, VICE, Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health, and the River Newsroom. In her free time, Farrell enjoys getting into arguments about the rules of modern flat track roller derby.

MEG TANAKA

MJ, MS

Meg Tanaka is a graduate student at UC Berkeley researching AI ethics education. She has been a freelance journalist covering a wide variety of topics such as culture, education and science for over 5 years, and has worked as a tech reporter at the Wall Street Journal. During her undergraduate years, she interned at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Stanford Medical School, with an emphasis on biomedical engineering.

JACE DICOLA

Jace DiCola is the health and wellness reporter for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, western Colorado’s largest newspaper. Since joining the Sentinel in January 2024, DiCola has published hundreds of articles on locally and nationally relevant topics: mental health infrastructure and disparities, rural healthcare access, insurance policy and programs serving niche medical needs. DiCola recently received the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado’s 2024 Media Award in recognition of his responsible coverage of suicide, its impact on communities and the role locals can play in prevention.

ANGELA ZHANG

MD

Angela Y. Zhang, MD (she/hers) is a graduate of the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital pediatrics residency in the Health Equity Track. A first-generation Chinese-American, she grew up in Seattle and made her way to the East Coast to complete a self-designed major in Mass Media & Cross-Cultural Perception at Duke University, and completed her MD at Brown University. She is interested in interdisciplinary collaborative approaches to dismantle structural barriers to health equity, such as algorithms using race-based medicine, and climate and spatial justice. Her work has appeared in Rhode Island Public Radio and ABC News.

Published Stories

Stories

How One LA School is Supporting Students Amid Deportation Fears

by Dr. Sejal Parekh, Feb 24, 2025, American Community Media 

Breaking Down The U.S. Drug Shortage Problem

There are hundreds of ongoing drug shortages in the U.S. Generic drugs, particularly injectables, are most affected.

by Indira Khera, Eli Cahan, on July 12, 2024, Science Friday 

White noise machines for infants can be dangerously loud, study says

By Dr. Abimbola Okulaja and Dr. Sejal Parekh

June 27, 2024 Story from Health Dr. Abimbola Okulaja, Dr. Sejal Parekh , ABC News

Infant mortality increases over 12% in Texas after near total abortion ban enacted in 2021: Study

By Dr. Sejal Parekh

June 24, 2024 Story from Health Dr. Sejal Parekh , ABC News

More than 4,000 additional robotic pets to be given to seniors in New York to combat loneliness

By Dr. Sejal Parekh

June 15, 2024 Story from Health Dr. Sejal Parekh , ABC News

New study shows up to 43% of US households are not storing guns securely

By Dr. Michelle March and Dr. Sejal Parekh

June 13, 2024 Story from Health Dr. Michelle March, Dr. Sejal Parekh , ABC News

1st tribally affiliated medical school in US graduates inaugural class of doctors

By Dr. Sejal Parekh

June 6, 2024 Story from GMA Dr. Sejal Parekh , ABC News

Attacks on Emergency Room Workers Prompt Debate Over Tougher Penalties, by Sejal Parekh

This reported piece combines narrative, expert interviews, and FOIA data analysis to discuss potential solutions for violence against California ER workers.

Amid Mental Health Staffing Crunch, Medi-Cal Patients Help One Another - California Healthline, by Indira Khera

This piece was published by California Healthline and the San Fransisco Chronicle. It focuses on a peer leader in Solano County and explores how these leaders can help ease California's behavioral health workforce shortage. 

Syphilis cases are rising in babies. Illinois has a potential solution, by Indira Khera

This episode was published by NPR's science podcast Short Wave. It takes the listener inside of Illinois' perinatal syphilis warmline, a phone line started last year clinicians can call for guidance on newborn syphilis. 

The new RSV shot, a national shortage, and what that means for you, by Sejal Parekh

This “news you can use” piece was published in the Navajo Times, the main print paper distributed on Navajo Nation. The article describes current RSV shot shortages, and provides actionable steps for readers to obtain the immunization.

Our Team

Co-Director

Michael Nedelman, MD

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Co-Director

Eli Cahan, MD

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Co-Director

Bryant Lin, MD, MEng

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Program Manager

Christy Hartman, MA 

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Fellowship Assistant

Jeenah Gwak

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Contact: medicineandthemuse@stanford.edu