Sana Khan

Resilient Sisterhood Project | Cambridge, MA

Project Title: A Community Campaign to Improve Adolescent Menstrual Health

Sana Khan is a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has led numerous research projects aimed at improving the well-being of communities disproportionately affected by adverse social determinants of health. After earning an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, she obtained a position with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She conducted epidemiological analyses on the prevalence of mental health and behavioral health conditions in children and adolescents. She also led a research project that demonstrated socio-environmental patterns that exacerbate asthma in children. 

For the past six years, Sana has worked at the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance, where her research portfolio includes developing performance metrics for criminal legal reforms, assessing community public safety, and understanding how communities are affected by hate crimes. She collaborates with jurisdictions across the country, grassroots organizations, and government partners to use data to support reform policies. Sana has expertise working with both quantitative and qualitative data methods; she analyzes large health administrative datasets and leads community-based participatory research. 

Sana is pursuing her DrPH to become a leader in centering community voices in research by translating such data into policy development and innovative public health interventions that advance health equity. Her research interests include health outcomes of families impacted by the criminal legal system, mental health of adolescents, and children’s environmental health.