Hannah Morris

Hannah Morris received her undergraduate B.S. degree in Science Preprofessional studies with a minor in Poverty Studies from the University of Notre Dame. Interested in collaborating with educators to support the goal of schools serving the holistic wellbeing of students, Hannah went on to complete her Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Notre Dame while teaching middle school math and science. After teaching, Hannah wanted to better understand the myriad essential services of public health that act together to support students’ wellbeing, so she pursued a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Cornell University. During this time, she got to work on qualitative and quantitative projects that highlighted the importance of schools being responsive to the needs and desires of students as well as the policy limitations and various contextual challenges (i.e. environment, economic stability) that need to be addressed for the sake of students’ wellbeing.

Research Interests

Hannah’s educational journey and time teaching have been highly influential in molding her research interests to center around youth’s experiences and desires for health services in schools, specifically in the form of school-based health centers.

Through her work, Hannah employs approaches such as youth participatory action research, geospatial analysis, and qualitative and quantitative methodologies. While at Vanderbilt, Hannah has assisted with several projects partnering with the Nashville Partnership for Educational Equity Research (PEER)–one focused on the equity ecosystem supporting students’ success in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and the other focused on chronic absenteeism in MNPS. Hannah has also been serving as a Research Fellow with the Nashville Youth Design Team as of Summer 2025. Moving forward, Hannah is excited to continue this work and explore the potential for youth-informed school-based health centers to serve the whole student, beyond their academic needs.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Suiter

Relevant Links:

CV

Nashville Youth Design Team

Education

B.S., Science Preprofessional Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2020

M.Ed., Concentration in Science Education, University of Notre Dame, 2022

M.P.H., Concentration in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Cornell University, 2024