Pediatrician and public health advocate
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
A pediatrician who used research and courage to protect the children of Flint, Michigan.
Her path into medicine
Mona Hanna-Attisha was born in England to Iraqi parents and became a pediatrician caring for children in Flint, Michigan. Michigan State University lists her today as Dr. Mona Hanna.
The courage to speak up
When Flint changed its water source, she and her colleagues studied children's blood lead levels. Among children in the city, the share with elevated blood lead rose from 2.4% to 4.9% after the change, roughly doubling. Children outside the city showed no significant change.
She took the findings to the public, and the work, published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2016, helped bring national attention to the crisis.
She became founding director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, and is now Associate Dean for Public Health and C. S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She tells the story in her memoir, What the Eyes Don't See.
Milestones
2015
Study of children's blood lead levels in Flint
2016
Findings published in the American Journal of Public Health
2016
Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People
2018
Memoir, What the Eyes Don't See
Sources
- American Journal of Public Health (2016): Elevated blood lead levels in children associated with the Flint drinking water crisis
- Michigan State University: Mona Hanna
- Michigan Public: Flint pediatrician who helped expose water crisis shares her story
- Wayne State University: TIME selects Flint pediatrician for its 100 most influential list