Name:

John Jefferson V. Besa

Home Institution:

University of the Philippines Manila

Host Institution:

Harvard University

Award Name:

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Award Year:

2024

Bio / Write-up:

JB is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and Senior Program Manager for Health at Culion Foundation, Inc. He will pursue his Master of Public Health in Health and Social Behavior at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Grounded on the principle that health is a right, he intends to apply the concepts of social and behavioral sciences to further health promotion in support of Universal Health Care in the Philippines.

After medical school, he worked with various sectors involved in health through research, project implementation, and policy support. As an incoming MPH student, he aims to deepen his understanding of public health especially social behavior and the role of social determinants of health as guided by his experiences in road safety, nutrition, maternal health, leprosy, and tuberculosis. He plans to exchange ideas and expand his international network to foster meaningful collaborations and create impactful change for the health of Filipinos.

Together with his best friend Ella, he hosts “Kwentong Callroom Podcast”, a podcast that humanizes and demystifies medicine. On his free time, he finds comfort in reading non-technical books, clarifies his thoughts through writing, and immerses in theater and improv.