Miranda Aman grew up on a farm in Charlestown, West Virginia, with one goal in mind: to help people. Nursing seemed like a natural fit, so she enrolled at West Virginia University (WVU) and began shadowing nurses. But hospital hallways didn’t feel like home.
“I went to my advisor, and she mentioned a new program in public health,” says Aman, now a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Pitt’s School of Public Health. “I took an intro class, and I was completely hooked.”
She earned both her BS and MPH from WVU, then came to Pitt for a second MPH, graduating in 2024. Public health clicked—especially the environmental side. “Once I learned about agriculture and pesticides, I thought that was super cool. Being from West Virginia, it just fit.”
As a first-generation college student, Aman also felt deeply connected to occupational health. She’d watched her mother work at Walmart for more than 20 years, ultimately needing knee surgery and physical therapy. “She had a job that didn’t protect her the way it should have,” Aman says.
In the summer of 2023, Aman completed a practicum at the Allegheny County Health Department, focused on mosquito-borne disease prevention.
“I did vector control—I’d collect samples of mosquitoes and larvae from water at various trash sites, then take them back to the lab to analyze,” she explains.
The work brought her closer to the community. “If I was at a school picking up a trap, kids would ask, ‘What are you doing?’ and I’d say, ‘Want to see these bugs?’”
At a site in Wilkinsburg, Pa., she met a local man who collected recyclables from trash—just to help his community. “I got to talk with him about mosquitoes and the risk of West Nile virus,” she says of the human moment.
These field experiences inspired Aman’s current research interests in asthma and indoor air quality—and confirmed her decision to pursue a PhD.
“I love the balance,” she says. “Being out in the field talking to people, humanizing the science—and then coming home to dig into the data.”
Aman is passionate about public health practice and the power of collaboration to promote and protect community health. She served as a research assistant on a community-based participatory project, educating residents about air pollution and exploring ways to reduce asthma severity.
“I think one of the most important things in life is to adapt,” she says. “I didn’t even know what public health was at first—but I liked how it focused on the bigger picture instead of just individual pieces of the puzzle.”
And adapting is something she knows well. “Coming from West Virginia to city life, learning to navigate new systems and new people—can be hard,” she admits.
“But one of my favorite things to say is: I want to thrive, not survive.”
-Clare Collins