Brave McHugh
Brave McHugh is a rising sophomore at the New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing pursuing a degree in nursing alongside a dual degree in Global Public Health. McHugh is dedicated to improving health outcomes for vulnerable patients, particularly in women’s and children’s health, and is interested in understanding how research and nursing practice can better support underserved and underrepresented populations. Following graduation, she plans to work as a nurse in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before ultimately pursuing a PhD.
As a SUMR scholar, McHugh works with the Achieving Maternal Empowerment and Transforming Health through Implementation Science and Training Implementation Science Hub (AMETHIST@Penn), where she explores her interests in maternal health equity, implementation science, and reducing disparities in pregnancy, perinatal, and postpartum outcomes across the United States.
McHugh works with Dr. Rebecca Hamm and the AMETHIST@Penn research team to better understand the research-to-practice gap and address barriers to implementing high-quality maternal health research in clinical settings. She collaborates on qualitative interviews and supports the management and analysis of mixed-methods research data. Through this work, she continues to strengthen her research skills, particularly in data processing, implementation science methods, and qualitative thematic analysis.
During the academic year, McHugh is involved with the New York Birth Control Access Project (NYBCAP), a grassroots organization focused on improving access to contraceptives across New York State. As an outreach intern within the organization’s Pharmacy Access Initiative (PAI), she visits pharmacies to inform pharmacists about their ability to prescribe birth control, assist them throughout the certification process, and help expand access to reproductive healthcare resources.