Breana Turner

Project focus: The Fellow will build an Evidence Creator Pipeline by identifying, partnering with, and supporting the social media creators and community communicators who can carry health policy evidence into the diverse audiences and civic conversations that traditional scientific institutions struggle to reach.

Breana Turner is a translational scientist, public health researcher, science communicator, and women’s health advocate whose work centers health equity, community-engaged research, and translating science into accessible and actionable information. Her scholarship examines Black women’s lived experiences of health and healthcare, with particular attention to how social expectations, structural inequities, and cultural experiences shape health and wellness. A researcher, educator, speaker, and science communicator, Breana has built a career at the intersection of women’s health, public engagement, health literacy, and civic science. She is the founder of Becoming HealthyHer, a health literacy initiative translating women’s health research into practical tools that support women in advocating for their health. In 2025, she received a Research!America Public Engagement Content Award, which supported the development and public mobilization of Becoming HealthyHer. She has also built a growing digital presence communicating science and public health to broader audiences and has been featured by TheGrio and local news outlets as a subject matter expert on women’s health and public health. Her TEDx talk, “Questions Are the Answer”, explores the importance of reciprocal relationships between scientists and communities and the role of dialogue, curiosity, and questions in making science more relevant to the people it serves. Breana is also a co-author of Our Doctoral Journey, Volume II, a 2025 Loudoun County Trailblazer Hall of Fame inductee, and a recipient of the George Mason University Black Alumni Chapter’s 40 Under 40 recognition. She earned her Ph.D. and M.P.H. from Virginia Tech and B.S. from George Mason University. Across her work, Breana believes deeply in “reaching back” to empower the next generation of women and girls.