A Path to Public Health She Didn’t Expect

MCPHS alum and adjunct Kimberly Levitt followed her curiosity—and found a calling in care access, prevention, and education.

Kimberly Levitt, DHSc ’21, MPH ’18, didn’t set out to pursue a career in public health. But after working on an HIV prevention project early in her career, she saw firsthand the challenges many communities faced in accessing care, particularly around HIV prevention. That experience changed her trajectory.

Levitt had joined the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program run through the U.S. Department of State focused on combating HIV/AIDS in countries heavily affected by the epidemic. As she traveled and worked with communities, she encountered obstacles that made it difficult for individuals to access preventive care, especially across the LGBTQ+ community.

“HIV is extremely preventable,” she said. “When I had my boots on the ground, I was seeing people who couldn’t access the medication or didn’t have the right education to understand its value. The more I got into the work, the more I saw how difficult it was for people to get the care they needed.”

Levitt noted challenges such as limited awareness, social stigma, and adherence issues related to medications like PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis), which she said can significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection.

After working with the State Department from 2014 to 2016, Levitt returned to school to pursue a Master of Public Health at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). She later earned a Doctorate of Health Sciences, also from MCPHS, where her doctoral project focused on improving access to PrEP. Her research explored how the current prescription-based model limits access and whether offering the medication over the counter could improve availability.

“One of the biggest barriers to PrEP in the United States is that you need a prescription,” she explained. “While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, I found that some small communities and pharmacies are experimenting with offering PrEP more directly, and they’re seeing promising results.”

Despite isolated successes, she said, broader adoption of such models remains limited with regulatory and logistical hurdles still in place.

From Research to Community Impact and Education

While at MCPHS, Levitt presented her work at national conferences, including the SYNChronicity Conference on HIV, HCV, STIs, and LGBT Health in England. She also engaged with public health professionals to share findings and learn from others tackling similar issues.

“People face many barriers to accessing quality healthcare—from lack of insurance to not knowing where to go,” she said. “My doctoral research was about looking for practical ways to reduce those barriers, especially when it comes to preventing HIV.”

In 2020, Levitt brought her experience to a nonprofit healthcare organization in Allentown, PA, where she led a community health needs assessment to ensure everyone has what they need to be healthy, no matter who they are or where they live. The findings helped the organization identify gaps in local health services and expand its programs—from tobacco use prevention to COVID-19 vaccine access.

Today, Levitt continues to contribute to public health as an educator. She serves as an adjunct professor at both MCPHS and George Washington University. At MCPHS, she teaches healthcare informatics, and at GW’s School of Public Health, she covers subjects including human sexuality and public health biology.

She credits her time at MCPHS with helping her discover a passion for teaching and values the opportunity to equip future healthcare professionals with the tools to help ensure everyone has a fair chance at good health.

“There’s growing awareness around the complexity of healthcare access and the importance of preventative care,” she said. “These are conversations that matter, and I want my students to feel prepared to think critically about real-world solutions.”