Hana Ruran
Social Media to Improve Retina Care (SMIRC, Inc.)
Hana Ruran is a student at Case Western Reserve University’s 8-year Pre-Professional Scholars B.S./M.D. Program. She is the founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Social Media to Improve Retina Care (SMIRC, Inc.) an organization that facilitates access to physicians and medical care to people in underserved areas. This project was presented at the 2022 Boston Congress of Public Health, and her full first-author manuscript summarizing its findings was published in Seminars in Ophthalmology. In addition to this research, Ruran has conducted studies on topics such as compounds that reduce beta-d-glucans and allergens on smartphones, and management of bullying in children with food allergies in journals such as the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Annals of Allergy and Immunology. She has presented research at international meetings such the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and the Health Occupation Students of America International Leadership Conference, winning first place awards and receiving extensive national media coverage for her work by news companies such as U.S News, Fox News, and Healthline. She also presents her work at the Dr. M. Judah Folkman Research Day at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and has led an effort to support environmental health and justice that has reached over 20,000 people. Other key highlights include serving as an American Red Cross Donor Ambassador, volunteering for her community’s Respite Center, serving as a board member on the Tri-M National Music Honors Society Board, and singing for the National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Choir.
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The inaugural 40 under 40 cohort represents the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, activists, intellectual provocateurs, authors, and directors who inspire and catalyze us all to a more just and equitable world.
