Sponsored by the Alumni Association of Princeton University

Moderator:

Olga Troyanskaya

Panelists:     

Gil Omenn ’61
Harold T. Shapiro Distinguished University Professor in the Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, Internal Medicine, Human Genetics & Genomics, and Environmental Health, University of Michigan

Herman Taylor Jr. ’76
Endowed Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine

Jennifer Cannistra ’01
Executive Director, National Health Law Program

Martin Mejia ’21
HIV Program Coordinator, LifeLong Medical Care

PANELISTS

Gil Omenn ’61
After his Princeton graduation, at which he delivered the Latin salutatorian address, Gil Omenn earned an M.D. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in genetics from University of Washington. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. More broadly, Omenn was a White House Fellow at the Atomic Energy Commission in the Nixon and Ford administrations, associate director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and of the Office of Management & Budget in the Carter administration, chair of the Presidential/Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment & Risk Management during the Clinton administration, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a director of Amgen Inc. and Rohm & Haas Company. He and his wife, Martha Darling *70, endowed the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute at Princeton and SINSI fellowships and an annual lecture at the School of Public and International Affairs. 

Herman Taylor Jr. ’76
Herman Taylor is a cardiologist, physician-scientist and nationally recognized leader in cardiovascular research and public health. In his role at the Morehouse School of Medicine, he leads interdisciplinary work spanning clinical medicine, population science, community engagement and emerging approaches in genomics and data-driven health innovation. Taylor is widely known for his pioneering leadership of the Jackson Heart Study and other major work that has advanced understanding of cardiovascular health, disease and resilience in diverse communities, and for his longstanding commitment to expanding the reach of medical research. He received the American Heart Association’s Clinical Research Prize and the American College of Cardiology’s Douglas Award and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications. A proud Princeton alumnus, Taylor values mentorship, service and family life. He and his wife have three children and two grandchildren. 

Jennifer Cannistra ’01
Jennifer Cannistra leads national efforts to protect and advance health rights for low-income and underserved individuals through her role at the nonprofit National Health Law Program. She previously led health and human services offices at federal and local levels. From 2021 to 2025, she served as deputy assistant secretary for policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF), leading ACF’s $26 billion portfolio advancing child and family well-being. Before ACF, she held leadership roles in D.C. government overseeing behavioral health and homelessness. Cannistra also served for eight years in the Obama administration, including running the HHS regulations and policy office and working on the Affordable Care Act at the White House and HHS. She received her A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, her master of science from Oxford University and her juris doctor from Harvard Law School. 

Martin Mejia ’21
As an HIV program coordinator in San Francisco’s East Bay area, Martin Mejia focuses on managing grants, implementing training and coordinating reporting needs while also being a case manager to people living with HIV. He began his work at LifeLong Medical Care as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) navigator and HIV case manager. In that role, he provided patient education on PrEP, HIV and sexual health, and he connected people living with HIV to resources aimed at minimizing barriers to care, such as transportation, food insecurity and housing. Mejia now uses this knowledge to construct programs to provide better HIV care and education and to meet people where they are.