Julia Jezmir

About Julia Jezmir

JULIA JEZMIR would like to change the way health care is delivered. Instead of an acute model, where patients seek care during extreme illness, she envisages preventive measures enacted through addressing upstream causes of illness and enlisting the support of community organizations.

Julia was three when her parents, fleeing anti-Semitism, left Russia for the United States. Arriving with limited means, her family began anew. Through support from relatives and an active Jewish community, Julia learned the concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world through social action. Soon her parents, though struggling themselves, joined efforts to help other Soviet refugees.

After completing her bachelor's degree at Boston University, Julia worked in public health. She joined Partners In Health, an international healthcare organization, focusing on tuberculosis control in Russia. After two years there, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to work with AMPATH, a healthcare NGO, to help improve early detection of TB in Kenya.

Now a student at Stanford's School of Medicine, Julia continues to address the needs of underserved patients. She co-founded Patient Partners, a student-run program to facilitate patients' transitions home from the hospital and reduce hospital readmissions, and she works on advocacy to improve access to mental health services. As a future physician-advocate, she hopes to enact tikkun olam by designing measures to facilitate patient empowerment, promote health equity, and improve health outcomes.