From Refugee to Pioneer: San Jose Paragon Fellow Supplements Robust Health, Law, and Bioinformatics Experiences With Tech Policy Engagement
Multi-talented UCLA post-baccalaureate student Minh Pham seeks to revolutionize health care policy
Contributed by Carolyn Wang
Fourteen years ago, UCLA post-baccalaureate student Minh Pham (he/him) and his family immigrated to the United States from Vietnam as refugees — all without speaking a drop of English. Now, Pham is prepping for both the MCAT and LSAT in anticipation of Med School and Law School, hoping to transform the healthcare policy landscape through both the medical and legal systems.
“When our family first came, we would go to the local hospitals and legal clinics to get help and free resources for every chance at a fighting opportunity,” Pham said. “That’s how my parents found jobs, and how we were able to stay in America.”
Pham started high school in the U.S. as a junior and graduated in 2011, where he subsequently attended Santiago Canyon and Santa Ana Community College. After two years, he transferred to UCLA to get his bachelor's in Biochemistry, and is currently back at his community college alma maters, studying sociology and communications.
He first discovered Paragon from a mentor at the National Science Policy Network, and quickly saw the relevance of technology in fields he was interested in.
“We’re living in the digital world with so many things happening at once. Technology is what we encounter everyday — even more so with the rise of AI in the public consciousness,” Pham said. “It’s so important to be innovative, but also ethical, and that’s why I wanted to apply to Paragon. I wanted to see how to apply what I learned in tech policy to the professions that I’m soon to follow.”
During the spring cohort, Pham worked on the San Jose - Public Team under project lead Favour Nerrise, developing ways to mitigate the risks of AI-generated comments in the public-input process. What he found most exciting was the ways in which he could study completely separate case studies across the nation — like election voting risks caused by AI in Maryland — and localize them to the specific needs of the San Jose government.
“Being able to look at an existing solution at the national level, talk with the team, and use your imagination to devise a solution that fits your specific use case is really special and exciting,” Pham said.
Upon the end of the fellowship, Pham said that the connection between tech policy and the health sciences was particularly clear when it came to problem-solving skill sets, impact, and community. He plans to carry these lessons along with him as he pursues a long-term career working at the Office of the Surgeon General, implementing health and tech policy in the fields of medicine and law.
“I think the coolest thing about these lines of work is the people you’re serving,” Pham said. “Whether it be health policy, tech policy, or other policy fields, you see people of diverse perspectives and backgrounds banding together to create these innovative solutions that'll inform a better future.”
Paragon Fun Fact (PFF): Minh will be completing an Ironman Triathlon in two months. He’s also taking piano, vocal, theatre, photography, art, and hip hop dance classes.