Miranda Lee-Foltz, MD/MPH ’26

Shaping Systems, Supporting Patients: A Future Physician’s Vision

 
For Miranda Lee-Foltz, a dual-degree MD/MPH student at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, the path to public health began with a pair of gloves, a dermatoscope, and a community clinic. During her second year of medical school, she volunteered at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic’s dermatology service, a free clinic serving populations in the Upper Valley. There, she encountered patients whose access to care was shaped not by their medical needs, but by their insurance status.

Working alongside Dr. Glass and a dedicated care team, Miranda began to recognize how systemic issues like insurance coverage, education, and even access to sun protection knowledge could influence long-term health outcomes like skin cancer risk. Their efforts were recognized with a student grant from the Northern New England Clinical Oncologic Society to explore sun protection practices and skin cancer rates among underinsured individuals in the Upper Valley. This experience, coupled with insights gained from Geisel’s Patients and Populations course, sparked a deeper interest in public health and led her to pursue an MPH. She saw it as an opportunity to better understand the systems and policies that shape the health of her future patients beyond the clinical setting.

When choosing where to pursue her medical and public health education, Miranda was drawn to Dartmouth for its strong sense of community. She wanted to be part of a place where collaboration is not only encouraged, but foundational to learning. The surrounding nature was also a key factor, offering a backdrop for reflection, movement, and balance. Studying in a rural environment has provided her with a unique perspective on the barriers patients face in accessing care, particularly in less densely populated areas. These experiences have deepened her understanding of the real-world challenges that affect health equity and access.

One of the things that has surprised her most during her time at Dartmouth is the ability to maintain balance. Miranda finds pockets during her day to cross-country ski on the golf course or find a quiet corner in the library to read. For Miranda, staying active and connected to the outdoors has been essential. Whether it’s biking, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, or splitboarding, she’s found ways to stay grounded and energized just minutes from campus.

Looking ahead, Miranda hopes to practice medicine in a way that’s informed by the broader context of her patients’ lives. She wants to be a physician who notices trends in individual cases, and uses that awareness to investigate root causes and advocate for systemic change. She is eager to continue engaging in public health research and to use her skills to influence policy and improve community health outcomes.

Her advice to incoming students is to be bold! Reach out to the professor whose work excites you. Go to the event that catches your interest. Try a new sport. Sit with someone you haven’t had a deep conversation with yet. Dartmouth, she says, is full of supportive people and opportunities to grow—both inside and outside the classroom.

Written by: Mia Soucy