Alumni Spotlight: John Laurance - from the lab to public health leadership in Alaska
by Eduardo Piqueiras |
When COVID-19 reached Alaska, John Laurance served as a lead microbiologist for the state’s SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic program in Anchorage. Years of infectious disease work had prepared him for that role. That experience also pushed his career in a new direction–toward prevention, program management, and leadership.
That shift brought Laurance to UAA’s Master of Public Health program. He graduated in 2026 and now serves as Health Program Manager for Adolescent Health Programs with the State of Alaska and president-elect of the Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA).
In this spotlight, John reflects on seeing public health beyond his own specialty, the connections that hold Alaska’s public health community together, and how others may recognize leadership in us before we recognize it in ourselves.
Name: John Laurance
Educational background: Master of Public Health, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2026; B.S. Microbiology and B.S. Biotechnology, Washington State University, 2007
Unit you graduated from: Division of Population Health Sciences
Current position: Health Program Manager 3, Adolescent Health Programs
Place of employment: State of Alaska, Division of Public Health, Section of Women’s, Children’s, and Family Health
Tell us about your current role. How does your work contribute to improving the health of Alaskans?:
I was hired into my current role in March 2026 as manager of the adolescent health unit in the Section of Women’s, Children’s, and Family Health. I lead two federal grant programs, the Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPE) and the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). Together, these programs support sexual violence prevention and adolescent health education around Alaska, engaging foster youth, youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and students attending alternative schools to learn about healthy relationships and advocate for their own health.
I also supervise the adolescent health unit, which supports programs for youth violence prevention and health engagement, school nursing, and the Alaska Dental Health Program Office.
These programs work both directly and indirectly with Alaska youth to support access to health education, violence prevention, oral health, school nursing services, and much more. I have the privilege of working with an excellent team of dedicated public health professionals who do fantastic work in Alaska and with national organizations that promote public health.
What first drew you to public health, and what inspired you to pursue your MPH at UAA?:
I have always been interested in infectious diseases and focused on them as much as I could during college. My first job out of college was in vaccine research and development, focusing on tropical diseases such as leishmaniasis, malaria, and tuberculosis. This was my first introduction to prevention as a form of public health intervention, even though biotech research isn’t typically what we think of as public health practice.
That experience working with the agents of infectious disease in a high-containment laboratory eventually led to my first true public health position when I moved back to Alaska in 2015. From 2015 to 2024, I worked at the Alaska Public Health Laboratory on the state’s bioterrorism and emerging infectious disease diagnostics program and was the laboratory biosafety and biosecurity officer.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, my work on the state’s SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic program made me think more deeply about the importance of prevention as a key tool for public health. I wanted to find a way to move on from diagnostic lab work and pursue opportunities focused on disease prevention that would also provide leadership opportunities.
Getting accepted into UAA’s MPH program was the first step in moving my career away from lab work and toward health program management.
How did your experience in UAA’s Graduate Public Health Programs prepare you for leadership?:
When I enrolled in the MPH program, my understanding of public health practice was largely limited to working at the public health laboratory and with other state and Tribal public health agencies focused on infectious disease diagnostics. I really didn’t understand the scope of public health programs or how they interacted with each other and with community organizations.
The MPH program showed me how broad and far-reaching programs can be, but also how and why they are designed and implemented so they can be effective. Classes reintroduced me to group work and, with that, some elements of leadership needed to get projects done. While these were professional skills I had already been working on, it was valuable to work with people from vastly different backgrounds and with different experiences in public health. Opening myself up to working outside of my specialty helped prepare me to move into my current leadership and management positions.
As a leader with ALPHA, my MPH also helped me understand the many people and organizations involved with public health in Alaska. Seeing how everyone is connected, and in some cases disconnected, was a reminder of how professional organizations like ALPHA can benefit the larger community of public health professionals.
Alaska is really composed of a bunch of different small communities. As a student, a professional, and now a member of the ALPHA board, I am continually reminded of how tight-knit the public health community is. My coworkers are both former fellow students and prospective students in the UAA MPH program. Faculty have been my educators and friends, and some have also become recipients of funding from programs I have managed. This has created a web of interconnection that continues to surprise me even though I have worked in Alaska public health for more than a decade.
My practicum was also a new and valuable experience in broadening my personal approach to public health practice. It was a great way to create a connection with a new partner, the Alaska Native Epidemiology Center. Given Alaska’s population, its unique demographics, and how interconnected Tribal health is with state public health, it was valuable to see how the EpiCenter operates and supports Tribal communities across Alaska.
You were recently elected as president of the Alaska Public Health Association. What does this leadership role mean to you, and what are you most excited to contribute?:
Being president-elect of the Alaska Public Health Association is an honor I wasn’t expecting when I first joined ALPHA. I knew I wanted to serve on the board but was not initially seeking a position on the governing council. My goal in serving was to help find new ways ALPHA could benefit its membership and drive more engagement with the association.
I had the privilege of traveling to ALPHA’s Affiliate Presidents-Elect Meeting in Washington, D.C., in July. I learned how affiliate organizations like ALPHA can leverage the expertise of their members to engage with elected representatives both within the state and nationally. This is perhaps the area where I am most excited to put the knowledge and expertise of our organization to work.
ALPHA does not endorse candidates, but we can meet with candidates and elected officials to educate them about the importance of public health organizations, state and federal funding, and legislation that supports public health practice. I would like to help position ALPHA as a trusted partner and resource for Alaska’s state and federal elected officials on matters of public health.
For me, having Alaskans know about ALPHA is the first step to establishing ourselves as a trusted professional organization. Public health professionals often say, “Public health is everything!” That sounds really impressive, and in many ways it’s accurate because public health reaches so broadly into the lives of individual Alaskans. But it’s also a phrase that doesn’t encompass how specific and unique each focus area can be.
It’s not everything, but ALPHA does want to establish itself as an organization with expertise in many different areas that affect the everyday lives of Alaskans.
Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunity for Alaska to lead in public health, and what could make that difficult?:
Alaska has some of the most remote communities in the country, which gives us an opportunity to lead in developing and adapting rural health programs that can make meaningful improvements in quality of life for rural Alaska residents. While healthcare operating and delivery costs are higher here than in much of the country, this is also an area where we have considerable room to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Alaskans.
Unfortunately, I think Alaska will continue to rely heavily on federal social safety-net programs for residents, and health departments will continue to rely on federal grants to cover a large portion of operating costs. Without continued federal funding for Medicaid, SNAP, Tribal Health, and health program grants, it will be difficult for the state to improve how healthcare and public health programs are delivered in Alaska.
What advice would you give current MPH students who hope to become leaders in Alaska’s public health community?:
For many years, I was concerned that I wasn’t good enough or smart enough to become a leader. I was reticent even to put my name in or volunteer for leadership roles because I didn’t think I would be qualified.
I learned that we become leaders in the eyes of others before we might recognize it in ourselves.
It’s okay to volunteer and make yourself available for leadership roles. As long as you are honest about who you are and what you think you’re capable of, others will decide if you are fit for leadership.
In situations where it’s not so much a leadership position but your role within a community, take your time to learn and connect with others. Leadership is about trust and less about authority. People will see you as a leader because of your knowledge, ability to work with others, and the ways you contribute and give back to the community of practice, not because of your job title.
Can you share a professional accomplishment or experience that you’re particularly proud of?:
I feel like I should be proud of many accomplishments in my career and regular life. I was born and raised in Alaska and chose to be here to raise my family and be a member of the community after getting my bachelor’s degrees in Washington state.
At the Alaska Public Health Laboratory, I tested and reported Alaska’s first cases of both COVID-19 and infection with the virus then known as Alaskapox, now called borealpox virus.
Through my role as the laboratory biosafety officer, I was able to serve on the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) biosafety and biosecurity committee. I advised on national policies and guidelines for public health laboratory biosafety, and helped to build a training program for new biosafety officers.
I also started and completed my Master of Public Health while working full-time for the state, then went on to join the board of directors for the Alaska Public Health Association.
In all of that, I still try to keep myself grounded in the joys of living in Alaska: fishing, hunting, exploring, and even racing in the Tour of Anchorage the last couple of years.
Finally, just for fun, what’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?:
In my spare time, which I do actually have, I build custom fly rods, even though I’m a lousy fly fisherman.
I’ve sunk a boat in Prince William Sound, requiring a rescue by the Coast Guard, and I’ve also been involved in a brown bear mauling where I assisted in getting my injured hunting partner out for emergency medical intervention. I am also the Scoutmaster for a Scout troop here in Anchorage, where I hope to impart some of my knowledge to Scouts so they never need a Coast Guard rescue or get attacked by a bear.
If all that isn’t enough, I love food and will talk for hours about it. My favorite is hamburgers, which I think are one of the most versatile types of food that exist in the Western dietary palate. All kinds of meats and non-meats, toppings, flavors, and volumes exist, making hamburgers one of the key culinary tools of my home-cooking résumé. I prefer a higher meat-to-bun ratio and tend to eat double cheeseburgers whenever they are served.