/ Emma Boyd

Public Health | Business & Management | Research

I am a Master of Public Health student at New York University (NYU) and hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). By combining public health with business and management, I aim to develop practical, evidence-based solutions that improve health systems and strengthen communities.My interests span community health, healthcare management, leadership, entrepreneurship, and research. Beyond my professional work, I enjoy photography, architecture, writing, and classical piano. I believe thoughtful research, strong leadership, and creative expression can work together to build healthier communities.

A quiet black and white portrait of a female researcher looking thoughtfully out of a large arched window, soft natural light, architectural frame

Explore My Work

Research & Practice

Bridging data and design

I am interested in how data, design, and lived experience can come together to better understand community health. Through public health research and photography, I explore how the places where people live, work, and gather can shape well-being and opportunity.

Documentary photography helps me bring these ideas back to a human scale—turning observations about places and communities into stories that can be seen and understood.

Selected Experience

Academic & Professional Journey

Research & Creative Practice

Current & Ongoing

Exploring the connections between research, community environments, photography, architecture, writing, and human well-being.

A record of collaborative research and spatial design across leading institutions, combining scientific rigor with physical construction.

Public Health

New York University

Master of Public Health student with interests in community health, research, health management, and evidence-based practice.

Business & Management

University of Illinois Chicago

Master of Business Administration with a foundation in management, leadership, strategy, and entrepreneurship.

Get in Touch

Initiate a collaboration

Available for spatial research consultancies, editorial photography commissions, and architectural design partnerships globally.

For me, playing piano is more than learning notes. It gives me a quiet moment to slow down, enjoy the music, and keep challenging myself.

Research suggests that music may support well being in several ways:

- Stress and relaxation: Music listening and music based activities may help people feel calmer and support recovery after stress.

- Mood and emotional expression: Music can offer a way to connect with feelings and may support emotional well being.

- Anxiety: Structured music activities have been linked with reduced anxiety in some settings.

- Physical responses: Some studies have found changes in heart rate, blood pressure, or breathing during music activities, especially in stressful or medical settings.

- Pain: In some clinical settings, music may help people experience less pain.

- Focus and coordination: Playing piano brings together listening, attention, memory, reading music, and finger movements.

- Connection: Making music with other people can create opportunities for shared enjoyment and social connection.

Research findings vary by person and setting. Music can be a meaningful part of well being, but it is not a substitute for health care.

Sources: [World Health Organization review of the arts and health]

(https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289054553%EF%BB%BF) · [Systematic review of music and stress](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31167611/) · [Systematic review of music and health and well being](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10393487/)