Hawking Ren, MS, is a first-year Health Service Research, Policy & Administration Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Hawking’s research interests center on social determinants of health and disparities in the vulnerable population. He is especially interested in investigating how Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia impact patients and their family’s socioeconomic status by race/ethnicity. Hawking is working on a financial hardship project in different ethnic groups by examining the association between the domains of financial hardship and cognitive impairment. He is also working on a literature review of racial discrimination in nursing homes. Hawking’s long-term goal is to become an independent researcher to inform policymakers about improving the financial well-being and health outcomes of vulnerable populations. Hawking received his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. Prior to his Ph.D. program, he was a Research Assistant in the Dr. Reginald Tucker-Seeley Research Lab.