Hawking is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Health Policy Management Division. Hawking’s research interests center on social determinants of health and disparities in the historically disadvantaged population under a multinational context. He is especially interested in investigating how Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia impact patients and their family’s socioeconomic status. Hawking joined the Families & Long-Term Care team (F<C) in 2021, where he works on the Residential Care Transition Module studies and African Immigrant Memory Loss Project. He is also affiliated with Equity and Quality in Long-Term Services and Supports (EQuaLS) Lab. Hawking currently serves on the 2021-2022 AcademyHealth Disparity Interest Group advisory committee as a student member. He is also a student member of the Minnesota Population Health Center and Aging Studies Interdisciplinary Group. Hawking’s long-term goal is to become an independent researcher to inform policymakers about improving the financial well-being and health outcomes for vulnerable populations.