Rachel Flynn received a BA and BS from the University of Washington in Medical Anthropology and Public Health, and an MPH from the University of North Carolina. Between degrees she worked in clinical cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA and at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Her doctoral research focuses on the health impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma in contemporary Native American and Alaska Native populations. She has published research on patient-provider communication, health disparities, occupational health, and the historical and residual health impacts of residential boarding schools for Native American youth. She is the Co-President of the First Nations Graduate Circle at the University of North Carolina, and a member of the NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Predoctoral Biosocial Training Program through the Carolina Population Center.