Dr. Hanna Saltzman is a writer, pediatric rheumatologist, and environmental health advocate in Salt Lake City. Her essays, flash nonfiction, and poetry can be found or forthcoming in The Virginia Quarterly Review, River Teeth, The Sun, Terrain.org, JAMA, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and elsewhere. Her essay “Halophilia,” about choosing to become a mother in the climate crisis, was selected for the Notable Essay list in Best American Essays 2024. She is currently writing a collection of essays about the duality of fear and wonder within pediatrics, parenting, and climate change.

She grew up in Iowa City, Iowa and Salt Lake City, Utah, then graduated summa cum laude from Williams College with a degree in anthropology, during which she studied for one year at Oxford University. Prior to medical training, Dr. Saltzman worked in children’s environmental health advocacy and dabbled in health journalism. She attended medical school at the University of Michigan, graduating with the Academic Recognition Award and induction into Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Society, followed by pediatric residency and pediatric rheumatology fellowship at the University of Utah, where as a resident she received the Service to Children advocacy award. In addition to her creative and advocacy writing, Dr. Saltzman has co-authored numerous research papers in peer-reviewed journals.

As a pediatric rheumatologist, Dr. Saltzman’s research explores nature-based health interventions for children with autoimmune diseases. She brings her expertise in children’s environmental health as a member and leader in several national pediatric and pediatric rheumatology organizations. She is also a national leader in narrative medicine within pediatric rheumatology and is currently earning her MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University.

Dr. Saltzman lives in Salt Lake City with her family, where, when she is not at work or her writing desk, you can probably find her playing in the mountains.