Julen Harris, MD, MPH

julen harris

Hometown: White Plains, NY

Undergraduate school attended: Brown University

Hobbies: Cooking, trying out various workout classes (rowing and cycling are fun!), travel, catching up on non-medical reading, playing backgammon

Languages I speak: English

Furthest I've traveled from home: I had an incredible time exploring Thailand in Spring 2019!

Favorite activity in the Twin Cities: I always enjoyed spending time with my friends exploring local craft breweries and great restaurants, especially anywhere that served delicious cheese curds and juicy lucys! I also loved the time I got to spend up north in the Duluth area!

What is your specialty: Pediatrics-Adolescent Medicine

Why I chose my specialty: I have wanted to become a pediatrician ever since I was in kindergarten, so I am truly grateful to have fulfilled that dream. I was always drawn to working with children, and my experiences working as a high school teacher and health educator before medical school solidified my interest specifically in working with adolescents in underserved settings. Working in adolescent primary care presents a special opportunity to capitalize on their assets and positively shape their health trajectories to be healthy and thriving adults. Despite the challenges of caring for sick children, I continue to be inspired by the resilience of children and their families, and re-energized by the nuggets of joy that kids bring in small and large ways. I love the depth and breadth of pediatric medicine, from intensive care to childhood development and preventive medicine, which provide a diversity of scenarios to think critically and utilize various sets of skills. I enjoy connecting and partnering with families, counseling them and serving as an advocate for the unique needs of children.

Why Medicine: It is truly an honor to care for children from infancy through adolescence, and to work alongside my dedicated colleagues, from nurses and medical assistants, to social workers, pharmacists, and countless others. My goal as a physician is to serve not only as a clinician, but as an advocate for my patients' well-being both inside and outside of the clinical setting, and to train future medical practitioners to think beyond their exam rooms in terms of caring comprehensively for their patients. So much of medicine is really about the broader issues of social justice, and I see my work as a physician as being just one small piece of that puzzle.