In 2022, Dr. Mehta founded the STRONG lab. Strong stands for "Students Together Rising Up and Organizing for the Next Generation". The purpose behind the lab is to empower first generation, historically underrepresented students to be the voices of their community. Research topics are chosen by the students, for the community. The STRONG lab has representatives from both public health and medicine. We work together to highlight positive public health stories regarding historically underrepresented communities. Our team has successfully published articles using this new style of flattening the hierarchy in research labs.