Dr. Laura Marshall, DO, MPH
Bio
I grew up as a U.S. Army brat in a multicultural household, originally from the Evergreen State. I returned in 2023 having terribly missed the mountains, old-growth forests, and that salty fresh air after more than a decade away for graduate and medical training. I am passionate about everything I do and speak up about, most likely to a fault, though I would say I am an expert at nothing except for parallel parking. I love to share my plethora of interests in the great outdoors (always looking to expand my wilderness and outdoor skills), the ocean and seas, travel, food (foraging while hiking is a plus), cooking, languages, music, dancing, photography, gardening, woodworking and other crafts, and curling up to a good book with my spouse and two young spunky children. By the way, if you need an extra doc on your search and rescue team, just let me know!
In terms of medicine, in a nutshell, my goal as a physician is to help you live your spirit and in good health; I aspire to create an environment of care where I can be wholly present with the patient in front of me, to be quality-driven in my medical guidance for you rather than time-crunched. When the situation calls for deft, rapid action I'm your cool cucumber, however, on my regular ol' outpatient clinic days lets be real; I don't want to be fast, I want to be thorough and to be there for you when the tough conversations must be had, to protect a safe space for reflection when needed.
To emphasize where I am coming from, a long time ago I shadowed an incredibly skilled and resourceful surgeon in a small northern Tanzanian town; the insight he shared while musing as he loved doing with students about life and medicine struck and inspired a significant part of my outlook forever:
Mountains May Never Meet, But People Can
He was a philosophical guy; he wasn't just talking about traveling the world to witness different places and cultures. He was introspecting about opening your heart to grow yourself, the world, and about becoming more. This was about transcending what seems impossible, finding a way, striving to make positive changes together as people, learn from each other's perspectives with a listening ear, with humility and kindness, as community, and across communities. And you never know where you'll be.
This was how my father was too, in life and in his practice of medicine. I wish that brain cancer had not taken him from us and that he could see me taking this step to embrace and build this medical practice. I will do all of my best to pay tribute to these concepts I have shared with you, to commemorate the people in my life such as my family, friends, mentors, teachers, neighbors, communities, and patients who are many more and unnamed here, having helped me keep growing to be the best I can be, and to honor the age-old art of medicine.
Sincerely,
Dr. Laura Marshall, DO
Education
Specialized Training
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Osteopathic Manual Therapy
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NRCME Certified Medical Examiner
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Medical Examiner of Divers
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Helping Babies Breathe Master Trainer Certification
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University of Minnesota Clinical Tropical Medicine & Global Health Curriculum, in progress, with intent to sit for ASTMH CTropMed exam
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Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, candidate
Board Certification
Family Medicine - American Board of Family Medicine
Residency Training
Authority Health Family Medicine Residency Program
-Detroit, Michigan
Concurrent University of Michigan Certificate in Population Health and Health Equity
Masters Education
Master of Public Health -Global Health Track, with Honors
Touro University California - College of Education & Health Sciences, Vallejo, California
Pre-Medical Training
University of Washington, Seattle
- Bachelor of Science in Physiology
- Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern Languages & Civilization
Medical School
Touro University California - College of Osteopathic
Medicine
-Vallejo, California
Education, Training, and Work Storyline
During my undergraduate studies at the University of Washington I also enjoyed working as a K-12 teaching assistant for students across the country, volunteering at the UW greenhouse and the Hepatitis Education Project's Youth Outreach and Washington State Prison & Jail programs, and conducting biophysical research in the department of bioengineering.
Post-undergraduate I continued to work for a K-12 digital learning company in the busy development of science curriculum and was fortunate to participate in a Global Physician Corps Internship with medical students in Shirati, Tanzania, co-leading a community schistosomiasis prevention and treatment project. This global health experience shifted my next educational track radically.
My Masters in Public Health in California was on the global health track with a Field Study Internship in Cambodia under the NGO RACHA on maternal & child health field and the Hygiene for All campaign. Some other commitments included immunogenetics research on rheumatoid arthritis and serving as a Health Educator for the Global Center for Success, dedicated to fostering growth and self-sufficiency of community members through skills counseling, health and wellness education, and housing security.
I attended medical school at Touro University California in the Bay Area with clinical rotations in the Santa Maria central coast region and later throughout the country.
Family medicine residency training in Detroit, Michigan was concurrent with earning a Certificate in Population Health and Health Equity through the University of Michigan. I also participated in a Global Health Residency Rotation in Mutomo, Kenya, involving rotating hospital services, community outreach projects, and serving as a co-lead for two separate project years on the Kitui South County wide Helping Babies Breathe 2nd Edition Provider Training Project [AAP Health Initiatives, Stories from the Field: Building capacity for Helping Babies Breathe 2nd Edition in Kitui County Kenya]. Residency was completed during the tumultuous and heartbreaking time of the Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak; those days are a somber remembrance that will be with me for the rest of my life.
Along with upkeep of my board-certification in Family Medicine since residency training, I have gained experience working in occupational medicine and urgent care in Detroit, Michigan, in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, and in the South Puget Sound region of Washington State.
I am a Wilderness Medical Society Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine candidate with intention to sit for the ASTMH CTropMed exam upon completion of the University of Minnesota Clinical Tropical Medicine & Global Health Curriculum.
Professional Interests:
Tropical and travel medicine, population health and equity, all-gender health, women's health, gender-based trauma, human rights, immigrant and refugee health, humanitarian & disaster relief, community health, global health, wilderness medicine, expedition medicine
Affiliations & Memberships:
Direct Primary Care Alliance
Global Rights for Women
Wilderness Medical Society (WMS)
Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers