Summer Research Fellowship - Current and Past Fellows

Margot Bolanos-Gamez The College 2023, Enviornmental Science & Global studies
Maria Reyes-Maldonado The College 2023, Biology
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Alan Zarychta, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Dennis Garcia

Margot Bolanos-Gamez is a third-year undergraduate majoring in Environmental Science and Global Studies. Maria Reyes Maldonado is a third-year undergraduate studying Biology concentrating on Global Health. This past summer, they assessed the effects of health sector decentralization reform and investigated the institutional conditions that shape the performance of local health systems in Intibucá, Honduras. Through interviews with health sector policymakers, bureaucrats, and medical staff, they investigated the mechanisms linking health sector reform to staff autonomy and community health outcomes in several rural Honduran municipalities. In addition, they helped train staff members to go to nearby municipalities and conduct surveys regarding the sustainability of the water system before their departure from Honduras.

 

Ashfaq Reza Arian The College 2024, Biology and Public Policy
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Habib Ahsan
Site Mentor: Dr. Emdadul Haque

Ashfaq Arian is a second-year undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences and Public Policy at the University of Chicago. During his stay in Bangladesh, Arian investigated the health effects of different concentrations of household air pollutants (HAP) on fetal growth and early childhood outcomes. Working alongside his mentors, Dr. Habibul Ahsan and Dr. Emdadul Haque, he plans to develop his findings into a study to address the large-scale child stunting that occurs in the South Asian region. In his free time, he performed community service activities at health camps, shadowed physicians across various specialties, and explored the countryside of the surrounding villages. Through SRF, he earned the opportunity to travel to a developing country to conduct global health research and meaningful work. In the case of Arian, it meant the opportunity to visit his home country after 10 years in an effort to address the global health disparities that lie among disadvantaged communities. 

 

Carmen Vanvolkenburgh The College 2023, Biological sciences & Romance languages
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP, Dr. Dezheng Huo, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Paul Ndom

Carmen Vanvolkenburgh is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biological sciences and Romance languages. She lived in the Yaoundé General Hospital working as part of the GenCaF (Genetic Counseling, Risk Assessment and Testing in Cancer and Cancer At-Risk Families in Africa) team, and spent time shadowing physicians in the Oncology Unit. She has been involved in the process of shipping saliva samples from recruited participants, from Cameroon to the United States, through helping to set up the Color Genomics Platform for the team. She helped with data entry and translating documents from English into French. In addition, she collaborated with the GenCaF team based in Ibadan, Nigeria and another summer fellow student Kenzi Bustamante on another publication. She was also involved in the beginning steps for the potential opening of a genetics laboratory in Cameroon, collaborating with team members in Chicago and in Yaoundé.

 

Isabelle Baird The College 2023,  Biology
Juliette Thibodeau The College 2022, Biology
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod, MD
Site Mentor: Dr. Jorge Enrique Gomez Marin MD, PhD, Dr. Mariangela Soberon

Isabelle Baird is a third-year undergraduate studying Biology at University of Chicago. Juliette Thibodeau recently graduated from University of Chicago. They worked in Armenia, Colombia and Panama City, Panama this summer on a study aiming to eliminate toxoplasma infection in Panama and Colombia. They investigated the concordance of one point-of-care (POC) test that detects IgG and IgM antibodies separately against a reference test using stored sera. They also investigated the acceptability and application of POC tests in routine prenatal care appointments in several clinics throughout Armenia. They analyzed the seropositivity of toxoplasmosis based on demographic factors, based on previous collected survey responses from both healthcare personnel and pregnant participants. In addition, they performed SWOT analysis of laws, medical protocols and recent data in Panama to evaluate the current state of toxoplasmosis care and identify recommendations to improve care, which they presented to doctors and hospital staff at Punta Pacifica Hospital.

 

Jacob Zhang The College 2023, Psychology and Economics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Alex Eduful

Jacob Zhang is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Chicago majoring in Psychology and Economics. This summer, he stayed in Ghana for 10 weeks to research for Family Support Lifeline (FASUL), a local NGO. The goal of the project is to assess the impact of Covid-19 on secondary education and teenage pregnancy in rural and underserved communities in Ghana. He participated in the development of a holistic questionnaire that assesses areas such as digital divide, food insecurity, teenage pregnancy and subjective-wellbeing. Further research will involve data analysis of collected survey responses from a total of 725 students from six local Ghanaian schools. Based on the analysis results, Jacob will assist the FASUL team develop guidelines for upcoming in-depth interviews with students, teachers, education officers, health practitioners, opinion leaders, and parents.

 

Yu (Zoey) Zhou Harris School of Public Policy, 2023
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Steffen Sammet
Site Mentor: Dr. Godwin Ogbole, Dr. Benjamin Aribisala

Yu (Zoey) Zhou is a first-year graduate student at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She spent 10 weeks in Ibadan, Nigeria working on a project aiming to build and expand medical imaging post-processing capabilities for a better diagnosis of neurological diseases at the University College Hospital in Ibadan. Under the supervision of a radiologist on site, she supported medical imaging data post-processing and was introduced to some advanced medical imaging methods and techniques. She also collaborated with team in UCL to simulate low field MRI images from Human connectome Project (HCP), and trained deep learning models to do Image Quality Transfer (IQT).

 

Chidera Onwuka The College 2023, Biology, Statistics (minor)
Yijia Sun Harris School of Public Policy, 2023
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Mojisola Oluwasanu, B.Sc., MPH, Ph.D

Chidera Onwuka is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biology and minoring in Statistics. Yijia Sun is a first-year graduate student at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. They spent 10 weeks in Ibadan, Nigeria working on a qualitative study about improving oncology research, training, and practice in Nigeria. They used NVivo to analyze interview transcripts from doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from the 6 geopolitical regions of Nigeria on the challenges they face. They did literature research on cancer burden and challenges, and drafted introduction, results, and discussion sections of the manuscript. They were also involved in data collection process of another study on the nutritional intake of breast and cervical cancer patients.

 

Lingyue Yu The College 2023, Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Mathematics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Steffen Sammet
Site Mentor: Dr. Godwin Ogbole, Dr. Benjamin Aribisala

Lingyue Yu is a third-year undergraduate student studying Biochemistry and Mathematics at University of Chicago. He spent 10 weeks in Ibadan, Nigeria working on the project to address the lack of information on the types of dementia through hippocampal volume in Nigeria, the accuracy of techniques for diagnosing dementia in patients, and the treatment plans undertaken by doctors. He used FSL to segment the hippocampal region from other cortical and sub-cortical as well as bone structures. He constructed 3D hippocampal region using 2D MRI data and performed it on the local Nigerian MRI patient data. In addition, he followed doctors in the clinics and wards to look at imaging tools we are using to diagnose patients with different neurological diseases including brain tumor, dementia, epilepsy.

 

Nicole Yao The College 2023, Biology and Economics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Atara Ntekim

Nicole Yao is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biology and Economics at University of Chicago. She spent 10 weeks in Ibadan, Nigeria working on a focus group study of unmet needs of adolescents and young adults with breast cancer in Nigeria. She, together with a clinical research associate, recruited and interviewed patients under supervision of Dr. Atara Ntekim at University College Hospital and Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She transcribed the interviews and analyzed the transcipts using NVivo, which will be used for future manuscript. She also helped develop a questionnaire for another project that assesses the resources available to providers in Nigeria that focus on young breast cancer patients. 

 

Kenzi Bustamante The College 2024, Biology
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Prisca Adejumo

Kenzi Bustamante is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in at University of Chicago. She spent her summer working on several projects in Ibadan, Nigeria. Uner the supervision of Professor Prisca Adejumo, she wrote manuscript on the effectiveness of Health Profession Graduate Students’ Training by evaluating through pre and post-test results taken by the trainees. She also worked on a project investigating the pattern of Germline Mutation among Inherited-related Cancer Patients and Relatives in Cameroon and Nigeria. She went to the oncology clinic where patients were recruited for genetic testing and helped sign them up. She worked with Carmen, a SRF student fellow in Cameroon, on a literature search for the manuscript. In addition, she shadowed with Dr. Awolude at his clinic to see the different facilities (HIV clinic, labor and delivery facility) around University College Hospital.

 

Chibueze Agwu Pritzker School of Medicine, 2025
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Steffen Sammet
Site Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Aribisala and Dr. Godwin Ogbole

Chibueze Agwu is a first-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He spent his summer in Ibadan, Nigeria, aiming to remedy the issue of drawing conclusions regarding the model of care patients with advanced breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa are receiving. He worked on the project A Descriptive Study of Brain and Spine Metastases in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients within a Tertiary Nigerian Hospital to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with brain or spinal metastasis from advanced breast cancer and to identify associations between brain or spinal metastasis and breast cancer outcomes. He spent time with Radiation Oncology residents in order to better understand the patient population the research would involve and how breast cancer manifested in the population. He then reviewed patient medical records in order to build a clinical database for analysis. 

 

Thembi Ndebele Department of Public Health sciences, MPH 2023
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy
Site Mentor: Dr. Andrews Akwasi Agbleke

Thembi is a first-year MPH student at University of Chicago Department of Public Health sciences. She spent majority of her time working with Fibroid Foundation Africa during the stay in Ghana. She provided health education to community member in Accra with the foundation, which involved sitting and speaking with women in the communities and during their market days. She and her site mentor gave a 90-minute talk to Ghana University School of Public Health providing insight on the work being done by Fibroid Foundation Africa and the gaps found within intervention for Fibroid management. She also helped with connecting and designing a program partnership between Fibroid Foundation Africa and the University of Ghana. She also conducted video interviews with women who were impacted with fibroids and their experiences alongside a traditional doctor to get an understanding of the burden these women face and alternative treatments that are employed for women who may seek other avenues of care. In addition, she worked with Narvella, a SRF student fellow in Ghana, on manuscript and a site shadow of Sena Institute of Technology.

 

Narvella Sefah The College 2024, Global Studies (Pre-Med track)
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy
Site Mentor: Dr. Andrews Akwasi Agbleke

Narvella is a second-year college student at University of Chicago, majoring in Global Studies. She spent her summer in Ghana working with members of Sena Institute of Technology on ongoing projects to learn about different aspects of microscopy and to better understand how to use the laboratory equipment. She also had the opportunity to go to local hospitals in the Volta Region to observe surgeries. In addition, she worked with Thembi, a SRF student fellow in Ghana, on a site shadow of Sena Institute of Technology and manuscript writing. She spent most of the time working on a fully comprehensive literature review of uterine fibroids. The paper focused on the causes, impacts, treatments of uterine fibroids in general and in the continent of Africa, aiming to understand the causes of elevated fibroid levels in Black women, and see if the levels were the same on the continent. The paper was then edited and published in Frontiers in Pharmacology.

 

Neeharika Venuturupalli The College 2024, Comparative Human Development and Data Science
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Aniruddha Hazra
Site Mentor: NGO: Sangath; Dr. Harikeerthan Raghuram

Neeharika is a third-year undergraduate student studying Comparative Human Development and Data Science. She is passionate about global mental health, cares about health disparities, writes for PULSE, on the board of RSO for Asian mental health. She spent her summer at Sangath working on several projects under the Initiative for Health Equity and Research (iHEAR). The main project is VaccinEquity, which aims to understand the barriers to vaccine access and quality of healthcare for people in the transgender and disability communities in India. She interviewed people in the communities, transcribed and coded interviews (in both English and Telugu), and presented these findings to various stakeholders throughout the research process. She helped in recruitment, making videos (in both English and Hindi) to explain the process, and conducted sessions for people in the communities to share their experiences. In addition, she helped in two other projects focusing on making medical curriculum more trans-affirmative and making campuses more queer-friendly.

 

Weiting Cao Department of Public Health Sciences, 2023
University of Chicago Mentor and Site Mentor: Dr. Zhiying Ma, PhD

Weiting Cao is a first year graduate student enrolling in MPH program at Department of Public Health Sciences. She spent her summer working with a disabled persons' organization in China ("One Plus One") that provides a peer support program to people with acquired blindness. She drafted an assessment tool for the actual needs of the blind in China by reviewing the literature and sorting through the currently available assessment tools related to the needs and quality of life of people with visual impairment. She collected suggestions and comments on the questionnaire through 2-3 focus groups and interviews with visually impaired people from "1+1 China" to revise the questionnaire. In addition, she completed the questionnaire's reliability and validity analysis, distributed the questionnaire, and did further data analysis.

 

Avery Rosado The College 2023, Biology and Public Policy
Parth Agrawal The College 2023, Biochemistry, Economics and Chemistry
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Dr. Ganiyu Arinola

Avery is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Biology and Public Policy at University of Chicago. Parth is a third-year undergraduate student studying Biochemistry, Economics and Chemistry. During their time as CGH fellows, they worked in the University College Hospital (UCH) at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. They joined the ongoing Household Air Pollution and Neurocognitive Development (HAPCOG) study being conducted between UChicago and UCH and worked under the supervision of Professor O.G. Arinola in the UCH Department of Immunology. The prevalence of kerosene and wood-burning as cooking energy sources in Nigeria and other low- and middle-income countries results in high levels of household air pollution (HAP). Their study aims to report a quantitative, multifaceted analysis of the relationship between HAP and heavy metal content of blood and breast milk. They aim to effectively leverage HAP data collected by practical air microsensors and apply quality control/assurance to represent risk of toxic exposure to heavy metals given cooking fuels-sourced HAP. This work will ultimately aid in devising policy to reduce that risk.

Lauren Beard, Ph.D. Candidate, Crown School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, Sociology

University of Chicago Mentor: Prof Leyla Ismayilova

Lauren Beard is a PhD student in the Sociology Department, with research interests in using mixed methods to conduct research on mental health, youth, and young adults. Lauren is currently working with Prof. Leyla Ismayilova at the Crown School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice to study evidence-based interventions focused on youth deinstitutionalization processes. Their working paper specifically addresses culturally responsive interventions available for de-institutionalizing youth in former Soviet Union countries (the region with the highest rates of institutionalization). The overarching study leverages a Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) in understanding how a multi-pronged approach can support families during reunification via group-based family strengthening interventions; screening and linkage to mental health services; and asset-based economic empowerment programs.

 

Chinasa U. Imo, MDSS, MAIDP - Harris School of Public Policy 2021

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP

Site Mentor: Arc. Dr. Alexander K Eduful

Chinasa U Imo recently graduated from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy with a Master of Art in International Development Policy, majoring in Global Health Policy. She is also a Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice - Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy Fellow. This Summer, Chinasa spent 10-weeks, carry out a 6-year communities project impact assessment from 2014 to 2020 and a communities Health needs assessment in the Ashanti and Central Regions in Ghana, in West Africa. She intends to use this experience to amplify her capacity to adopt a problem-driven solution approach to designing effective community health interventions programs in low-resourced and volatile settings, using an evidence-based approach to strengthening health policies and programs to improve quality of care for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent reproductive health rights, and population health.

 

Kaitlyn Wallace - The College 2022, Biological Sciences and Psychology

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade/ Dr. Susan Duncan

Kaitlyn Wallace is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences and Psychology and minoring in Health and Society. For the past two years, Kaitlyn has worked under Dr. Kate Keenan with the Nutrition and Pregnancy Study (NAPS), in hopes of contributing to efforts addressing disparities in birth outcomes in Chicago. This summer, Kaitlyn worked under the mentorship of Dr. Sola Olopade and Dr. Susan Duncan to develop a study protocol for an upcoming extension of the Consortium on Asthma among African-ancestry Populations in America (CAAPA) project in Chicago, the project aims to address disparities in gene discovery in asthma by exploring gene-environment interactions and the effects of air pollution on epigenetic mechanisms. In the future, Kaitlyn hopes to continue working in global health and pursue a career in women’s health research.

 

Michelle Liu - The College 2022, Neuroscience

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Zhiying Ma, PhD

Michelle is a fourth-year undergraduate studying Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. This summer, she researched the impact of COVID-19 public health measures and vaccination policies on people with disabilities. In addition to comparing countries around the globe in a Vaccination Prioritization Table, she also conducted qualitative coding analysis on social media posts on Twitter concerning vaccinations and disability. She discovered that the themes of health inequities concerning vaccination access, vaccine priority, and discrimination against disabled populations were forefront issues that should be continued to be pursued in future disabilities research.

 

Maha Khan - The College 2022, Economics

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. David Hampton, MD

Maha Khan is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Economics with a minor in Biology. Maha has previous experience working as a cardiovascular disease research assistant on campus and as a health policy research intern at Women in Global Health. This summer Maha focused on further developing her analytical skills in R by contributing to an ongoing project on compassion fatigue in respiratory therapists working in the COVID-19 unit. This project is a subproject from a larger study looking at the prevalence of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress in healthcare workers at the University of Chicago Emergency Department. This study will be expanded in the next year to the Emergency Department at the University of Cape Town Medical Center which is also a busy urban trauma center. Maha hopes these projects will help improve the quality of care. After graduation, Maha hopes to attend a global health-focused medical school and use her interdisciplinary background to increase access to healthcare as a physician.

 

Laura Catalina Micán Rivera - Harris School of Public Policy, MPP 2021 - Crown Family School, MSW 2023

University of Chicago Mentor: Prof. Alan Zarychta

Catalina Micán just graduated from the Harris School of Public policy and is a graduate student at the Crown Family School of social work, social policy, and administration. Previously she worked in Colombia in social policy for the public and private sectors, and in the future, she wants to contribute to the strengthening of social security nets in Latin America. This summer Catalina worked along with professor Zarychta and Noah Rizk on the effects of decentralization in Honduras on healthcare, staffing, and resources. Their objective was to understand how abundance or scarcity of resources relates to the reform and to assess the expectation that resources differences might explain some of the performance among administration types at the decentralized level. This research found that there are slight but not large increases in staffing under decentralization compared with centrally administrated health centers. This opened the opportunity to continue the study to identify what might be driving the decentralized NGO-led centers to outperform other administration systems in Honduras. 

 

Meagan Johnson - The College 2022, Psychology

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Seeba Anam, MD

Meagan Johnson is a rising fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago, pursuing a degree in Psychology. For her CGH Summer Research Fellowship project, Meagan worked to assess the availability of formal education and interest regarding cultural psychiatry and global mental health in graduate-level mental health training programs. Joining an ongoing project, Meagan was tasked to update the initial iteration of the study (a 10–20-minute IRB-exempt survey using RedCap). Hoping to make a bigger mark on the summer project, Meagan designed and distributed a feedback survey to test the ease and accessibility of the initial survey. In the future, Meagan hopes to create a paradigm shift in global mental health and stigma. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. degree in Clinical Psychology after graduation. 

 

Andrew Schildcrout - The college 2022, History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Amittha Wickrema, Ph.D.

Andrew Schildcrout is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine with a concentration in medical ethics. Collaborating with a multi-institutional team in East Africa, led by Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Andrew worked with the Center for Global Health to establish a hematopoietic stem cell center in Tanzania. Andrew worked with doctors and researchers across Africa, the U.S., and Europe to develop documents to guide the construction and operation of the clinical and laboratory spaces necessary for a stem cell transplant clinic. Currently, these documents are also being used to begin a similar project in Uganda. After graduation, Andrew plans to attend medical school and pursue additional ethics studies.

 

Arnaaz Khwaja - The college 2022, Anthropology

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP

Arnaaz Khwaja is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Anthropology. During her second year in the Center for Global Health Summer Fellowship, she continued her work in Dr. Funmi Olopade’s Cancer Risk Clinic, working with genetic counseling patients. Arnaaz also collected patient data to use in developing an improved breast cancer risk stratification model under Dr. Anna Woodard’s MAICARA project. Her most meaningful experience of Summer 2021 was tabling at the Black Women’s Expo in Chicago to empower more Black Women to join the WISDOM study, which grants participants the opportunity to personalize their breast cancer screening plans. Arnaaz is looking forward to continuing this work in her upcoming school year.

 

Dillan Prasad - The College 2022, Neuroscience, m. Astrophysics, m. Chemistry

University of Chicago Mentor: Dezheng Huo, PhD

Dillan Prasad is a fourth-year undergraduate pursuing a surgical career focused on neurological cancer research and the globalization of clinical neurosciences.  During Summer 2021 he worked with the Huo group to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — a multidimensional public health crisis— on South Side Chicago breast cancer patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL).  Via survey design, distribution, and ChiMEC big data analysis, correlations were drawn between HRQOL outcomes and potential predictor variables for patients with an eye towards better longitudinal cancer care. Dillan is looking forward to continuing this project, along with other Chicago-focused public health research, throughout the coming years as an undergraduate, medical student, and beyond.

 

Alexis Hatch| The College (year?), History

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD, MPH

Alexis Hatch is a rising second-year undergraduate studying History. This summer, Alexis worked with the S. Olopade research group of the Ibadan, Nigeria cohort of a national project investigating asthma genetics in African-descended populations. Her project examined the relationship between asthmatic status, air pollution exposure, and allergic responses in 26 children. This consisted of extensive background research, processing data collected in the field, and running comprehensive univariate and multivariate statistical models. After graduation, Alexis hopes to pursue an MD. 

 

Carmen Vanvolkenburgh -The College 2023

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD

Carmen Vanvolkenburgh is a third-year undergraduate studying Biological Sciences and Romance Languages/Literatures.  This summer, she worked with Dr. Sola Olopade and the research team on CAAPA (Consortium on Asthma among African-ancestry Populations in the Americas), an extensive project which focuses on discovering genes that cause risk of asthma among individuals of African ancestry.  Carmen worked on a study protocol outlining the newest branch of the project, which focuses on gene-environment interaction by studying subjects in Chicago.  To do this, Carmen spent several weeks of the summer reading previously published papers on the impact of household and ambient air pollution.  She will continue her work on the team this fall where she hopes to participate in fieldwork and data collection by installing air quality monitoring devices into the homes of individuals involved in the study.  In the future, she hopes to continue contributing to the field of global health as a physician!  Her work on the CAAPA project has spurred her motivation in scientific research and the healthcare field.

 

Parth Agrawal

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. David Hampton, MD

 

Noah Rizk - The College 2024, Neuroscience and Psychology

University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Alan Zarychta, PhD

Noah Rizk is a second-year undergraduate studying Neuroscience and Psychology. Latin American governments have decentralized their health systems as part of an effort to improve public health services for rural communities. This summer, Noah spent 10 weeks analyzing staffing, perceptions of scarcity, fees, and charging, and facility conditions in the context of the decentralization reform in Honduras. Using regression analysis in R and original survey data for more than 300 health centers across a matched sample of decentralized and centrally administered municipalities, Noah examined the relationship between decentralization and healthcare resources at the facility level. In the future, Noah hopes to continue working to improve global health systems and reduce global health disparities!

 

Maymuna Elmi

 

Stephanie Zhang - The College 2022 | History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine; Statistics

Mentor: Dr. Brandon Pierce, MS, PhD

Stephanie Zhang is a fourth-year undergraduate who intends to continue working in global health as an aspiring physician-researcher. With her existing lab, the CGH SRF gave her the means to initiate a cancer disparities research project to map out the cancer burden among the counties that UChicago’s Comprehensive Cancer Center serves. This research aims to help the hospital set priorities in its cancer care. To achieve this goal, she not only collaborated with faculty from the Cancer Prevention and Control and Community Outreach and Engagement programs but also supervised two research trainees. Using registry data, she was able to identify the leading cancer types where residents in UChicago Medicine’s catchment area experience significantly higher incidence rates compared to the U.S. as a whole. She is excited to continue this research to further inform the hospital’s cancer care and further build her skill set as a research mentor.

 

Olivia Vizzini

 

Sydney Cush

 

 

 

 

Christina Stiles Pritzker School of Medicine, 2022
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Atara Ntekim, MBBCh, MRes, FWACS, FMCR

Christina Stiles is a second-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. This summer, Christina spent nine weeks in Lagos, Ife and Ibadan, Nigeria evaluating the capacity to manage oncologic emergencies in the Emergency Room. This consisted of interviewing providers at all three sites to gain their insight into the challenges and barriers to high-quality care delivery to oncology patients. In the future, Christina hopes to continue working in global health to strengthen emergency medicine systems as a pediatrician!

Deirdre Edward The College 2020, Mathematics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Steffen Sammet, MD, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Godwin Ogbole, MBB, MS MRP, FMCR, FWACS

Deirdre Edward is a fourth-year undergraduate studying Mathematics, and she intends to pursue a doctorate in Computational and Applied Mathematics. She has worked with big data in the past for a variety of purposes and wanted to utilize the knowledge gained during these experiences to study the applications of machine learning in stroke diagnosis. Working at University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, Deirdre sought to use techniques in machine learning to identify and rank potential risk factors for stroke in Sub-Saharan Africans. Using this information, she attempted to characterize the presence of stroke by developing a machine learning algorithm that could predict the likelihood that a given patient would experience a stroke. Given the prevalence and high fatality rate of stroke amongst Sub-Saharan Africans, she thought it was important to develop an algorithm that could be used to guide physicians without the need for time-consuming and costly imaging technology, which is often inaccessible. Her research was conducted using data from the Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) project. 

Angel Aliseda Alonso Harris School of Public Policy 2020, MPP
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Alan Zarychta, PhD

Angel Aliseda Alonso is a first-year Master of Public Policy Student at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. This summer, Angel spent nine weeks conducting the final stage of the impact evaluation of the decentralization reform in the health system in Honduras. His main task was to perform a series of in-depth interviews with health system managers from national, regional and local levels, health workers and patients. Moreover, he traveled across the country to develop a series of case studies contrasting municipalities where the reform improved health outcomes to where it did not. In the future, Angel seeks to design and implement policies oriented to improve health systems in developing countries. 

Jose Sanchez, The College 2021, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod, MD
Site Mentors: Dr. Jorge Gomez Marin, MD, PhD, MSc, and Dr. Oswaldo Reyes MD

Jose Sanchez is a 3rd-year undergraduate studying the Biological Sciences in hopes of becoming a physician-investigator. He has had previous experience researching Toxoplasmosis and its role in Alzheimer's disease in murine models and decided to take part in a comparative analysis of Toxoplasmosis risk factors in two Latin American countries with an increased focus on the global health aspect of the disease. Based in Armenia, Colombia and Panama City, Panama, Jose sought to discover potential risk factors for Toxoplasmosis in these two countries, which have the highest rates of Toxoplasmosis seropositivity in the world. Over his stay, Jose analyzed clinical data of patients with toxoplasmosis and endeavored to find geospatial relationships among risk factors in each country as well as noting key differences. He will then be able to compile a comprehensive analysis which explains the variances and similarities in the management of the disease in each country.

Daniel Hartman The College 2020, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Julie Makani, MD, PhD, FRCP

Daniel Hartman is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago. He studies the biological sciences, as well as gender and sexuality, and hopes to become an infectious disease doctor. This past summer, Daniel spent 9 weeks in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania at the Sickle Cell Centre affiliated with the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. There, he assisted researchers in their investigation of the effects of malaria chemoprophylaxis in sickle cell populations. Additionally, he worked with the center to determine critical thresholds of micronutrient deficiencies in individuals with sickle cell disease. In the future, Daniel hopes to continue to investigate the interactions between infectious and chronic diseases.

Catalina "Cat" Raggi The College 2020, Statistics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod, MD
Site Mentors: Dr. Jorge Gomez-Marin MD, PhD, MSc and Dr. Osvaldo Reyes, MD

Cat Raggi is an upcoming fourth-year statistics major hoping to go into epidemiology and biostatistics in the future. Cat and her co-fellow Jose helped to analyze risk factors for Toxoplasmosis in Armenia, Colombia, one of the regions with the highest Toxoplasmosis rates in the country. Based on surveys already done by the University of Quindío, they looked for significant risk factors and conducted a spatial analysis based on home addresses to search for any areas with particularly high seroprevalence rates. In addition, they conducted their own surveys in local hospitals to test pregnant women's knowledge of Toxoplasmosis, which included later giving them a pamphlet with information about the parasite, its effects, and how to avoid it. Another aspect of this project is to look through cases of Toxoplasmosis seen by the university in the past 10 years and look for any significant changes in the spatial distribution over time. Lastly, the group will be going to Panama to look at the way water is treated and how Toxoplasmosis is dealt with in various locations in the country compared to what they saw in Armenia.

 

Hannah Kupferschmid, The College 2020, Global Studies
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Jay Pinto
Site Mentor: Dr. Suma Nair

Hannah Kupferschmid is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Statistics. She has spent the past year working as a research confederate at UChicago Hospital’s Clinical Addiction Research Laboratory, where she assisted in e-cigarette research studies and stop smoking programs. This summer, Hannah spent 10 weeks at Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India studying the effects of household air pollution (HAP) from cooking on the olfactory function of local people. She split her time between interviewing residents of nearby rural communities about their cooking habits, inputting air pollution monitors into homes, and conducting statistical analysis on the collected data using SPSS. In the future, Hannah hopes to continue pursuing her interests in biostatistics and global health by earning a Master’s in Public Health.

Kaothar Oladoja The College 2021, Biological Sciences and Global Studies
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Prof. Prisca Adejumo, PhD

Kaothar Oladoja is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Global Studies and Biological Sciences. Kaothar has worked as a research assistant in the Olopade lab at the University of Chicago for the past year. Her summer research was conducted at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. Kaothar worked under the mentorship of Professor Prisca Adejumo at the University of Ibadan, and her University of Chicago mentor, Dr. Olopade, to study knowledge and perceptions of breast cancer among female breast cancer patients at the University College Hospital. Kaothar collected data on perception and knowledge of diagnosis. She hopes these results will serve as a guide to developing educational material to educate patients about their illness and to dispel misconceptions and myths surrounding breast cancer. After graduation, Kaothar plans to pursue study of global health and attend medical school.

Swathi Balaji, The College 2020, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Louis Philipson, MD, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Viswanathan Mohan, MD, PhD, DSc

Swathi Balaji is a fourth-year undergraduate studying the Biological Sciences in hopes of becoming a physician leader and advocate. For the past three years, Swathi has worked under the mentorship of Dr. Louis Philipson, Director of the Kovler Diabetes Center, and has contributed to monogenic diabetes research. After learning that minority populations are underrepresented in the US National Monogenic Diabetes Registry, Swathi aspired to learn about diabetes in global contexts. In the summer of 2019, Swathi conducted diabetes research in Chennai, India under the joint mentorship of Dr. Louis Phillipson and Dr. Viswanathan Mohan, Chairman & Chief Diabetologist of Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre and Director of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF). At the MDRF, Swathi performed Sanger sequencing on several patient samples to identify variants of HNF1A and HNF4A MODY and understand their clinical significance in South Asian populations. In addition, she comparatively analyzed the economics of diabetic drugs between India and the United States to better understand which factors affect the availability and affordability of drugs. Swathi also joined the Global Health Research Unit to contribute to an NIHR study monitoring diabetes and hypertension in South Asia. She conversed with and interviewed patients in Tamil, measured blood pressure, BMI, and other metrics, registered patients into the database, and observed EKG, funduscopy, and blood collection and storage procedures. Her interactions on the field have increased her passion for global health and community-based work in resource-poor settings.

Yue Wang Harris School of Public Policy Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentors: Prof. Oladimeji Oladepo, B.Sc., MPH, Ph.D., FRSPH, and Dr. Mojisola Oluwasanu, B.Sc., MPH, Ph.D

Yue Wang is a first-year graduate at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She spent the summer conducting research in community health development in Nigeria based in Ibadan, Oyo State. Working with the public health faculty from the University College Hospital at the University of Ibadan, Yue joined a baseline study that assesses the feasibility of implementing integrated HIV and breast cancer screening programs among female artisans in Ibadan. The findings would serve as evidence for developing community-based HIV and breast cancer intervention in policy advocacy in Oyo State. Meanwhile, Yue traveled to rural Nigeria where she visited stakeholders of a cash transfer project in Ekiti State. Her next step is to perform data-driven policy analysis and bring more collaborations to Ekiti government in terms of social investment in health-promoting factors. In the future, Yue hopes to further engage in improving community healthcare services integrated with the aging population. 

Medha Reddy, The College 2020, Departments of Neuroscience and Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Julie Makani, MD, PhD, FRCP

Medha Reddy is a fourth-year undergraduate studying Neuroscience and Biology at the University of Chicago. Her work has broadly strived to give a voice to those underrepresented in medicine and government. Based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Medha had the pleasure of working at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences' Sickle Cell Center. She had the pleasure of supporting the Center's projects seeking to make hydroxyurea more financially accessible to patients in need and local student group's endeavors to "Stop the Sickle Cell Cycle". These efforts inspired Medha to develop a project analyzing how gender influenced the treatment regimens of Sickle Cell Disease patients and a future study that more comprehensively evaluates if maternal health outcomes differ in the various clinical settings across Sub-Saharan Africa. In the future, Medha hopes to continue pursuing women's health research in her future career as a physician. 

Rachel Alexander, The College 2020, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade 
Site Mentor: Dr. Julie Makani and Dr. Flora Ndhobo 

Rachel Alexander is a fourth-year undergraduate in the Biological Sciences Major and Human Rights Minor. This summer she and her two co-fellows spent 8 weeks in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania at Muhumbili National Hospital’s Sickle Cell Center. While at the center Rachel attended lectures in the hematology department and learned about advocacy in partnership with the local youth organization’s “Stop the Sickle Cell Cycle” testing drive. Additionally, Rachel conducted research on the clinical features of malaria in sickle cell anemia patients and the unique complications associated with treatment of sickle cell anemia in malaria-endemic environments. In the future, Rachel hopes to attend medical school and continue to support expanding access to healthcare as both a physician and an advocate. 

Murtala "Murrie" Affini The College 2019, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Steffen Sammet, MD, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Godwin Ogbole, MBB, MS MRP, FMCR, FWACS'

Murrie Affini is a fourth-year undergraduate studying the Biological Sciences in hopes of becoming a physician-investigator. He has had previous experience researching visual working memory and attention with EEG capabilities and has decided to delve into a structural imaging project with an increased clinical focus. Based in Ibadan, Nigeria, Murrie sought to discover potential risk factors for stroke amongst Sub-Saharan Africans, a population that experiences the highest incidence, prevalence, and case fatality rates of any other global region. His research was conducted as part of the Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) project. Over the span of his stay, Murrie separated brain tissue from MRI and CT images into its three main subtypes (white matter, grey matter, and cerebral spinal fluid), located stroke lesions, and recreated stroke volumes in order to assess the extent to which specific factors of interest affect stroke occurrence, type, and outcome. 

Chika Anikamadu The College 2020, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Obiageli Nnodu, BMBCH, MS

Chika Anikamadu is a third-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences on the pre-med track. This summer, Chika and her co-fellow, Feven Jembere, spent eight weeks in Abuja, Nigeria supporting the day to day activities of sickle cell disease screening programs set up for children by the Center for Excellence for Sickle Cell Research and Training. They also conducted interviews and administered surveys at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital to assess psychosocial burden of the disease on caregivers - with a specific focus on stigma - and level of knowledge of adults with sickle cell disease, respectively. In the future, Chika hopes to obtain her MD and PhD degrees and become a hematologist to treat and do more research on sickle cell disease.

Ashley Aue Harris School of Public Policy 2019
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod, MD

Ashley Aue is entering her second year as a Master of Public Policy student at the Harris School. She received her BA in Psychology from Grand Valley State University in ’08. From 2008-2017, she worked in public and non-profit programs in the U.S. and in Guatemala, focused on education, healthcare and public health, and disability rights. This summer, Ashley is working in Panama City on health policy related to Toxoplasmosis, specifically developing tools and recommendations for the Ministry of Health in order to facilitate and expand access to education, medications and care for pregnant women. After completing her degree, she hopes to continue working in programs aimed at improving access, efficacy, and sustainability of services in healthcare and education in underserved regions, especially in Latin America.

Ryan Carson Harris School of Public Policy 2019
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Alan Zarychta, PhD
Site Mentors: Mariela Rodriguez & Laura Manship, LICSW, MBA

Ryan Carson is a second-year Master of Public Policy candidate and a member of the Global Health Track of the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP). Before coming to the Harris School, he majored in International Studies and Public Policy at the University of Denver. In the summer of 2018, he spent nine weeks in rural Honduras researching the country’s health system decentralization reforms under the direction of Dr. Alan Zarychta. This included conducting qualitative interviews with health center staff and community leaders to better understand the mechanisms by which policy changes affect health services, as well as helping supervise survey implementation on similar topics. After graduation, Ryan hopes to build a career combining his interests in global health and public policy.

Mimansa Dogra The College 2020, Neuroscience
University of Chicago Mentor:  Dr. Rima McLeod, MD

Mimansa Dogra is a third-year undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience. This summer, she traveled to Panama in order to study the correlations between Toxoplasma gondii and cognitive decline, specifically in the context of Alzheimer's Disease. T. gondii is a parasite living in the bodies and the brains of approximately one-third of the world's population, and it has a prevalence rate of 80-90% in Panama. Mimansa is interested in how T. gondii's presence in the brain impacts the progression of Alzheimer's and neurodegeneration among elderly populations.

Feven Jembere The College 2020, Public Policy Studies
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor:  Dr. Obiageli Nnodu, BMBCH, MS

Feven Jembere is a third-year undergraduate studying public policy with a health specialization. This summer, Feven and her co-fellow, Chika Anikamadu, spent eight weeks in Abuja, Nigeria supporting the day to day activities of sickle cell disease screening programs set up for children by the Center for Excellence for Sickle Cell Research and Training. They also conducted interviews and administered surveys at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital to assess the psychosocial burden of the disease on caregivers - with a specific focus on stigma - and level of knowledge of adults with sickle cell disease, respectively. After graduation, Feven hopes to pursue a graduate degree in health policy and/or participate in the development of sustainable health financing schemes that could support health equity.   

Makayla Kochheiser The College 2019, Neuroscience and Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Prof. Prisca Adejumo, PhD

Makayla Kochheiser is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience and Biological Sciences, with a specialization in Global Health. Makayla has worked as a research assistant in the Cancer Risk Clinic at the University of Chicago for the past two years. After graduation, Makayla plans to work in the global health field for two years before applying to medical school. Her summer research was conducted at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. Makayla worked under the leadership of her site mentor, Professor Prisca Adejumo, and her University of Chicago mentor, Dr. Olopade, to study breast cancer genomics. Makayla worked to create a system for genetic counseling that was newly established in the hospital. She also worked to introduce genetic testing to the area to promote personalized cancer risk management and to improve the outcomes of cancer patients. Makayla collected data on patient’s family history as well as their perception and willingness to pay for genetic testing to ensure a sustainable implementation.

Samuel Larsen The College 2019, Anthropology
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Louis Philipson, MD, PhD
Site Mentor: Dr. Radha Venkateson, PhD, MS

Samuel Larsen is a fourth year undergraduate in the College majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Biological Sciences. This summer, Sam spent 9 weeks in Chennai, India working with the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to better understanding diabetes in South Asia and providing healthcare specific to the culture, cuisine, and genetic predispositions of the region. Sam helped sequence the DNA of clinical MODY patients to identify pathogenic mutations, and he built the genetic pedigrees of several families with a history of monogenic diabetes. Back in Chicago, Sam works as a clinical research assistant at the Kovler Diabetes Center where he helps screen the family members of people with Type 1 diabetes in order to prevent adverse health effects at diagnosis. After graduation, Sam hopes to enroll in medical school.

Kendall Lucero The College 2019, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Lynette Denny, MD, PhD

Kendall Lucero is a fourth-year in the College majoring in biological sciences, with minors in human rights and gender studies. She spent ten weeks this summer in Cape Town, South Africa working with the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) and Dr. Lyn Denny. During her time there, she created a system for quality control in the colposcopy database in order to track patients’ history with cervical cancer with accuracy. In addition, she worked on a survey distributed to specialists all over the African continent that assessed how breast cancer was treated in settings that are often resource-limited. Through both of these projects, she hopes to contribute to a growing body of research from middle and lower income countries that will improve cancer diagnosis and treatment in the context of global health. After graduation, she plans to pursue her interest in global health through degrees in public health and social work.

Isabella Martin The College 2019, Biological Sciences and History
Site Mentor: Dr. Daniel Ansong, MD, ChB

Isabella is a rising fourth year, double-majoring in biological sciences (track c, ecology) and history. Through these majors, she has explored the intersections between global health, climate change, and human rights. Before her CGH fellowship, Isabella conducted quantitative research on invasive species in wetlands, worked in public radio, and trained as an first responder. This summer, Isabella is in Kumasi, Ghana at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where she is conducting research on the demographics of patients with pneumonia and their caregivers’ knowledge of the disease, which is a leading cause of child mortality in Ghana. After her fellowship, Isabella hopes to work in outdoor education, and later pursue graduate degrees in public health and environmental science. 

Merisa Middlestadt The College 2019, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Jayant Pinto, MD
Site Mentor: Dr. Pragna Rao, MBBS, MD, PhD

Merisa Middlestadt is a fourth-year in the College studying Biological Sciences. She spent the summer researching the health effects of household air pollution in Manipal, India. Together with the Department of Community Medicine from Kasturba Medical College, Merisa characterized olfaction, cognition, respiratory performance, and systemic oxidative stress among families of coastal Karnataka who rely on the use of polluting fuel for cooking and heating. An increased understanding of how air pollutants negatively impact the neurosensory and respiratory systems will hopefully lead to the development of diagnostic tools and therapies which address harmful air pollution exposure. Additionally, this research also carries implications for improving the health of women and children, who are disproportionately affected by household air pollution worldwide. In the future, Merisa hopes to attend medical school and continue working to improve the health of vulnerable populations. 

Jessica Mora The College 2020, Public Policy and Romance Languages and Literature 
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Alan Zarychta, PhD
Site Mentors: Mariela Rodriguez & Laura Manship, LICSW, MBA

Jessica Mora is a third year in the College double majoring in Public Policy and Romance Languages and Literatures. This summer, she spent nine weeks in Intibucá, Honduras researching the effects of a health decentralization reform in the country. In order to achieve this, she interviewed mayors, church personnel, NGO leaders, water council members, and health administration staff, among others to gain a more holistic idea of how the health reform has changed not only the health sector itself, but also the interactions and relationships between community organizations. In an attempt to account for how Mesoamerica aid might affect the way in which a municipality develops within the reform, Jessica conducted interviews in San Antonio (a decentralized municipality with Mesoamerica benefits), San Miguelito (a decentralized municipality), and Concepción de Copan (a non-decentralized municipality). Furthermore, the information gathered this summer alongside previous survey data will be used by the Ministry of Health in Honduras to inform possible policy changes in the country. In the future, Jessica wishes to pursue an MPP-MBA and continue her interest in health policy work.  

Tahnee Muller The College 2019, Biochemistry
Site Mentor: Dr. Daniel Ansong, MD, ChB

Tahnee Muller is a rising fourth year student in the College majoring in Biochemistry with interests in global health and entrepreneurship. Before coming to the CGH, Tahnee conducted research in the U of C Chemistry Department. She worked as a research assistant in a lab creating new delivery systems of a cancer drug to increase potency and outcomes of cancer treatment. This summer she worked on a project concerning pneumonia in children in Kumasi, Ghana. The project explored the financial and political barriers to sub-Saharan scientific contribution and analyzed infection rates of respiratory diseases in residents of the Ashanti region. She hopes to obtain an MPH and MBA after graduation. 

Julia Ran The College 2020, Biological Sciences
Site Mentor: Dr. Zané Lombard, PhD

Julia Ran is a fourth-year student majoring in Biological Sciences. Since her first year at UChicago, Julia has developed a passion for global health through research. Last year, Julia was a Global Health Intern in the Department of Sociology. She collaborated with Dr. Jenny Trinitapoli to analyze how demographic survey technique impacts reported health statistics in 44 developing countries. Julia was fascinated by the quantitative social science method and applied it to her own research project on the intergenerational transmission of stunting in Uganda. This summer, Julia is working with the Human Genetics department at University of Witwatersrand to improve genetic diagnosis of developmental delay (DD). Historically, the genetic underpinnings of DD have been poorly characterized in African populations, and conventional wisdom expected novel diagnostic technologies to be financially inviable. Stationed at the National Health Laboratory Services, Julia conducted a retrospective review of patient files to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of current genetic testing methods and estimate the cost-effectiveness of exome-sequencing. After she graduates, Julia hopes to further her contribution to medicine and global health by pursuing an MD/MPH dual degree.

Alexandra Thompson The College 2019, Psychology 
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Obiageli Nnodu, BMBCH, MS

Alexandra Thompson is a fourth-year in The College, majoring in psychology. She is interested in health disparities in women of color and has past experience working as a research intern at the Nutrition and Pregnancy Study at UChicago. Grounded in the area of psycho-oncology, Alex’s summer research project marries her interests in mental health and women’s health. This summer, she is conducting a study on psychosocial correlates of quality of life in patients with breast and cervical cancers in Ibadan, Nigeria. This study seeks to inform a better understanding of the barriers preventing good quality of life for women surviving breast and cervical cancers. Correlations between factors such as pain, sexual functioning, and psychological distress in this population will shed light on potential interventions in cancer treatment necessary to improve quality of life. After graduation, Alex plans on going to medical school in hopes to focus on gynecology and obstetrics.

Lydia Wu The College 2019, Art History
Site Mentor: Dr. Zané Lombard, PhD

Lydia Wu is a fourth-year undergraduate in The College majoring in Art History. This summer, she worked with the Human Genetics department at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa to study developmental delay. She helped digitize the Genetic Clinic’s patient files and began characterizing the existing patient population. The digitization process allowed Lydia to better understand the diagnostic yield for patients with developmental delay. She also performed cost-effectiveness analysis on the clinic’s current diagnostic method to determine whether exome sequencing might be a more efficient alternative. Developmental delay is a growing problem in South Africa, and Lydia’s work aims to better equip the Genetics department to discover its previously unknown genetic causes. After graduation, Lydia hopes to continue pursuing her interest in healthcare equality and genetics through attending medical school. 

Chinye Ljeli The College 2018, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD
Site Mentor: Atinoke Ibrahim

Chinye Ljeli is a rising fourth-year undergraduate in the College majoring in Biological Sciences. This summer, she spent seven weeks working on a sickle cell disease-focused public health project in Abuja, Nigeria. Specifically, she aided the setup of sickle cell screening programs in Abuja schools. She conducted interviews and administered surveys at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in order to explore the relationship between gender and psychosocial effects of the disease. After graduation, she hopes to obtain MD and MPH degrees and work as a public health administrator.

Sarah Chung Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD
Site Mentor: Dr. Kikelomo Ololade Wright                                

Sarah Chung is a first-year Master of Public Policy/ Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP) student at the Harris School with a particular interest in environmental health. Before coming to the University of Chicago, she majored in International Development at UCLA, and she hopes to do a Ph.D. in either Public Policy or Public Health after obtaining her master's degree. In the summer of 2017, she spent eight weeks in Nigeria working on the Lagos-based Household Air Pollution (HAP) case study, which is funded by the African Development Bank and National Institute of Health. Within this research study, she was interested in barriers and adoption of clean cooking technology through estimating willingness to pay for the clean cookstoves. 

Isabella Pan The College 2018, Comparative Human Development
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Ganiu Arinola, PhD

Isabella Pan is a fourth-year undergraduate in the College who is majoring in Comparative Human Development, with an interest in global health and human rights. This summer, worked on a Household Air Pollution (HAP) project in Ibadan, Nigeria. She sought to characterize the relationship between pollution exposure and loss in olfactory function in order to understand the broader public health implications of HAP. She worked under the direction of Dr. Sola Olapade and the Healthy Life for All Foundation. 

Whitney George The College 2019, History Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS)
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Nana Fenny
Site Mentor: Dr. Daniel Ansong, MB, ChB                                                 

Whitney George is a third-year undergraduate majoring in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS). This summer, she traveled to Kumasi, Ghana to study barriers and challenges to immunization under the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI). She surveyed caregivers and healthcare providers in immunization facilities in both urban and rural settings under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Ansong. She hopes to continue to engage in global health work in the future and go to medical school after college.

Cindy Xinxin Du The College 2018, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Sarah Rayne, MBChB, MMed

Cindy Du is a fourth-year in the College majoring in biological sciences and minoring in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Medicine (HIPS). This summer, Cindy worked at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She worked on two projects on breast cancer in South Africa and was mentored by Dr. Funmi Olopade, Dr. Sarah Rayne, Dr. Amanda Krause, and Ms. Tasha Wainstein. One project studied genetic counseling, family history, and outcomes at Helen Joseph Breast Care Clinic. The other studied variants of unknown significance in the BRCA2 gene. These two studies both aim to address the growing issue of breast cancer and its treatment in middle-income countries like South Africa. 

Jenny Kim The College 2019, Biological Sciences 
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Belimira Rogrigues

Jenny Kim is a third-year majoring in Biological Sciences who plans to go to medical school after college. This summer she spent ten weeks in Cape Town, South Africa working for the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), a non-profit that promotes improved cancer outcomes in Africa. At AORTIC, she helped formulate and survey a special interest group that brings radiation oncologists together in order to identify research needs, share treatment practices, and address education targets. She also developed a comprehensive resource directory that maps the availability of cancer resources throughout the African continent - information that previously had not been kept up-to-date or otherwise been made readily accessible. 

Davina Moossazadeh The College 2018, Statistics
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod
Site Mentor:  Ximena Norero, MD

 

Davina Moossazadeh is a fourth-year majoring in Statistics and minoring in Spanish. This summer, she studied the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Panama City, Panama, where the prevalence of the disease is estimated to be 50-80%. Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that can cause severe birth defects, as well as neural defects in immunocompromised individuals. Davina worked to replicate studies done in other South American countries in order to determine how toxoplasmosis is spread throughout the population of Panama, what the risk factors are, and who is most susceptible to contracting the disease. Additionally, Davina examined the correlation between prevalence of the disease in Panama and other variables such as geography, race, sex, and education. Through this study, Davina hopes to add to the growing body of research aimed at developing proper prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.

Stratton Tolmie The College 2018, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor:

Stratton Tolmie is a fourth-year undergraduate in The College majoring in Biological Sciences. This summer, Stratton worked with the Kapoor Foundation, Tata Memorial Hospital, and other health workers and providers in the Metro Mumbai Area, India. Stratton helped perform a needs assessment with physicians, patients, and other stakeholders for the preventative oncology department of Tata Memorial Hospital. He also developed informational 'one-pagers' for waiting rooms at Tata that dispel common cancer myths, discuss available resources, and inform patients on the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment. He also performed econometric research on the efficacy of local programs for women affected by breast cancer. After graduation, Stratton wishes to pursue a career in global health, either through a clinical degree or through further exploring his interests in economic development and health policy. 

Rashad Crosby The College 2018, Public Policy 
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Mojisola Oluwasanu

Rashad Crosby is a fourth-year majoring in Public Policy with an interest in Public Health, and with a minor in Cinema and Media Studies. He spent his summer studying the correlations between adolescent health and in-school policies regarding physical activity in Ibadan, Nigeria. The association between behavioral factors (attitude, social support from friends or family, eating patterns, etc.) and the levels of physical activity were assessed. He spent the first two weeks conducting interviews in classrooms from selected schools within different communities around the Oyo state. He then spent the rest of his time conducting a quantitative analysis of the observations and aid in the creation of augmented health policies. Rashad's work focused on highlighting the spread of non-communicable diseases within the country among in-school adolescents.

Vivek Sarma The College 2018, Economics and South Asian Languages and Civilizations
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Sola Olopade
Site Mentor: Dr. Kikelomo Ololade Wright

Vivek Sarma is a fourth-year undergraduate in The College and a double major in Economics and South Asian Languages and Civilizations, with a concentration in South Asian language. This summer, Vivek spent eight weeks working on Household Air Pollution research in Lagos, Nigeria. The aim of this comprehensive research study was to stimulate and facilitate the wide-scale, sustainable adoption of safe, clean cooking solutions in underprivileged areas. After graduation, Vivek hopes to continue to pursue his interest in public and global health through either pursuing graduate school in Health Policy and Biostatistics, or through Medical School. 

Graciela Caraballo The College 2018, Biological Sciences and Sociology 
University of Chicago Mentor:  Dr. Nanny Fenny
Site Mentor: Dr. Daniel Ansong, MB, ChB                                                 

Gracie Caraballo is a fourth-year undergraduate in The College. She is pursuing a double major in Biological Sciences and Sociology, and is particularly interested in the way socio-cultural factors affect health disparities. This summer, Gracie explored the barriers to hypertension identification, treatment, and management in rural and urban communities in Ghana. Specifically, she surveyed and interviewed healthcare providers and hypertensive patients in order to determine what they believe are the biggest obstacles preventing adequate hypertension care in their communities. After graduation, Gracie hopes to continue to pursue her interest in global health by attending medical school. 

Mercy Loyo The College 2018, Public Policy Studies
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: Dr. Sarah Rayne, MBChB, MMed

Mercy Loyo is a fourth-year in The College and a major in Public Policy Studies, with a concentration in Global Health Policy, along with a minor in Human Rights. This summer, she spent ten weeks at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa examining the role post-apartheid health policies play in determining the access and provision of genetic counseling services for breast cancer patients. Within this comprehensive research study, she specifically focused her time on the intersection of human rights and health care in implementing and drafting health policy that is aimed at promoting equity and social justice. After graduation, Mercy hopes to attend law school to continue to pursue her interest in international law and global health policy.

Bruno Osorio Harris School of Public Policy 
Site Mentor: Tria Raimundo

Bruno Osorio is a Master in Public Policy Candidate and Co-Executive Director of the Inter-Policy School Summit at The Harris School. He was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship and the Hank Paulson Fellowship for his graduate studies. He previously worked as Chief of Staff of the Directorate General for the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project at the Mexican Foreign Ministry. This summer, Bruno was a Global Development Fellow at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where he worked on issues related to development, food security, sustainable development, and gender equality. 

Meera Mody The College 2018, Economics and Mathematics 
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Funmi Olopade, MD, FACP
Site Mentor: 

Meera Mody is a fourth-year in The College, double-majoring in Economics and Mathematics. This summer, she worked with the Kapoor Foundation and Tata Memorial Hospital in India, under the mentorship of Dr. Funmi Olopade. She helped to conduct a needs assessment in preventative oncology and developed waiting room material for patients. She also worked on a project regarding financial barriers patients face while undergoing cancer treatment. Her projects were informed by data from the Cancer Directory that is compiled by the Kapoor Foundation. In the future, Meera is interested in going to graduate school to pursue health economics and policy. 

Margarita Ramirez The College 2019, Biology
University of Chicago Mentor: Dr. Rima McLeod
Site Mentor: Ximena Norero, MD

Margarita Ramirez is a third-year in The College, majoring in Biology and minoring in Human Rights. This summer, Margarita worked in Panama, a country with one of the highest seroprevalences of the zoonotic infection, toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the parasite toxoplasma gondii. Margarita spent ten weeks analyzing the genetic diversity of toxoplasma gondii isolates in Panamanian wild animals. This study seeks to inform to a better understanding of pathogen-host interactions, dynamics in circles of transmission, and the evolution of the parasite, which can ultimately be applied in the medical field. After graduation, Margarita hopes to pursue her interest in global health through an MD-PhD.

Adeoluwa Ayoola - College 2018, Biological Chemistry
University of Chicago Mentor:  Louis Philipson, MD, PhD
Site Mentor: Williams Balogun, MBBS, FWACP

Ade traveled to Nigeria for the Center for Global Health Research Fellowship. Her research was conducted at the University of Ibadan and the affiliated hospital. She studied diabetes among youth and adults of Nigeria. The project sought to address the lack of information on the number of patients with diabetes in Nigeria, the accuracy of methods of diagnosing diabetes in patients, and the treatment methods undertaken by doctors in response to the diagnosis. She explored this topic with Dr. Williams Balogun, Dr. Philipson of the University of Chicago Medical Center, and Dr. Funmi Olopade. Additionally, Ade was given the opportunity to work on a breast cancer research project at a lab in Ibadan.

MeeSoh Bossard - Social Service Administration 2017
University of Chicago Mentor: Nana Fenny, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Daniel Ansong, MBChB, FWACP                   

MeeSoh Bossard conducted research in Kumasi, Ghana alongside Dr. Ansong at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.  A recent graduate of the comparative human development department, she is interested in the way socio-cultural factors affect maternal and child health. As an extension of a study conducted in Accra, Ghana concerning factors shaping practices of family planning, she explored driving socio-cultural beliefs that determine female uptake of family planning. MeeSoh dug into a qualitative research study that engaged with local women in an ardent attempt to gain insight into their perspectives. She enjoyed the opportunity to use the knowledge gained to give back to the women and their families. 

Andrew Brook - College 2018, Public Policy
University of Chicago Mentor: Funmi Olopade, MD FACP  
Site Mentor: Daniel Ansong, MBChB, FWACP                                                                      

Andrew is a second year Public Policy major at the University of Chicago. He went to Cape Town, South Africa to work with the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) to compile information about radiation therapy centers throughout the African continent. Additionally, he worked on an independent research project that examined the successful early detection methods that exist in the local areas of Cape Town. He looked to determine the most common reasons for early screenings and the barriers to early detection that prevent a diverse community from stopping cancer while it is still early. Cancer is a growing epidemic in Africa and thus, early detection and prevention are of utmost importance.

 

Evan Eschliman - College 2018, Public Policy 
University of Chicago Mentor: Seeba Anam, MD
Site Mentor: Chioma Asuzu, PhD                           

Evan Eschliman is a Public Policy major, minoring in Biology, who has a special interest in how development and globalization influence policies, perceptions, and treatments concerning mental health. He worked at University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, where he conducted research relating to psycho-oncology. Evan studied the systems of care for the mental health of cancer patients and the avenues through which treatment is sought, as well as potential obstacles for treatment program implementation.

Alma Juarez - Harris School of Public Policy 2017
University of Chicago Mentor: Habibul Ahsan, MD
Site Mentor: Tariqul Islam     

Alma Juarez conducted a cost-benefit analysis of competing solutions for the arsenic pollution problem that is affecting the population’s health in Bangladesh. She contrasted the benefits on health and costs of improving heavily polluted water sources (wells) or investing in a distribution system of water from the clean sources, vis-a-vis other less capital intensive solutions that can be done at a local level (e.g. at the health clinics). This aimed to offer a good insight of where money should be invested in order to help tackle the problem in a more efficient manner.

 

Eleanor Kang - College 2017, Public Policy & Biology
University of Chicago Mentor: Sarosh Rana, MD
Site Mentor: Herriot Shannon, MD       

Eleanor Kang traveled to Haiti to conduct research on postpartum hypertension disorders. Preeclampsia is characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Eclampsia, seizures during or after pregnancy, can follow preeclampsia. Both conditions can cause pregnancy complications such as premature delivery, separation of the placenta, and blood clotting issues. Retrospective research has suggested that some women have elevated blood pressure even after childbirth (postpartum hypertension) and that there might be a link between postpartum hypertension and preeclampsia. Haiti has high rates of eclampsia and preeclampsia. Through taking chart data and measuring blood pressure after childbirth, Eleanor’s research in Haiti aimed to further investigate this link.

Brad Lee - College 2018, Biology 
University of Chicago Mentor:  Denzheng Huo, PhD
 Site Mentor: Wanquing Chen, MD, PhD

Brad Lee is a second year Biology major at the University of Chicago. Brad was placed at the Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) in Beijing, China. As one of the WHO’s Collaborative Centers for Research on Cancer in China, CAMS integrates clinical practice with basic research and field-work and places an emphasis on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Under the mentorship of Dr. Huo (Department of Public Health Sciences) and Dr. Wang (Department of Hematology/Oncology), Brad analyzed data collected by CAMS to establish indexes for evaluating young-onset trends of breast cancer occurrence in Chinese women. 

Zoe Levine - College 2018, Biology & Sociology
University of Chicago Mentor: Nana Fenny, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Daniel Ansong, MBChB, FWACP   

Zoe Levine's project was conducted in tandem with Dr. Daniel Ansong’s surveillance of pediatric bacterial meningitis at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. Once children with suspected bacterial meningitis were enrolled in the surveillance program, she conducted interviews with patients’ parents. The aim of these interviews was to determine the prior knowledge parents have about meningitis upon bringing their children to the hospital for care. She gained a better understanding of how much parents know about meningitis prior to receiving a diagnosis, how accurate their prior knowledge is, and what they perceive as the best way to address their child’s condition. She compared these findings with outcomes data to determine whether prior parental knowledge affects treatment and outcomes of children with suspected bacterial meningitis. 

Mauricio Lopez - Harris School of Public Policy 2017
University of Chicago Mentor: Habibul Ahsan, MD
Site Mentor: Tariqul Islam   

Maurico Lopez's project consisted of a cost-benefit analysis of competing solutions to the arsenic contamination problem in Bangladesh. He aimed to deepen his understanding of the health crisis and the relevant factors involved and gather and systematize all the relevant data inputs that will be required to perform the cost-benefit analysis. He used the data available at UChicago Research Bangladesh to model the costs of treatment for arsenic exposure and their benefit. He also gathered external data to model the cost of the competing solution of investing in water infrastructure and its expected benefit. The final output provided a useful guideline to policymakers of where money should be invested in order to start tackling the problem rationally.    

Aliya Moreira - College 2017, Biology & Psychology 
University of Chicago Mentor: Rima McLeod, MD
Site Mentor:  Mariangela Soberon, JD

Aliya Moreira worked on a two-pronged project to address toxoplasmosis prevalence rates and transmission in Panama.  The first part of her project worked on transferring a toxoplasmosis pamphlet into an electronic format and used surveying to compare the impact and knowledge transferred in both formats.  The goal was to decrease the high cost of printing multiple pamphlets in the hopes of sharing information on the toxoplasmosis infection to as many people as possible.  The second part of the project was to use hospital data and surveys to map the demographics of infection in Panama in humans and compare it with demographics in cats, dogs, and pigs. This aimed to better understand which methods of transmission impact the largest number of people. 

Sebastian Ortero - College 2018, Anthropology 
University of Chicago Mentor: Funmi Olopade, MD FACP  
 Site Mentor: Lynette Denny, MBChB, PhD

In countries where screening programs have been established and implemented effectively, there has been an effective reduction of the occurrence of cervical cancer in women. Yet, in countries that lack the needed resources to establish a successful screening program, cervical cancer remains prevalent and is the leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in many of these countries. Sebastian worked with Dr. Lynette Denny’s research group in further looking into barriers that restrict women from receiving appropriate preventative care in South Africa. This includes broadening knowledge about screen-and-treat methods of prevention to reduce the existing barriers that exist for South African women. The aim of this research was to contribute to the discussion of how to establish effective screening programs for cervical cancer in South Africa, and more broadly for low- and middle-income countries.    

Christy Oso - College 2017, Psychology
University of Chicago Mentor:  Seeba Anam, MD
Site Mentor:  Chioma Asuzu, PhD         

Christy Oso is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Psychology. She will be working with psycho-oncologist Dr. Chioma Asuzu in Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research project was aimed at determining the effect of the loss of fertility in cervical cancer patients on their mental health and quality of life compared to cervical cancer patients with preserved fertility. She conducted interviews and questionnaires to measure the effect. There tend to be negative social repercussions for infertile Nigerian women, so the findings of research such as this provided a better understanding of the care and treatment such patients might require.

Abhinav Pandey - College 2017, Economics & Biology 
University of Chicago Mentor: Rima McLeod, MD
Site Mentor:  Mariangela Soberon, JD          

Panama faces toxoplasmosis prevalence rates as high as 50%. To comprehend the high prevalence of infectious diseases, one needs to understand the transmission dynamics of the organism that spread the disease. To address this, Abhinav Pandey created a comprehensive prevalence map of toxoplasmosis in Panama using over 3000 serum samples and epidemiological algorithms. This map was used to identify high prevalence areas, which will be further investigated. He also examined local feral cat populations (the most important zoonotic source of toxoplasmosis), tested water sources using PCR analysis, and surveyed the community in these areas to investigate what leads or causes these particularly high prevalence rates. We hope that our findings can be used to inform future large studies seeking to reduce prevalence rates.    

Rebekah Sugarman - College 2017, International Studies
University of Chicago Mentor: Sarosh Rana, MD
Site Mentor: Herriot Shannon, MD 
                  

Rebekah Sugarman is a third-year majoring in International Studies and minoring in Biology and hopes to go to medical school after college. This summer, Rebekah traveled to Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, which has the world's highest rates of preeclampsia-related maternal and fetal death. Rebekah spent her summer studying preeclampsia and post-eclampsia rates in pregnant women experiencing delivery. Blood pressure, heart rate, and medical history were recorded in order to examine adverse outcomes in relation to diagnostic criteria. Dr. Sarosh Rana and research specialist Hadi Ramadan mentored this research. 

Winnie Tong - Department of Sociology  
University of Chicago Mentor: Renslow Sherer, MD
Site Mentor: Summer Wu     

Standardized medical residency education may be a key factor in improving healthcare disparities in China. Beginning in 2015, new resident training programs have been implemented nationwide by the Ministry of Health, and by 2020, all medical graduates are required to receive this mandatory training. Winnie Tong traveled to Wuhan, China to determine if this recent policy has inadvertently contributed to gender effects, particularly for females in the medical field. She examined whether female medical residency students were inclined to pursue certain medical specializations, for what reasons, and whether their desires to pursue medicine as a career will change given China’s new residency training standards. Furthermore, Winnie also asked students how they viewed doctor-patient trust in China and whether specific changes to the current medical curriculum could improve this relationship. Thank you to the Center for Global Health, the WUMER team, and Wuhan University for the opportunity and support. 

 

 

Elizabeth Frank -College 2016, Biology and History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS) 
University of Chicago Mentor: Sola Olopade, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Oladosu Ojengbede, MD

Elizabeth Frank is an incoming fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago and a double major in Biology, with a concentration in Neuroscience, along with History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS), with a concentration in global health and culture. She spent 5 weeks working on the Household Air Pollution project in Ibadan, Nigeria. Within this comprehensive research study, she specifically focused her time on the effects that different cookstove types have on the biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in pregnant women. After graduation, Elizabeth hopes to continue to pursue her interest in global health through either medial school or through international law and global health policy. 

Jasmine Solola - College 2016, Biological  Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Funmi Olopade, MD FACP
Site Mentor: Oladosu Ojengbese, MD                         

Jasmine Solola is a rising fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Biological Sciences at the University of Chicago. She spent her time assessing the structural, social, and cultural factors that influence the perception of genetic risk and how Nigerian women diagnosed with breast cancer and women never diagnosed with breast cancer understand the illness. She is interested in developing culturally- tailored interventions to improve knowledge of genetics and its associations with breast cancer in order to increase the likelihood of successful implementation of genetic risk assessment, early detection, and prevention in Ibadan, Nigeria. She hopes to pursue an MD.

Konje Machini- College 2016,  Anthropology
Univerisity of Chiago mentor: Dezhong Huo, MD, PhD
Site mentor:  Paul Ndom, MD

Konje Machini is a rising fourth year undergraduate majoring in anthropology and completeting his pre-med requirments. As a part of his internship with the Center for Global Health, he spent a month in Cameroon assisting with research on quality of life for people diagnosed with breast cancer. Specifically, he is looking at the relationship between quality of life and time since diagnosis, as well as tumor stage. His interests in global health are in global public health NGO work and development. 

Rachel Wittenberg- College 2017, Biology and Economics
University of Chicago Mentor: Sola Olopade, MD, MPH
Site Mentor: Daniel Ansong, MD                              

Rachel Wittenberg is a rising third year in the College, pursuing a double major in Biological Sciences and Economics. Rachel worked with Dr. Daniel Ansong at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana on a research project examining the effect of short post-delivery hospital stays on infant mortality and other adverse health outcomes. Rachel is passionate about global health with a particular interst in the social and economic determinants of maternal and child health. She hopes to pursue an MD witht the goal of contributing to the development of sustainable and equitable systems of healthcare in resource-limited settings. 

  

 Andrew Song - College 2016, Biological Sciences
University of Chicago Mentor: Funmi Olopade, MD FACP
Site Mentor: Oladosu Ojengbese, MD                

Andrew Song is a rising 4th year undergraduate in the College at the University of Chicago, pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences. Andrew worked to intitiate development of resources and protocols for returning individual genetic testing results to breast cancer research participants at University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. Recognizing the need for greater infrastructure to provide comprehensive breast cancer genetic cocunseling, Andrew also helped to coordinate implemtation of a clincal database for the surgical oncology department. Currently interviewing for medical schools, Andrew aspires to become a medical oncologist at an academic medical center, combining compassionate clinical practice with global health research efforts focusing on the dynamic interplay between healthcare systems, sociocultural values, and healthcare access.