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Minnesota’s Mayo

MPH student Makshita Luthra interns at one of the world’s leading medical facilities

Sarah Howard | November 18, 2016

In 1939, 50 years after William Worrall Mayo founded Mayo Clinic, his sons William and Charles provided an endowment to establish the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH).

Makshita Luthra
Makshita Luthra

Throughout the past 75-plus years, the connection between the now famous Mayo Clinic and SPH has been strong, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2016 that the school sent its first student to Mayo for a field experience. Field experiences, required for all SPH Master of Public Health (MPH) students, take place over the course of a few months and allow students to fully explore their interests, be paired with mentors, and apply their coursework to real-world situations.

Public health administration and policy MPH student Makshita Luthra spent the summer at the Mayo Clinic’s home in Rochester, Minn. contributing to the team in the Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, headed by Dr. Veronique Roger, MPH ’80. “The team’s goal is to define the value of care through data,” says Luthra. “I was the first public health intern at the center and I could tell I brought something new to the team.”

Luthra was a dentist in her native India and moved to Minnesota in 2015 to enroll at SPH. She plans to supplement her health care knowledge with a degree in management and leadership in the future. “Before my internship, I had my whole graduate program planned out, now my interests have expanded and I’m looking into other courses,” she says. “I’m able to plan my second year better because I understand more about how the health care industry works.”
Luthra was a dentist in her native India and moved to Minnesota in 2015 to enroll at SPH. She plans to supplement her health care knowledge with a degree in management and leadership in the future. “Before my internship, I had my whole graduate program planned out, now my interests have expanded and I’m looking into other courses,” she says. “I’m able to plan my second year better because I understand more about how the health care industry works.”
“I worked very closely with my team,” says Luthra (center). “I was collaborating with program managers, statistical programming analysts, and health services analysts and if I didn’t have the skills needed for a task, they would guide and mentor me so I could learn how to take on the work.”
“I worked very closely with my team,” says Luthra (center). “I was collaborating with program managers, statistical programming analysts, and health services analysts and if I didn’t have the skills needed for a task, they would guide and mentor me so I could learn how to take on the work.”
Maks_Mayo_Clinic_3
Luthra worked closely with her preceptor Lindsey Philpot. “Our check-ins went beyond work,” says Luthra. “She would mentor me and she would ask if I needed any support.” In addition to Philpot, Luthra was also encouraged by her team. “People were always asking what my interests were and encouraged me to get involved in other projects.”

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