Using A Standardized Patient Approach to Study Stigma Against LGBT Community in Healthcare Settings in China

Dr. Smith’ interest in China dates back to an early trip to China when she was ten. She went on to foster the cultural and linguistic interest in China as a history major at Yale. Following masters in international development, Dr. Smith found a job working for the HIV division of the Chinese CDC where she learned about the power dynamics and pressures that shape health policy. This experience led her into a career in global health which she pursues through work in China as well as collaborations in India, Malawi, and Vietnam.

Overseeing students’ work with Community Health Workers in India and building health-related research capacity in Afghanistan

Dr. Virnig is the program Director for the annual Kolkata trip funded by the Ralph Strangis Pathways to Children International Travel Fund. She has been overseeing this program since 2015. It involves SPH students traveling to Kolkata, India to work with a preschool serving low-income children and their families. The students work with the Community Health Workers to develop and implement programs aimed at increasing knowledge and building resiliency among community members.

Understanding how health inequities and social injustices impact health outcomes both at the local and global health level

Growing up on the east side of Saint Paul, Vanessa witnessed many of her Hmong, Vietnamese, and Karen neighbors face barriers to healthcare and ultimately have poorer health outcomes than her white and English speaking neighbors and family. Later as an adolescent when she moved to Central America, she witnessed how these health injustices were exacerbated by global inequality. Witnessing these health injustices compelled her academic pursuits in an interdisciplinary doctoral program in education and international development studies.

Rural Roots to Global Response and Preparedness Interventions

As a young 16-year-old in high school living in a small town of 300 people, Eugene was interested in the well-being of his community. This exposure made him aware of the lack of health care that surrounded his rural town and compelled him to further his education and become a U.S. Army Combat Medic. Over the years of service treating people who had already been through a disaster, Eugene began to realize that in order to adequately respond to any health-related emergency, and start to prevent many emergencies from ever happening, we first need to re-evaluate our response procedures.

Establishing the First National Sero-prevalence Estimates of Toxoplasmosis in Uganda

During Mateo’s time as a Biochemistry undergraduate student, he realized public health is at the core of a population’s best interest. Interested in gaining global health research experience, Mateo joined the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibilities’ Uganda Hub. Motivated by his interest in infectious and zoonotic diseases, Mateo and his team wanted to assess the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Uganda, a task that had previously never been undertaken.

Increasing Awareness on Global Tobacco Reduction by Advocating for Strategic Global Partnerships and Tobacco Reduction Initiatives and Strategies

During Dr. Harry Lando’s 40-year career as a smoking cessation researcher, he has not only facilitated global tobacco reduction initiatives and strategies, but he has also had a prominent role in advocating for strategic global partnerships, for increasing awareness on global tobacco reduction.

Understanding How Local Efforts Impact Global Health

During Nicole’s time as a Sports Medicine undergraduate student, she became interested in how community engagement influences health, and how empowerment and social justice influences health and community participation in improving environmental health.

Observing the Intersection of Traditional and Western Medicine in Rural India

Since studying public health in Ecuador during her undergraduate studies, Chelsea Kline has also had a particular focus on understanding the intersection of traditional and western medicine in indigenous communities.

Advancing Health Orientation Materials for Refugees in Minnesota

Graduate student Shelby Panttaja has dedicated her education to working with vulnerable and underrepresented populations, with a particular focus on refugee and immigrant communities’ health and their access to resources.

Diabetes Prevention in Jamaica by Addressing Food Access and Security

Petrona Lee has spent much of her post-graduate career developing the Trelawny Diabetes Management Project (TDMP), a non-governmental organization (NGO) that aims to reduce the prevalence of diabetes in rural communities in Lower Trelawny, Jamaica. A native to Jamaica herself, she is the CEO of the NGO that started as an intervention strategy for diabetes.

Eliminating and Controlling Malaria in Southern Africa

Assistant Professor Kelly Searle in the division of Epidemiology & Community Health has recently come from the Johns Hopkins University, where she conducted her post-doctoral work in the study of malaria in Zambia using epidemiological methods combined with geographic information science (GIS) and spatial analyses.

Conducting Treatment and Clinical Trials for Ebola and HIV

Cavan Reilly’s current research is focusing on the survivors of EVD and what happens to people who survive the disease, as well as various aspects of HIV.

Strengthening Access to Rural Health Care in Haiti through Program Evaluation

As a young adult in the 1970s, Cynthia Miller lived for two years in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) and worked with Habitat for Humanity. This started her interest in creating access to reliable care for those in remote, low-resource settings.

Developing Mathematical Models to Evaluate HIV Treatment Strategies in Mexico

Assistant Professor Eva Enns of the division of Health Policy and Management is conducting a project in Mexico to develop mathematical models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of first and second line treatment plans for HIV patients.

Analyzing Global Health Policy at The World Health Organization

Sara Lederman (MPH ’18) chose to intern with the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of her field experience. During her two months in Geneva, Lederman collaborated with a multidisciplinary team focused on cervical cancer prevention and care.

Enhancing Community Health for people living with HIV in southern Ethiopia

Professor Alan Lifson’s current project involves a 32-site randomized controlled trial of a community support intervention for people living with HIV (PLWH) in rural Ethiopia.

Conducting Focus Groups for Maternal Health in Kampala, Uganda

As a research intern for the project, SMS Maama, Maddy Kluesner’s role has been to coordinate and organize the data collection from focus groups of here at the St. Benedict Hospital in Kampala.

Researching Infectious Diseases in Latin America with an Equity Lens

Dr. Claudia Muñoz-Zanzi, an infectious disease epidemiologist in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, has focused her work on the emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases that are not well understood.

Developing Relationships in India to Understand Global Health Systems

Miko Gamban connects with the communities and people working to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through Indian health care administration.