… Jon and Dana, our first-ever investigadores, or summer research interns. Beginning on Monday, they will spend seven weeks living in the rural community of Caraballo, conducting epidemiological surveys, and pioneering HHI’s plans for engaging in research and evaluation. With Angi’s support, they have already done fantastic work designing a project and securing funding from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and I can’t wait for them to arrive on the ground. Specifically, they will be collecting data on the prevalence of risk factors for hypertension and diabetes in several of the communities we serve. We will use this information to base future chronic case management and prevention programs, and to better develop a baseline for treating hypertension and eventually diabetes. We’ve also arranged some days for them to shadow doctors in the area, visit other health organizations, and get a feel for the history and culture of the region.
Of course, this will leave plenty of time for weekends at the beach. No se preocupen.
Jon Silver is
a rising 2nd year medical student at State University of New York – Downstate College of Medicine. Jon grew up in Queens, New York, graduated in 2007 from Tufts University with a degree in Biopsychology and Biomedical Engineering, and studied improv comedy in Chicago before starting medical school. At Downstate, he has taken an active role advocating for healthcare reform as a member of Physicians for National Health Program and is passionate about equitable access to healthcare services. Thanks to the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and its Student Summer Service Fellowship funding his research, Jon is very excited to spend his first summer with HHI!
Dana Sanderson will be a 2nd year Medical Student at the State University of New York- Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY. She grew up in Buffalo, NY and received her Bachelors Degree in Biology from Boston College where she also focused on Spanish Language and Literature and Sociology. At BC, she also participated in a school-sponsored service/immersion trip to Nicaragua that piqued her interest in global medicine. Dana studied Medical Anthropology and spent time working in mobile health clinics in Cape Town, South Africa. She looks forward to continuing her participation in global health care and aspires to become a Primary Care Physician.
Between getting ready for our summer staff, managing our cooperadores’ internship and planning for their graduation next week, working on logistics for the upcoming year’s medical trips, and preparing for the big transition to the new IPDs (more to come on that!), I feel like we are winding up in order to wind down Angi’s and my time as IPDs. It’s exciting to think about how much growth we have ahead of us — we’re on the brink of a turning point.
Looking forward to a great summer,
Laura
How exciting! This sounds like an amazing opportunity for both HHI and for the research interns. I’m curious–how did the idea of having research interns come about? And how was the program advertised? Looking forward to more updates! *hugs*
Thanks, Raquel! One of our goals is to improve HHI’s research and evaluation capacity, so piloting a foundational project was a logical next step. The idea of summer researchers was really Angi’s and Jon’s — Jon is a friend of Angi’s from Tufts and had been really interested and excited about HHI’s work from the start, so the idea evolved from there. As medical students, Jon and Dana are in a perfect place to do this sort of epi research, but we’re interested in creating other types of intern positions for the future as well.
Hope you’re well! Looking forward to YOUR updates too!
Laura
As the mother of Jon Silver, it is very gratifying to see the work that is being done there and I see my son still retains his sense of humor and his appreciation of new experiences. Keep up the good work Jon and Dana. See you soon.