The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
One thing I don’t think we talk about enough as medical students, especially as it becomes more central in our education and important for residency applications, is research. In my experience, bringing a research project through to fruition is as exciting as it is challenging, will push you to ask questions, learn new skills, get … Continue reading A Summer of Research: Enhancing Patient Care Insights
I write to you from Phuket: my last weekend in Thailand, spent in the bluest waters I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. Imagine my gratitude when I saw my first coral reef, a 30-minute snorkeling session I lazily floated through while mulling over the state of the world. Would these reefs be here … Continue reading Lessons Learned from my Research Journey in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Hello, everyone! As I prepare to head back to the United States later this week, I find myself reflecting on my time here in Gaborone with a mix of gratitude, accomplishment, and a hint of longing for home. These past six weeks have been a whirlwind of research, cultural immersion, and exploration, pushing me outside … Continue reading Reflecting on My Time in Gaborone: A Journey of Growth and Discovery
Sunset over Maputo Hello again! My final weeks in Maputo have been quite eventful and educational, although they went by far too quickly. Our research has been growing, and more departments are aware that we are looking to identify and help diagnose Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). There are many challenges faced within Maputo Central Hospital … Continue reading Exploring Maputo: Culture, Healthcare, and Community
My week in Mae Sot was short-lived and well-filled. Mae Sot is a resilient transient-dense town on the Thai side of the Thailand-Myanmar borderline. It was my first time seeing an open border, identical houses on either side of a shallow river that I would have mistaken as different neighborhoods of the same town--if not … Continue reading A Week in Mae Sot, Thailand
Hello! It’s been such a whirlwind transitioning to a new place. I’ve been learning and growing each day since I’ve been in Gaborone. It’s been a mild winter; The contrast between warm, sunny days and cool mornings and nights. My evenings are spent soaking up some vitamin D. My free time on the weekends has … Continue reading Gaborone | A Day in the Life
When I was applying for medical schools, I remember being captivated by a UC San Diego GHAC video where students described their ability to ‘engage in global health work in your own backyard’. As an out-of-state student passionate about global health, this resonated deeply with me. The ability to integrate global health work so closely … Continue reading Engaging in Global Health: My Experience in Tijuana
Olá! Tudo Bem. Hello from Maputo, Moçambique! A country home to some of the friendliest people in the world. Sunrise View from the UCSD Apartment I spend most of my week at Maputo Central Hospital, the largest public hospital in all of Moçambique. My research is in Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) diagnosis in the inpatient … Continue reading Olá! Tudo Bem. Hello from Maputo, Moçambique!
Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra Eai? Tudo bem? (What’s up? All good?) I’m back again to blog about my unforgettable summer – technically, winter - in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. (Disclaimer: unfortunately, my phone took a dive in Hawai’i a few days after I returned from Brazil, so I sadly lost the hundreds of … Continue reading WhatsApp Amigos- Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
What amazed me most when we first arrived in Quito was how close we were to the sky. At approximately 10,000ft above sea level, Quito is the second highest capital in the world, sitting among the clouds that float over the Andes. In the early mornings, a thick layer of clouds would roll over the … Continue reading From Quito to the Amazon: An Unforgettable Adventure
My GHAC summer research in Ecuador as part of the ESPINA project was an incredible professional, academic and personal experience! I began working with Dr. Suarez during the school year to help with a project related to pesticide exposure and inflammatory biomarkers as part of the ESPINA project. My interest in Dr. Suarez’s research was … Continue reading Exploring Quito: Culture and Science in Summer Research
Traditional Nepali Food (Dal-bhaat) with Rice, lentils, curd, different curries and pickles This summer, I had the privilege of working on a qualitative study of abortion conducted by the Center for Research on Environment, Health, and Population Activities (CREHPA). This project is part of the larger global abortion study known as the "Turnaway Study," led … Continue reading Insights from my Summer with CREHPA in Nepal
After completing my first year of medical school, I returned to Nepal for my GHAC research project. Throughout the 26-hour journey, I felt immense gratitude for the opportunity to conduct research in my home country. There’s something uniquely powerful about revisiting the home and the familiar alleys you grew up in. It instantly reminds you … Continue reading Summer Back Home – Nepal
Hello from Bogotá! I am writing this blog post on my way back home from an incredible summer in Ecuador during my 7-hour layover in Colombia. I came to Ecuador with GHAC to work on the ESPINA project (Exposición Secundaria a Plagucidias en Niños y Adolescentes). This project is under the direction of Dr. José … Continue reading Exploring Health Impacts of Pesticides in Ecuador
Hola! Checking in again from San Jose, Costa Rica. Since I last wrote to you, I have worked in two different medical environments. I spent my 3rd week at Hospital San Rafael in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Alajuela is around 45 minutes from San Jose and much hotter than San Jose. I had the opportunity to … Continue reading Last Two Weeks of Medical School in Costa Rica
The first two weeks of my border health rotation were spent at the Red Cross in Tijuana. According to the 2000 U.S. National Census, approximately 49 percent of residents living in a border town are Hispanic, mostly of Mexican origin. They mix with people of other ethnic groups throughout the border region, including non-Hispanic whites, … Continue reading Border Health Rotation at Red Cross in Tijuana
¡Buenos Días! from San Jose, Costa Rica! My name is Jordan. I am a MS4 in the Global Health Academic Concentration (GHAC) at UC San Diego School of Medicine. I am so excited to tell you a little bit about my adventures in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am working in San Jose for 4 … Continue reading ¡Buenos Días! from San Jose, Costa Rica!
The city of Stockholm has a silence to it. Created by quiet streets frequented primarily by pedestrians, ancient buildings that seem to absorb sound into their storied bones, and a light breeze that ruffles the numerous green trees and carries excess sound away over the Baltic Sea. A peaceful place to call home, especially during … Continue reading Endless days of summer
I spent this summer studying maternal death at Hospital Central de Maputo. The project is centered around maternal death, with a particular focus on postpartum hemorrhaging (PPH) and the introduction of cryoprecipitate therapy at Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM) in Maputo, Mozambique. After working with Dr. Von Drygalsi and Michael Glazier to create data collection … Continue reading A Study of Maternal Mortality
The ESPINA project was established in 2008 with the aim of assessing the effects of pesticide exposure in the development of children living in agricultural settings. Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of working with the team at the Cimas Foundation, helping with data collection for the 14-year follow-up of participants. … Continue reading Ecuador research
Hola! Qué tal? This week I rotated through obstetrics and gynecology at Hospital de las Mujeres Adolfo Carit Eva. Hospital Carit, a public hospital only for women, is named after Adolfo Carit Eva, a French physician who studied at the University of Paris and then lived in Costa Rica. Upon his death is 1912, he … Continue reading Week 3 – Ginecología
In Amman the buildings are dense, piled on top of each other, no spaces in between - evidence of a city that grew out of necessity. During the day the sight can be overwhelming, but at sunset the repetitive architecture reflects back a pink light that captures the city and you can feel a collective … Continue reading learning & Surveying compassion in Jordan
Training with UCSD research team on campus to learn blood and sputum processing techniques so I can successfully collect samples in TJ This summer, I am conducting a clinical study at Tijuana (TJ) General Hospital’s Clinica de Tuberculosis in TJ, Mexico to improve the accuracy and usability of a prototype assay which was designed to … Continue reading Teamwork in Tijuana
I traveled to Seoul, South Korea to be physically present at the intersection of healthcare data collection, infectious disease management, and public health initiatives within a universal healthcare system setting. More specifically, in my several weeks in Seoul, I shadowed Dr. Min, a renowned pulmonologist and public health specialist at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The … Continue reading Lessons from Seoul: AI in Infectious Disease Management
I'm spending the summer in Maputo, Mozambique doing research on peripheral neuropathy in patients with HIV at Maputo Central Hospital. Although much of my time is spent doing research in the Internal Medicine Wards at Maputo Central Hospital, I have had a lot of free time to explore Maputo and engage with locals in their … Continue reading A Foodie’s Guide to Maputo: Local and Fusion
Hello, my name is Nene, and I'm spending the summer in Maputo, Mozambique doing research on peripheral neuropathy in patients with HIV at Maputo Central Hospital. Working in the internal medicine wards at Maputo Central Hospital has been an incredible learning experience. Every day I'm surrounded by so many brilliant medical students, residents, and attendings. … Continue reading Experiencing Healthcare in Maputo: A Medical Student’s Journey
Migori is a lush, vibrant county in western Kenya, nestled near Lake Victoria and the Tanzanian border. I just finished my first year of medical school at UC San Diego and then began my summer global health journey through GHAC. My first stop was a weekend in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya where I stayed … Continue reading Hello (or Habari) from Migori, Kenya!
Introduction In addition to primary care and community mental health, I spent part of my summer at specialty clinics in Brasília. These experiences deepened my understanding of infectious disease care, highlighted systemic inequities, and clarified my own calling toward psychiatry. HIV and PrEP Clinics – Conversations Through Medicine At the Hospital Universitário de Brasília (HUB), … Continue reading Lessons from HIV Clinics, Research and Psychiatry in Brasília
Introduction This summer, I spent sixty hours shadowing physicians and healthcare workers in Brasília. What stood out to me most was how Brazil’s unified health system (SUS) brings together public health, social work, and medical care to meet the needs of communities—often in ways that contrasted sharply with my experiences in the United States. The … Continue reading Community Care and Mental Health in Brasília
On my first morning in Quito, I stepped onto the third-story balcony of my host family’s home and was met with a quiet, beautiful surprise—a bright rainbow stretching across the misty sky. I had arrived the day before on a red-eye flight and, still adjusting to the altitude, had gone straight to bed. Waking up … Continue reading Inside Ecuador’s Healthcare System: My Time at a Centro de Salud- Quito, Ecuador
If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d finish medical school standing in an operating room in Mozambique—scrubbed in for a C-section or vaginal hysterectomy after just helping deliver twins and triaging a gynecologic emergency—I might have smiled and said, “That sounds like the dream.” And it absolutely was. Returning to Hospital … Continue reading A Beautiful Return: GHAC Rotation Reflection – Hospital Central de Maputo, Maputo, Mozambique, 2025
Bahiana Escola De MedicinaIt was an honor to spend my final clinical rotation of medical school in Salvador, the vibrant coastal capital of Bahia, Brazil. Throughout the month, I worked in outpatient clinics affiliated with the Bahia Escola de Medicina, rotating through cardiology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. Each day, I joined final-year medical students for patient … Continue reading Experiencing Brazil’s Public Healthcare in Salvador, Bahia
Hola from Huanchaco! The infamous Huanchaco red bus that runs between Trujillo (the neighboring city) and Huanchaco. I am writing from Huanchaco, Peru, a small beach town in the northern part of the country, where a fellow medical student and I are participating in a clinical rotation as part of the GHAC curriculum. Our rotation … Continue reading Clinical Rotations and Community Health in Peru