The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
There were early signs that my summer in Salvador as a GHAC student would play out quite unexpectedly, but it didn’t really hit me until - 2 hours into a 10-hour flight from Houston to São Paulo - the flight attendants asked over the intercom if there was a doctor on board. Then again. Then … Continue reading Barril Dobrado – Bahia, Brazil
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
I was born in Guatemala and raised in Southern California. Growing up, I remember my mom always telling me, “En la casa hablamos Español, en la escuela puede habalr Ingles,” which translates to, “At home we speak Spanish, at school you can speak English.” In my early childhood, I remember struggling with both languages. There … Continue reading Found in translation
When I joined the GHAC program, I knew that I wanted to travel to Sub-Saharan Africa. I was eager to understand more about the region, and to have an opportunity to learn from physicians, fellow students, and patients there. Fortunately, I found a project working with American physicians Dr. Sierra Washington and Christy Zachek, and … Continue reading Mapping maputo
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
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