The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
Greetings from Mumbai, India! I am writing as I sip on a masala chai inside a local café, escaping the downpour outside. As I wrap up my fifth week in Mumbai, I have come to appreciate the rains that come and go as they please. It is monsoon season here, providing a stark contrast to … Continue reading My Mumbai Summer: Medicine and Monsoons
In September 2017, the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma. The eye of the storm passed directly over Barbuda, leaving a path of destruction in its wake and forcing the evacuation of the entire island. Nearly a decade later, Irma continues to cast a long shadow, shaping the … Continue reading What the Land Provides: Disaster, Development, and Disease in Barbuda
When I first arrived in Hanoi, I was struck by how familiar it felt. The bustling streets, endless stream of motorbikes, sidewalk cafes, and organized chaos reminded me so much of my hometown of Kathmandu. What I did not realize then was that the similarities extended far beyond the city itself. Throughout my month in … Continue reading Vietnam: Finding Connections in Unexpected Places
It is a distinct experience to feel that you are living in a place as opposed to visiting. This is one of the strengths of the global health academic concentration at UCSD. I have felt integrated into the cities and healthcare systems that I have worked in. As an MS1, this was Maputo, Mozambique and … Continue reading Discovering Quito: The Difference Between Visiting a Place and Living There
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 BrasÃlia. 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 BrasÃlia (HUB), … Continue reading Lessons from HIV Clinics, Research and Psychiatry in BrasÃlia
Introduction This summer, I spent sixty hours shadowing physicians and healthcare workers in BrasÃlia. 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 BrasÃlia