The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
I had an incredible time working with my research team this summer in Botswana. However, I can’t fully describe how rich my experience was without mentioning some of the adventures I was able to have outside of work.My home base in Bots was the capital city, Gaborone. Gaborone has the feel of a sprawling, bustling … Continue reading Wildlife Adventures in Sub-Saharan Africa
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
One of the best things about having a summer birthday is that I always am surprised by where the next year takes me. This year, I got to spend my 25th birthday in Ecuador, making it one of my best yet. To have a day I would remember for a lifetime, I decided to hike … Continue reading Hiking Volcán Cotopaxi: My 25th Birthday Experience
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
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
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
I have been working at two local shelters (work closely with Jewish Family Services and Catholic Charities) in San Diego that serve as the Asylum Clinic. For background, an individual who is seeking asylum is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another … Continue reading The Asylum Clinic – San Diego
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