Student Bios for the 2009-10 class
Harmonie Ruth Adams
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, International Relations and Pre-med, Samford University, Birmingham, AL, 2009
Global Health Experience
At a young age, Harmonie assisted her parents at an orphanage in Burkina Faso. She also lived in Central Asia for two years, assisting local doctors in clinics and hospitals.
Global Health Interest
Harmonie will focus on infant and maternal healthcare provision and maintenance. Self- immolation among young Afghani girls forced into marriage is a major concern for her.
Sonya Baik
Citizen of Canada
Education
MD, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, 2006
Current Position
Resident, PGY IV, General Surgery Postgraduate Training Program, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada, 2006 to present
Global Health Experience
Sonya has done volunteer work with survivors of torture, inner-city youth-at-risk, and children with acquired brain injuries.
Global Health Interest
Sonya hopes to find practical methods of integrating basic surgical care in health systems of low- and middle-income countries to improve overall health outcomes of populations.
Kimberly (Kim) Ann Baltzell
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, English, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St Mary’s City, MD, 1979
BSN, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 1991
Ph.D, Nursing, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, 2004
Current Position
Assistant Adjunct Professor, UCSF Department of Physiological Nursing, 2006-present
Global Health Experience
Kim started a non-profit, NetGain-Malawi, in 2006 to provide insecticide-treated bednets for rural villages in Malawi. While doing so, she analyzed malaria data and shared information with the Malawian Ministry of Health for three years. Additionally, she is a board member of the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance and the Milagro Foundation.
Global Health Interest
Kim is interested in eliminating malaria and is currently researching indoor residual spraying as an adjunct to bednets in Malawi. She is interested in helping residents of sub-Saharan Africa who do not have access to health care facilities.
Evan Martin Bloch
Citizen of South Africa
Education
MBChB (bachelor of Medicine and Surgery), University of Cape Town Medical School, Cape Town, South Africa, 1999
Board Certification Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, 2008
Fellowship Transfusion Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, 2009
Current Position
Clinical Fellow Transfusion Medicine, UCSF and affiliate Blood Systems Research Institute (1st year)
Global Health Experience
Evan has run clinical services in a rural hospital in Vredenburg, South Africa with particular focus in trauma and infectious disease (e.g. HIV, TB). He also spent three months working in a hematology-oncology ICU in Cape Town, prompting his interest in hematology and subsequently transfusion medicine.
Global Health Interests
Evan aims to align his pathology and transfusion medicine background with global health initiatives such as training on blood safety and the clinical aspects of blood banking in low resource countries. His research interest is in microchimerism.
Ken Russell Coelho
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Psychology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2005
Current Position
Healthcare Analyst in Performance Improvement, San Francisco Department of Public Health/San Francisco General Hospital, 2007- present
Global Health Experience
In high school Ken worked with terminally ill cancer patients at a hospice in India. He also volunteered distributing food, blankets, and medication to orphans and homeless children in Timisoara, Romania.
Global Health Interest
Ken is interested in documenting the global impact of the healthcare reform work underway in San Francisco and the evaluation side of caring for the under-served from an “implementation of policy” perspective. He would also like to study the framework for data driven evidence-based health policy in India to address and reduce stigma and disparities in care.
Donna Deng
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Molecular Biology and Classical Civilization, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 1993
MD, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 1998
Current Position
Assistant Professor of Urology, UCSF, 2005-present
Global Health Experience
Donna participated in a humanitarian mission to Cuba on AIDS. She has also been on medical missions in China and the Philippines, and worked in a Vesicovaginal fistula camp in Kenya.
Global Health Interest
Donna is interested in surgical/urologic diseases and capacity building.
Shilpa Gulati
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Human Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 2006
Global Health Experience
Shilpa has completed original independent research projects at Stanford on overcoming economic barriers to malaria vaccine development and improving access to pharmaceuticals in developing countries. She has also worked to develop volunteer efforts at rural medical clinics in India.
Global Health Interest
Shilpa aims to improve access to care for women globally with a focus on endocrine conditions prevalent in developing countries. She hopes to develop resources for preventive care, medical education, and chronic condition management abroad.
Daniel Kawika Hirt
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2007
MSc, London School of Economics, London, UK, 2008
Global Health Experience
He has traveled in Asia and the Middle East and has l examined the role of international organizations in combating the emergence, re-emergence and expansion of infectious disease epidemics, with particular regard to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.
Global Health Interest
Daniel would like to focus on access to and methods of prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. He is extremely interested in international policy and development, as well as the effects of the pandemic on governance.
Gary William Koehler
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Psychology, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI, 1983
MPH, Health Care Administration, University of Missouri, Columbia, MI 1986
Current Position
Life-Coach, self-employed, 2003-present
Global Health Experience
Gary’s focus has been on HIV/AIDS primarily in local communities, helping people gain access to health care services, raising funds for local AIDS-related charities, and direct care for persons with AIDS, particularly in sub Saharan Africa.
Global Health Interest
Gary is interested in health system development, particularly utilizing existing resources effectively and developing programs to match resources and need in communities. He wants to create or expand programs that focus on prevention and treatment for preventable illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.
Chloe Eliza Le Marchand
Citizen of the U.S. and France
Education
BA, Human Biology; Human Health and Disease and French Literature, Brown University, Providence, RI, 2009
Global Health Experience
Chloe initiated and organized a seminar series, Innovative Approaches to Global Health, at Brown University presenting a multidisciplinary approach to global health. Topics included: Environmental Change, Gender Issues, Engineering, Business, Religion and Mental Health. She is also working on a research study looking at HIV positive refugees from West Africa and how well they integrate into care in the US. She has lived abroad in France and has traveled in the South Pacific.
Global Health Interest
Chloe is particularly interested in infectious disease, especially HIV, as well as maternal health in West Africa and in Southeast Asia.
Sher-Ping Leung
Citizen of Canada
Education
BScH, Life Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, 1998
MD, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, 2003
FRCSC (General Surgery) University of British Columbia, Canada 2009
Current Position
Residency in General Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, (FRCSC) 2009
Global Health Experience
Sher-Ping spent a summer in Guatemala with a medical/dental missions group, setting up mobile clinics focusing on primary health care and prevention in rural Mayan villages. During her medical training she spent time in Sichuan, China, teaching basic hygiene in rural schools as well as working with a general surgeon. Most recently, during her surgical residency, she spent three months in Bangladesh at a mission hospital, under the mentorship of an American surgeon.
Global Health Interest
Sher-Ping is interested in exploring what initiatives and resources are essential for surgical services overseas, and the role of critical care in the developing world.
Sandi Ma
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 1998
Current Position
Project Coordinator, KidsCareEverywhere, a nonprofit
Global Health Experience
In February 2009, Sandi began volunteering for KidsCareEverywhere, a non profit whose goal is to provide medical technologies to developing countries for prevention and treatment of illnesses and injuries in children. She helped administratively by revamping their logo and website, fundraising, recruiting key personnel, and planning future trips.
Global Health Interest
Sandi is interested in increasing the education and resources available to medical facilities, both domestically and abroad, so that doctors can be better prepared to handle the volume and emergencies encountered.
Shaheen Mokhtari
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
MD, MBBS, King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan, 1985
Global Health Experience
Shaheen has practiced medicine in Pakistan and Iran in rural areas with war affected populations and refugees. She assisted in writing and implementing regional health delivery plans, particularly for women and children in Iran. She has continued to work two to three months every year in clinical medicine and health education in Iran, even after moving to the US in 1992.
Global Health Interest
Shaheen will focus on the global health policy with a focus on the physical and mental health of refugee children and underserved populations.
Benita Panigrahi
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
B.S, Women’s Studies, Biology, Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 2006
MD Candidate, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Global Health Experience
Benita’s social justice efforts with NGOs in South Korea, India, UAE, and Honduras have focused on social capacity building of individuals and communities to achieve primary prevention of disease.
Global Health Interest
She is especially committed to developing the intrinsic strengths of primary clinics, health providers, and locally trained citizens in secondary prevention of insult after trauma. By redefining methods of prevention, her research will aim to design treatment protocols that prevent uncertainties in diagnosis and delays in initial treatment of acute injury in resource limited settings.
Gehres Paschal
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BS, Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2005
MD (in progress), Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA
Global Health Experience
Gehres has organized medical clinics, managed staff recruitment, and led outreach and documentation concerning prevalent community health issues. She created a Global Health Elective at her school and established medical facility contacts in Nicaragua, Kenya and Brazil. Gehres performed a community health assessment in the Malindi District in Kalifi, Kenya, Hospital and conducted health promotion and education in Nicaragua. In Atitlan, Guatemala, she helped local healthcare providers and hospital staff in relief efforts after hurricane Stan.
Global Health Interests
Gehres plans to examine the development of sustainable, cost-effective programs that focus on integrating community-based health initiatives as part of medical education. She will focus on policy measures that address access to medical and surgical services as well as the prevention of disease in vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad.
Amy Whei Penn
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BS, Microbiology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2008
BA, Chinese Language, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 2008
Global Health Experience
Amy worked in Ecuador for a month with Urban-Rural Comparative Health, Service-Learning Medical Rotations, and Child Family Health international (CFHI). She also spent two months in rural India conducting an evaluation study comparing seropositive and seronegative patients’ perception and satisfaction of hospital service at the Swami Vivekananda Memorial Hospital in Mysore.
Global Health Interest
Amy is interested in the discrepancy between urban and rural health care in global and regional context. She aims to focus on health care in rural China.
Teri Ann Reynolds
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BA, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1992
PhD, Literature, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2001
MD, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, 2004
Residency, Emergency Medicine, Highland Hospital, (Chief Resident) 2009
Current Position
Clinical Fellow in Emergency Ultrasound, Emergency Department, UCSF
Global Health Experience
Through the World Health Organization, Teri focused on treatment protocols and training materials for district-level health workers. Additionally, she was involved in the district clinic project in Sumba, Indonesia and an irrigation project in Kenya.
Global Health Interest
Teri hopes to use ultrasound for diagnosis and triage in low-resource settings. She will also focus on the treatment of sepsis and training non-physician providers in the use of ultrasound.
Stacy Leah Salerno
Citizen of the U.S.
Education
BS, Biomedical Technology, minor in Chemistry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2008.
Global Health Experience
Emergency medical response to low-income neighborhoods awakened Stacy’s commitment to improving the health of those who are underserved. In the highlands of Ecuador, she assisted a surgical team in a non-profit hospital established for those who cannot afford health care. Inspired by both staff and patients, she went on to organize and volunteer in medical clinics for impoverished communities in Honduras.
Global Health Interest
Stacy is interested in research and international clinical medicine. Specifically, she will focus on disease detection, disaster response, and the development and progress of these fields through technology, communication, and humanitarian collaborations.