Student Profiles

Aryana Bates

Aryana Bates

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Molecular Biology, Minor in Public Health Policy, University of California, Berkeley, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Conducted patient visits, administered breathing tests, collected blood samples, and facilitated research as a clinical research coordinator at the UCSF Huang Lab
  • Worked with Curative, Inc., to expand quick and efficient mouth swab testing for COVID-19, while focusing on patient care

Global health interests:

  • Health promotion in immigrant populations and underserved locations
  • Mental health awareness and advocacy

Waania Beg

Waania Beg

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2019

Global health experience:

  • Volunteered at HIV/AIDS support center and assisted in providing social, economic, and health resources to individuals living with HIV in Central Louisiana
  • Served as member of GlobeMed at UCLA and partnered with the Mpoma Community HIV/AIDS Initiative to improve the health of the individuals living in South Central Uganda
  • Interned with non-profit organization focused on educating youth in Central Louisiana about dating violence

Global health interests:

  • Child and adolescent health
  • Health education and promotion
  • Sustainable health equity

Hannah Begna

Hannah Begna

Country of Origin: Canada

BS, Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, 2018

Global health experience:

  • Supported Vancouver's Communicable Disease Public Health Team through disease reporting and statistics and maintained health databases
  • Volunteered at a therapeutic horse-riding center that helped persons with disabilities reach their physical, social, and independence goals
  • Volunteered as a research assistant for a student's thesis regarding senior populations and physical activity. 

Global health interests:

  • Communicable and non-communicable disease
  • Global health equity, access, and disparities
  • Disease risk amount women, children, and ethnic groups

Hayley Bry

Hayley Bry

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of Southern California, 2021

Global health experience:

  • Collected and donated clothes and household supplies for Afghan refugees
  • Performed various translations and interpretations from Farsi to English
  • Traveled with a group of physicians, attendings, and residents to Dangriga, Belize, and participated in helping the team perform tests to diagnose early sickle cell anemia

Global health interest:

  • Mental health, specifically Afghanistan
  • Cancer care and kidney disease and prevention in Belize

Gabrielle Chan

Gabrielle Chan

Country of Origin: Philippines

BS, Biology, University of San Carlos, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Participated as a writer on regional health issues in Asia, social justice issues for marginalized Filipino communities, and pressing student matters
  • Researched accessible antimicrobial plants, mechanisms of nutrition neuroscience, and potential anti-colorectal cancer compounds
  • Volunteered in a local medical mission in Ginatilan, Cebu Province, where basic healthcare needs were serviced

Global health interests:

  • Family planning and women's reproductive health
  • Sociocultural determinants of health
  • Neglected tropical diseases

Vivian Chang

Vivian Chang

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Global Health, University of California, San Diego, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Worked within a national sepsis-focused health organization to ensure diverse reach and engagement
  • Created educational programs for children with asthma and their caretakers for use throughout schools in the Bay Area
  • Researched the effects of education- and community- based health supports on the rates of rehospitalization within individuals with chronic diseases in the border region of San Diego

Global health interests:

  • Education as a health intervention
  • Immigrant health
  • Cancer epidemiology

Viana Chau

Viana Chau

Country of Origin: USA

BA, Biology & International Studies, Illinois Wesleyan University, 2021

Global health experience:

  • Reviewed literature and interviewed yoga gurus about the historical and modern cultural significance of yoga in India and Nepal, as well as the physiological and spiritual effects of yoga on the human body
  • Illustrated a book that describes the methodology and physiological changes of 32 core yoga poses.

Global health interests:

  • Women & children healthcare
  • Minority healthcare
  • Communicable diseases.

Jennifer Chinwuba

Jennifer Chinwuba

Country of Origin: Nigeria

BS, Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Worked as a medical outreach volunteer and emergency room scribe in Nkwo Nando, Nigeria

Global health interests:

  • Non-communicable diseases
  • Disparities in treatment continuity
  • Cost-effectiveness analysis

Jaivind (Jai) Grewal

Jaivind (Jai) Grewal

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Biological Sciences, Minors in Public Health and Human Physiology, University of California, Davis, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Provided preventative health screenings, legal, and housing services for unhoused communities within the greater Sacramento region
  • Aided in free health clinics for the South Asian Punjabi communities in Sacramento
  • Conducted research in the risk of cardiac arrest in South Asian communities and presented the idea to offer education on CPR

Global health interests:

  • Noncommunicable diseases
  • Increasing healthcare coverage and knowledge in minority and underrepresented groups
  • Sociocultural determinants of health

Jasmine Hanna

Jasmine Hanna

Country of Origin: USA

BA Sociology, Minor in African and Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Created spaces that brought students from different Middle Eastern backgrounds together as Founder and President of the Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) at UCLA
  • Facilitated identity-based discussions and managed events focusing on the mental health, personal health, and wellbeing of Middle Eastern/North African people
  • Aided survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence from various cultural communities and backgrounds on the crisis line

Global health interests:

  • Sexual health
  • Maternal and child health
  • Reproductive health

Abigail (Abi) Higgins

Abigail (Abi) Higgins

Country of Origin: USA

BS Psychology, Minor in Global Health, Penn State University, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Worked as a research assistant to protect food supplies in Kenya and Ethiopia due to desert locust infestation
  • Provided direct care to a wide variety of patients with psychiatric disorders to ensure their safety and well-being
  • Coordinated annual education, advocacy, and fundraising at Hersey Medical Center
  • Provided emotional and social support for families fighting pediatric cancer through a student-led organization

Global health interest:

  • Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health
  • Cultural influences on health outcomes
  • Global mental health

Anagha Jadhav

Anagha Jadhav

Country of Origin: India

MD, Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, 2014

Global health experience:

  • Estimated the prevalence of Tuberculosis in children 14 years of age and identified risk factors for the disease
  • Screened for depression in elderly in urban community
  • Taught undergraduate students the concepts of Primary Healthcare in a medical school in India

Global health interests:

  • Biomarkers in Cancer Research and cancer screening
  • Machine learning in Diagnostic Pathology
  • Adolescent health with special reference to nutritional anemia in adolescent girls

Maya Jayaram

Maya Jayaram

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Biopsychology, Minor in Music Composition, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Provided free medical care and planned food and clothing drives to houseless individuals in Santa Barbara County
  • Interned at a Los Angeles community health center to support and problem-solved with children facing abuse and domestic violence
  • Worked as a Medical Assistant in dermatology and pediatric practices to conduct immunizations, check patient vitals, and assist in skin cancer surgeries

Global health interest:

  • Improvement of cancer diagnoses across the globe through innovative and low-cost methods
  • Increasing access to preventative care and mental health resources
  • Reducing the long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences through public health strategies

Atnasia Mekonnen

Atnasia Mekonnen

Country of Origin: Ethiopia

BA, Biochemistry, Minors in Studio Art and Public Health, Occidental College, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Served as a Community Health Fellow with Project Horseshoe Farm for a yearlong hands-on leadership and service experience to strengthen the health and education systems in rural Greensboro, AL
  • Helped to establish programs to build on existing strengths of the health, education, and social service systems in the city and lead the new team of fellows in the new PHF site in Pomona, CA, as Senior Fellow with Project Horseshoe Farm (PHF)
  • Conducted a Community Based Participatory Research project investigating the impact of the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV(EMTCT) program and avenues for improvement at St. Francis Health Care Services in Jinja, Uganda 
  • Volunteered in the Emergency and Radiology departments at St. Paul, Ethiopia.

Global health interests:

  • Healthcare access for vulnerable populations
  • Clinical and Community-based Health research
  • Socioeconomic and cultural determinants of health

Marta (Martita) Munoz Mendoza

Marta (Martita) Munoz Mendoza

Country of Origin: USA

BA, Child and Adolescent Development, San Francisco State University, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Provided culturally appropriate groceries for families who were affected by COVID-19, through The Mission Food Hub
  • Provided support to first graders in Chile to read and write that were affected by the pandemic
  • Provided support to immigrant students and seniors in non-credit ESL classrooms

Global health interests:

  • Access to mental health
  • Women's health
  • Health disparities in immigrant populations

Cesar Arturo Mendez Lizarraga

Cesar Arturo Mendez Lizarraga

Country of Origin: Mexico

MD, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, 2019; MPH, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico, 2021

Global health experience:

  • Served as a Public Health Program Coordinator at the State Ministry of Health in Baja California, Mexico
  • Participated in binational research projects concerning SARS-CoV-2
  • Taught a course on medical sociology and global health to medical students

Global health interests:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Global Health Diplomacy

Madeera Mian

Madeera Mian

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Psychobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Analyzed behavioral data and conducted experiments as undergraduate research assistant at UCLA Neurotrauma Research Lab
  • Mentored high school students in the Health Justice Scholars Program by teaching about public health, research methods, conducting interviews, and aiding them with their own research projects
  • Volunteered on a medical trip which encouraged sustainable health practices by assembling health fairs for Peruvian citizens living in remote places

Global health interests:

  • Mental health care access and awareness in developing countries 
  • Child development and psychiatric diseases presented in youth
  • Health inequalities in diverse and rural communities

Jordan Moos

Jordan Moos

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Public Health, Tulane University, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Answered, as an EMT, ALS calls which included 911 COVID cases during the pandemic and BLS calls
  • Organized and dispensed COVID-19 vaccinations to families at the Children Hospital and city of New Orleans
  • Served as a peer mentor and tutor for a nonprofit organization located in the 9th ward of New Orleans whose goal is to encourage over forty kids to acquire higher education and exit a life of generational poverty

Global health interests:

  • Maternal and child health
  • Sexual violence
  • Mental health

Sima Naderi

Sima Naderi

Country of Origin: Afghanistan

BSPH, Public Health, Kabul Medical University, 2017; MPH, Public Health, Kabul Medical Science, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Taught as Assistant Professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Kabul University of Medical Science
  • Worked as data scientist at the first Vice President’s Office in Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Participated as 2021 International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies program at UCSF
  • Worked as data analyst and research coordinator, focused on applying new technology in medical education
  • Participated as field researcher in National Mental Health Survey in Afghanistan

Global health interests:

  • Refugee health, mental health and healthcare access among Afghan refugees
  • Women’s and children’s health
  • Communicable disease

David (Dave) Nguyen

David (Dave) Nguyen

Country of Origin: USA

BA, Sociology, University of California, Irvine, 2019

Global health experience:

  • Conducted therapy sessions as behavior technician for kids with special needs from culturally diverse populations

Global health interests:

  • Healthcare systems/universal healthcare
  • Effects of geographical location on health
  • Effects on populations' health based on countries' development

Lily Ortiz

Lily Ortiz

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Biological Sciences, Minor in Comparative Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Worked as a Behavioral Interventionist to help individuals with autism within Santa Barbara County
  • Advocated for a wide range of sustainable and environmental justice-related topics through leadership positions in UCSB’s Environmental Affairs Board
  • Co-facilitated a campaign against ExxonMobil’s Interim Trucking Proposal within Santa Barbara County
  • Volunteered with Kids in Nutrition (K.I.N.) to educate the youth on various topics of nutrition and food sustainability

Global health interests:

  • Nutrition, health education, and health promotion
  • Vector-borne and other parasitic diseases
  • Increasing accessibility of healthcare for marginalized communities

Robert Orynich

Robert Orynich

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Botany, University of Florida, 2011; MD, University of California, San Francisco, 2018

Global health experience:

  • Worked with Clinton Health Access Initiative as an implementation partner for the Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program
  • Developed and piloted methods for abstracting caseload and clinic visit data for a cluster-randomized trial studying early HIV diagnosis and treatment in East Africa
  • Served as Team Leader for the Task to Update the Regional Core Health Indicators with the Pan-American Health Organization

Global health interests:

  • Emergency medical services
  • Health Systems Strengthening
  • Implementation Science

Jonathan Pang

Jonathan Pang

Country of Origin: Taiwan, USA

BA, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Designed, planned, and organized the 2021 Global Surgery Student Alliance West Coast Hackathon
  • Investigated the clinical, cost, sustainability, educational, and equity outcomes of charitable trips to low- and middle-income countries through a systematic review approach
  • Assisted with the first concerted attempt at an exhaustive global otorhinolaryngology workforce study as part of the Global Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) Initiative
  • Founded and directed the development and testing of PantryPass

Global health interests:

  • Bi-directional collaboration
  • Surgical systems and research capacity building

Anton-Luigi (Anton) Picazo

Anton-Luigi (Anton) Picazo

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Health and Human Sciences, Loyola Marymount University, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Volunteered at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center
  • Conducted observational research to determine the relationship between fitness goals and wearable usage within the college population
  • Worked as a Teacher's Assistant to provide students with a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology

Global health interests:

  • Orthopedic surgery in third world countries
  • Communicable diseases
  • Recreational drug use and its effect on mental health in the young adult population

Tanya Saini

Tanya Saini

Country of Origin: USA

BS, Public Health Sciences and BA, Psychology, University of California, Irvine, 2022

Global health experience:

  • Tutored under-resourced youth in Los Angeles Unified School District in math and English
  • Worked as a research assistant for the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders to support children with ASD and ADHD from under-resourced communities in Orange County
  • Volunteered as a crisis text line counselor

Global health interests:

  • Mental Health
  • Maternal and Child Health
  • Sociocultural and Economic Determinants of Health

Umedjon (John) Sharifov

Umedjon (John) Sharifov

Country of Origin: Tajikistan

BA, Linguistics and English-Persian Translation, Kulob State University, Tajikistan, 2011

Global health experience:

  • Taught leadership and self-confidence skills to children with disabilities

Global health interests:

  • Mental health

Jafit Ting

Jafit Ting

Country of Origin: Taiwan

BS, General Science, Psychology, Penn State University, 2020

Global health experience:

  • Researched the genetic causes for rare diseases and the immunological changes after COVID-19 vaccination
  • Assisted special education teachers and therapists at a developmental center in community integration programs and therapy sessions
  • Volunteered at an NGO (non-governmental organizations) in Thailand to promote drug use prevention

Global health interests:

  • Communicable diseases
  • Child healthcare
  • Global surgery

Nitya Turaga

Nitya Turaga

Country of Origin: USA

BA, Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production, University of Southern California, 2019

Global health experience:

  • Volunteered as a Camp Counselor and Marketing Director for Camp Kesem
  • Worked as a data analyst at a healthcare startup analyzing clinical trial, treatment, and patient data in relation to various rare diseases
  • Currently working as a Research Intern for the Innovations for Choice and Autonomy project to consolidate and explore data from self-injected contraception studies across six countries

Global health interests:

  • Access to medical care in underserved areas
  • Women’s health
  • Cancer prevention and control

Maha Zubaidi

Maha Zubaidi

Country of Origin: Palestine, USA

BS, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, 2018; MD (in progress) Stanford University School of Medicine

Global health experience:

  • Researched response to SSRIs in medication-naive patients in Palestine

Global health interests:

  • PTSD in Palestinian children assaulted and arrested by Israeli soldiers
  • Access to mental health care in Palestine
  • Coping mechanisms used by Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps in Lebanon