Student Experiences | Overview
The Neuroepidemiology Unit works frequently with trainees and students to develop impactful global health research projects. Please contact us to learn more. The following profiles highlight the great work students have worked on!
Amber Wolf
Duke University
Internship: Summer 2019
Amber Wolf is a rising senior at Duke University pursuing a double major in music and global health. She was admitted to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai through the FlexMed program and will matriculate in 2020. Amber spent 9 weeks working as a research intern at the Neuroepidemiology lab, which included a two-week international experience in Bangladesh. While in Bangladesh, Amber led a focus group with hospital staff to discuss smoking culture in the community in order to determine the drivers of smoking and barriers to smoking cessation. She also observed research study activities for the NIH-funded Arsenic-related Cystic Fibrosis study in Pabna and gathered tea samples for metal contamination analysis. In Boston, Amber continued developing educational materials for smoking cessation based on her findings during the focus group. She also used XRF to analyze the tea samples and will submit a manuscript for publication.
Anamika Saha
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Drexel University College of Medicine
Practicum: 2018-2019 academic year
Anamika is a medical student at Drexel University and a completed a Master’s of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Anamika spent 3 weeks in January during her J-term to work on a couple of projects at the National Institutes of Neurosciences & Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She worked with pediatric neurologist, Dr. Narayan Saha, to develop a survey regarding characteristics of children with infantile spasms for a pilot study. She also worked with research coordinators to get ethics committee approval for the study. This study will be used to create a database of children with infantile spasms in order to further inform effective treatment strategies and genetic predispositions for this patient population. In addition, she created a phone survey as part of a follow-up of an existing NTD-study to understand folic acid supplementation use among mothers of children with neural tube defects. This information will be used to strategize ways to improve folic acid supplementation use among these high-risk mothers to prevent subsequent NTD-affected births. She did 2 presentations as part of journal club in front of all of the physicians at NINS; 1 regarding congenital CMV and neurological symptoms and one on improving folic acid supplementation use among women of reproductive age.
Connor Wall
Harvard Medical School Project Success intern
Internship: Summer 2019
Connor is a recent high school graduate with a career interest in Medicine. In fall 2019, Connor will be attending Johns Hopkins University with a plan of study that includes medicine, animation, and international studies. While working in the Neuroepidemiology Unit, Connor created materials related to the 2019 International Neural Tube Defects conference and conducted a research project that analyzed data from the arsenic and neural tube defect research project.
Caroline Sunuwar
Boston Children’s Hospital COACH intern (Community, Opportunities, and Advancement at Boston Children’s Hospital)
Internship: Summer 2019
Caroline is a high school student in the Boston area. In fall 2019, Caroline will complete her senior year and apply to several colleges and universities. Caroline is interested in a career in medicine, specifically oncology. While working in the Neuroepidemiology Unit, Caroline created conference materials for the 2019 International Neural Tube Defects conference and participated in several lab shadowing activities around Boston Children’s Hospital. Aside from research, Caroline shadowed various departments to gain a better understanding of other areas such as public health, government relations, and wet labs in Boston Children’s large healthcare facility.