Student Engagement

Hello! I am John Lin, a sophomore planning on pursuing a concentration in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary in GHHP or History of Science. I am excited about the intersection between health and policy to drive healthcare equity. On campus, I have been a policy researcher for the IOP Health Policy Team and worked on increasing accessibility to weatherization services. I also care deeply about education and serve as a team lead for the IOP Policy’s Education Team as well as a mentor for BRYE Teen. Outside of campus, I am conducting research on toxic protein accumulation in kidney disease at the Broad Institute. I would love to hear more about your interests in global health and cannot wait to help you navigate through all the incredible opportunities that HGHI has to offer. Please don’t hesitate to reach out about classes, internship opportunities, interests/global health ideas, or anything else!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Health policy, Healthcare accessibility, Education, Healthcare economics, Immigrant healthcare management
• Global-Health Related Student Organizations: Global VISION
• Other Student Organizations: IOP Policy, HCURA, Harvard Science Review, PBHA BRYE Teen
• Research/Internships: Research Intern (Broad Institute); Microbiology Research Intern (Forsyth Institute)

Izumi Vázquez is a sophomore studying History of Science (Medicine and Society track) with a secondary in GHHP on the pre-med track. She was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Izumi is interested in advancing health equity (particularly that affecting Latino communities) as both a physician and health policy advocate. She is also interested in the intersection of art and healthcare — she has previously created and is currently working on art pieces for a major hospital in her hometown. A few other things she loves: pottery, dogs, and backpacking!

• Areas of Interest in Global Health: Health equity, Health policy, Migrant health, Mental health advocacy, Social determinants of health
• Other Student Organizations: First-Year Outdoor Program, Harvard Consulting on Business and the Environment
• Research/Internships: Getting to Zero Massachusetts Coalition Activist Academy Fellow, Advocating Success for Kids (ASK) Clinic Patient Advocate, research intern (Lee Lab @ UT Health San Antonio), summer business analyst (healthcare consulting @ McKinsey)

Hi y’all! My name is Keira Adams and I’m a First-Year in Canaday studying Neuroscience and African American Studies on the Pre-Med track. I have lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dallas, New Orleans, Senegal, Northern Virginia, and El Paso! I am most interested in how healthcare disparities affect Black communities and what steps can be taken to make amends. I am also heavily involved in Harvard’s Generational African American Student Association and the Association of Black Harvard Women. You can usually find me laughing with my friends in Annenberg or at Black events on campus. Besides global health, I try to get involved in mentorship with youth of color. I love anything to do with Daniel Caesar, NYT games, and trivia. If you have any questions about being a minority in healthcare or literally anything else, feel free to contact me.

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Health Technology, Health Equity, Mental Health, Elder Care, Social Determinants of Health
• Global Health-Related Student Organizations: Harvard Black Undergraduate Pre-Med Society
• Other Student Organizations: Harvard’s Generational African American Student Association, Association of Black Harvard Women, Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers
• Research/Internships: Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences

Arsema is a a first-year in Lionel, studying Sociology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Though she was born in Ethiopia, she grew up in San Diego, California. She’s very passionate about centering marginalized communities in healthcare, particularly through understanding social determinants of health and decolonial/anti-racist healthcare solutions. In the past, Arsema has worked in various sectors within the public health field, ranging from culturally-competent nutrition research or creating equitable health metrics for international NGO health infrastructure projects. On campus, she serves as an Analyst for the Harvard College Consulting Group, an Assistant Director for Harvard National Model United Nations, and the first-year representative for Harvard’s Eritrean Ethiopian Student Union. In her free time, she loves cooking Ethiopian food, crocheting, and going into Boston with her friends.

• Areas of Interest in Global Health: Social determinants of health; decolonial global health solutions; maternal health in East Africa; health policy;
• Other Student Organizations: Harvard College Consulting Group; Harvard National Model United Nations; Harvard Eritrean Ethiopian Student Association; Association for Black Harvard Women; Black Student Association
• Research/Internships: Nutrition Research Intern (University of California, San Diego & Leah’s Pantry); Monitoring and Evaluation Intern (Build Health International); Communications Intern (American Civil Liberties Union); Health Media Intern (San Diego Refugee Community Coalition)

Hi everyone! My name is Aurelia, and I am a junior from New York City studying Computer Science with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. I am passionate about leveraging technological innovations to advance health equity by improving access and the delivery of quality care on a global scale. In previous summers, I have conducted research in computational health, epidemiology, and medical anthropology, and I also developed software for a healthcare company. Aside from my work in global health, I am very interested in the intersection of social justice and visual arts. I lead a social justice nonprofit organization outside of school. In my free time, you can find me trying out new matcha desserts, making art, watching movies, or exploring museums. Please feel free to reach out if you want to chat about health tech, global health opportunities, research, internships, or classes! I would love to hear about your interests!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Health Technology, Health Equity, Mental Health, Elder Care, Social Determinants of Health
• Global Health-Related Student Organizations: Harvard Computer Society Technology and Global Health Initiative
• Other Student Organizations: AADT, WICS, HCS
• Research/Internships: Interpretability of LLM for healthcare research (Harvard Medical School), Software Engineer Intern (Elevance Health), Research Intern (Computational Epidemiology Lab, Harvard Medical School), Student Affiliate and Researcher (Harvard Social Technology for Global Aging Research Initiative)

Hi, everyone! My name is Anaïs, and I’m a junior from Houston, Texas living in Eliot House. I’m concentrating in Neuroscience on the Mind, Brain, Behavior track with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and a language citation in Spanish. I’m passionate about improving healthcare access and quality, especially for marginalized communities, both as a physician and through public health initiatives. In particular, I am interested in the impact of early psychosocial adversity on child development and health. On campus, I am the Staff Director at Y2Y, a student-run youth homeless shelter; I participate in behavioral and neuroimaging research at the Gaab Lab; and I mentor writers for the Harvard Undergraduate Health Policy Review. In my free time, I love to go on bike rides and explore new restaurants or recipes. If you have any questions about navigating global health and pre-med opportunities at Harvard, don’t hesitate to reach out!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Early childhood adversity, mental health, social epidemiology, health equity
• Global Health-Related Student Organizations: Harvard Undergraduate Health Policy Review, Harvard Undergraduate UNICEF Club
• Other Student Organizations: Y2Y Harvard Square
• Research/Internships: Summer intern with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Child Protection Research Group, Summer intern with Partners in Health Peru’s Mental Health Program, Research intern at the Gaab Lab, affiliated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Cristian champions mentorship and helps maximize individuals’ potential on campus, in Greater Boston, and nationally. He is a firm believer in the adage,” If you know better, you do better.” Through his service, he hopes to empower those beginning their pre-health journies by sharing HGHI’s valuable resources! Before crystallizing his passion for Psychological research and setting his eyes on a Ph.D. Although he spent two years studying sociology and economics and two summers consulting, he pivoted his Jr. Fall. He credits his immersion and flourishment in the field to his tenacity and informed advisors. As his predecessor Chuby Uche did for him, Cristian aspires to pay forward his wisdom to the next generation beginning their impactful journeys in Global Health!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Culturally relevant mental healthcare, black men’s mental health, treatment development and clinical implementation
• Other Student Organizations: Co-President Greener Scott Scholars and Harvard i-Lab Student Founder
• Research/Internships: Honors Thesis Author under supervisors Dr. Matt Nock and Dr. Jasmin Brooks Stephens, Nock Lab Research Assistant supporting Dr. Kate Bentley, Director of the Suicide Prevention Research Program at MGH

Hey everyone! My name is Divangel Guerrero, and I’m a freshman from New Jersey planning on concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary in GHHP, and possibly a citation in Russian. I’m extremely passionate about global health, and trying to address the current health issues within our society. As of right now, I have a strong interest in racial health disparities which have affected marginalized communities for decades, and recently did research on the relationship between neoliberal policies, redlining, and racial health disparities affecting marginalized communities within the United States. This semester I’m excited to spread awareness of current global health issues, and looking to begin addressing health disparities within our local communities. Outside of academics, I enjoy playing basketball, lifting, doing calisthenics, and listening to music. If you have any questions on first-year classes, global health classes, being a FGLI student, or why New Jersey is a Top 5 state don’t hesitate to reach out!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Health Policy and Governance, Health Care Accessibility, Medical Anthropology, Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Response, and Mental Health
• Global Health-Related Student Organizations: Harvard Undergraduate Premedical Society
• Other Student Organizations: Harvard Undergraduate Dominican Student Association First-Year Rep, Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers, Harvard Black Men’s Forum
• Research/Internships: Holy Name Medical Center Cardiology Intern (New Jersey), Effects of aerobic exercise on blood pressure and its correlation to preventing early onsets of heart disease (Holy Name Medical Center

Aloha! My name is Ye Won Ham, and I am a sophomore in Winthrop House studying Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in GHHP. Born and raised in Hawaii, I was lucky enough to grow and learn in such a culturally diverse place. With this diversity, however, came many challenges, one of which was differences in health outcomes due to cultural health disparities and language barriers. As a result, I became really interested in tackling these problems, especially as someone who wants to pursue medicine. Currently, I’m doing an internship with ThinkNeuro on their second medical language exchange project, conducting research at the Nett Lab on the biosynthesis and role of medicinal alkaloids, and exploring different communities at Harvard. Outside of school, I enjoy taking workshops through the ceramics program, playing golf, and watching K-dramas (contact me for recs!). Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about global health at Harvard, being pre-med, or would just like to chat over a cup of coffee!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Cultural health disparities, cross-cultural medicine, language barriers in healthcare, and infectious disease
• Other Student Organizations: PBHA PEN program, HKA
• Research/Internships: ThinkNeuro Internship (Second Medical Language Exchange Program), Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Nett Lab (Harvard MCB Department), Student Intern (Hawaii Medical Association)

Hey! My name is Tseyang and I’m a sophomore from New York City studying Social Anthropology and East Asian Studies with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Growing up with a father who had practiced Traditional Tibetan Medicine in India and now conducts volunteer home visits in his spare time (as America does not recognize TTM) and with a Tibetan immigrant community whose careers often reflect a commitment to service as a nurse, I was surrounded by healthcare workers and acutely aware of the limitations of the American healthcare system. I developed a penchant for global health research and advocacy, and resolved to work towards alleviating health disparities and bringing unique attention to epidemiologically invisible communities. I’m particularly interested in employing an ethnographic lens in examining social suffering, trauma, and diverse sociocultural explanatory frameworks of illness in the Tibetan community in exile. Outside of health, I am a human rights activist in the Tibetan Freedom Movement. You can find me reading, crocheting, or watching Friends! If you have any questions about global health, medical anthropology, being FGLI at Harvard, or just want to chat, feel free to reach out to me!

• Areas of interest in Global Health: Medical Anthropology, Human Rights, Medical Pluralism, Trauma
• Global Health-Related Student Organizations: CrimsonEMS, Harvard Undergraduate Medical Humanities Forum, IOP Health Policy, Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative, Harvard Undergraduate Health Policy Review, The Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal
• Other Student Organizations: Harvard Undergraduate Tibetan Cultural Association
• Research/Internships: Project Cascade Intern (Raise Uganda Now), independent research on the Tibetan refugee health profile