Student Engagement

Hi everyone! My name is Alif Sheikh, and I am a senior at Harvard studying Integrative Biology with a secondary in Educational Studies. As an immigrant from Bangladesh who grew up in the United States, I am deeply committed to exploring how education and direct service can serve as powerful levers for achieving health equity. On campus, I have dedicated my time to supporting the student community as a Peer Advising Fellow (PAF) and a First Year Urban Program (FUP) Leader. My passion for education extends beyond the classroom to North Cambridge, where I work as an after-school teacher for elementary students. I believe that bridging the gap between clinical knowledge and community-based service is essential to improving global health outcomes. When I’m not in the classroom or working with students, you can find me recharging with a good book or enjoying a long walk along the Charles River!

Areas of interest in global health: Health equity and social determinants of health; healthcare access for immigrant and low-income populations; language barriers in healthcare; school-based health initiatives.

Related Student organizations: Peer Advising Fellow; First-Year Urban Program; Harvard Undergraduate Pediatric Cancer Buddies; Bengali Association of Students at Harvard College; Harvard Islamic Society; Harvard Model Congress.

Research & internships: Project AHEAD at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center; Research Intern at University of Cape Town Global Surgery Division; Research Assistant at Gaab Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Hi! My name is Anais, and I’m a sophomore in Eliot studying Integrative Biology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy on the pre-med track. As a Senegalese-French immigrant who grew up in the United States, I have witnessed firsthand the disparities that exist in healthcare across different countries. On campus, I’m involved in the Harvard Undergraduate Black Health Advocates, the Harvard Undergraduate Health Policy Review, and I am a research intern in the Kanarek Lab, where I study how immune and cancer cells adapt their metabolism in contexts like inflammation and tumor development. I am also on the Girls Club Ice Hockey team. Outside of school, I love reading, concerts, and long walks. If you have any questions about pre-med classes, research, or anything else, feel free to reach out!

Areas of interest in global health: Social determinants of health; bioethics; comparative healthcare systems; health equity.

Hi everyone! My name is Meley, and I’m an incoming sophomore in Dunster House studying Human Developmental & Regenerative Biology with a secondary in Global Health & Health Policy and a citation in Spanish. I’m passionate about global health, particularly at the intersection of health equity, immigrant health, and access to care.

My interest in global health is rooted in both community-based work and clinical experiences. As the founder of Mending The Gap, I developed programs to support immigrant and newly arrived students in navigating academic systems, working closely with multilingual communities to make resources more accessible. I’ve also worked in clinical settings as a surgical liaison, where I helped bridge communication between patients, families, and care teams, including through translation in Spanish and Tigrinya. On campus, I’m involved with Harvard UNICEF and the Harvard Undergraduate Consulting Group, and I’m excited to also serve as a Peer Advising Fellow (PAF) and First-Year Urban Program (FUP) leader. Through these roles, I’m especially interested in mentorship and building inclusive, supportive spaces.

As a Global Health Ambassador in the SAC, I’m excited to contribute to programming that connects global health concepts to real-world challenges and community experiences, both locally and globally.

Areas of interest in global health: Health justice and equity; immigrant and refugee health; language access in healthcare; social determinants of health; global health systems.

Hello everyone! My name is Sundas, and I am a second-year in Leverett House studying Neuroscience and Global Health and Health Policy. I am interested in cancer and infectious disease, particularly in how health systems and education initiatives can more effectively reach underserved populations in low-resource settings. As a Pakistani student, I am especially motivated by disparities across South Asia, where access to care is often shaped not only by infrastructure, but also by gaps in trust, awareness, and culturally relevant communication.

Through my work in community global education programs, I have become interested in how knowledge is translated into action. I am especially drawn to approaches that move beyond simply providing information to actually influencing behavior, whether through community partnerships, locally grounded messaging, or more effective delivery models. This has led me to think about education as an active component of care, particularly in improving early detection and engagement in diseases like cancer. I am excited to be part of the committee and to help you all navigate and engage with global health opportunities at Harvard.

Areas of interest in global health: Infectious disease prevention; community-based care delivery in low-resource settings; culturally grounded health education and behavior change; improving cancer awareness, early detection, and access to care, particularly in South Asia.

Hi y’all! My name is Keira Adams and I’m a sophomore in Winthrop studying Neuroscience and Global Health & Health Policy 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 the dhall or at Black events on campus. Besides global health, I try to get involved in mentorship with Black youth. 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: Black maternal health; health equity; social determinants of health; intersectionality.

Hello! My name is Ella Townsend, and I’m originally from Yorba Linda, California. At Harvard, I’m a proud Dunster Meese considering a concentration in Social Studies or English with a Korean Language citation. I am passionate about youth-focused initiatives with an emphasis on multiculturalism in service. I founded YIELD, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to leveling the playing field for disadvantaged children across the world. I have traveled to Mexico, Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia to support orphanages that are home to children who are HIV-positive, visually impaired, survivors of abuse, or from previously impoverished circumstances.

I am curious about exploring the intersection of global health and education, and to learn more about how economic systems, political structures, and social stigma interact with health outcomes and educational opportunities. In my free time, I love eating oranges! I would love to chat with any fellow orange enthusiasts.

Areas of interest in global health: Structural neglect within orphaned children’s settings; public health crises arising from institutional care settings; social determinants of health; humanitarian responses to armed conflict; refugee health; gender-based violence as a public health emergency; stigmatization of HIV treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Hi everyone! My name is Riya, and I am a sophomore in Dunster studying Computer Science and Molecular/Cellular Biology with a secondary in Government. I am passionate about leveraging technology to increase the global accessibility of healthcare and therapeutic development. Specifically, I hope to focus on how artificial intelligence can be used to inform health policy decisions and can be used to make healthcare availability more equitable. My research interests largely lie in the computational biology space, and I currently work with Dr. Rivas in the MCB department to develop statistical modeling techniques to predict the structure of RNA. On campus, I serve as a Peer Advising Fellow, and I am also involved in Harvard Model Congress, Harvard Undergraduate Biotechnology Club, and Harvard Undergraduate Capital Partners. In my free time, I enjoy taking walks around the Charles, painting, reading, and spending time with friends and family (including my dog, Mocha!). I am so excited to be a Global Health Ambassador this year. I am always here to answer any and all questions – please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Areas of interest in global health: Technology-based health policy; equitable therapeutic development and distribution; women’s health education and accessibility.

Hi! My name is Maab, and I study History and Science and Neuroscience, with a secondary in Global Health & Health Policy. I chose this interdisciplinary path to better understand health across historical, biological, and social dimensions. My academic interests center on how social forces and policy structures shape healthcare access for vulnerable populations, particularly refugees and immigrants. At Harvard, I have pursued coursework that bridges these fields, alongside research at Massachusetts General Hospital examining neurological care for resettled refugees through community-based, narrative methods. I am excited to culminate this work in my senior thesis. My research will examine how Sudanese communities have historically navigated health and healing under constraint, with a focus on the relationship between informal care networks, diaspora medical actors, and formal institutions from Sudan’s independence in 1956 to the 2023 war. I grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and deeply cherish my Sudanese upbringing! I am also from Columbus, Ohio. Outside of academics, I enjoy reading memoirs, literary fiction, and Sudanese poetry, as well as writing, baking, and spending time with loved ones.

Areas of interest in global health: Refugee and immigrant health; social determinants of health; medical anthropology; health policy; health equity; community health.

Hi! My name is Nazifa Muntaha Ahmed, and I’m a first-year at Harvard College concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Sociology on the pre-med track. I grew up in Bangladesh and Detroit, and seeing healthcare in both places is what first made me realize how unequal access and treatment can be. That experience is really what pushed me toward health equity.

As an immigrant, I had to navigate the U.S. healthcare system at a young age, and I saw how confusing and isolating it can feel when language, culture, and trust become barriers. That experience stuck with me and continues to shape the kind of care I hope to be part of one day.

On campus, I am involved in research at the Mitchell Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, write for both the Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal and The Harvard Crimson, and serve as a Supervisor at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. I also manage Revive 313, a youth-led nonprofit that I co-founded to support immigrant girls through culturally competent mental health initiatives and community-based programming. Whenever I get free time, I also enjoy reading fiction and memoirs! I am incredibly excited to be a part of this awesome community and work towards global health this year.

Areas of interest in global health: Health equity; immigrant and refugee health; maternal and reproductive health; culturally competent mental health care; community-based healthcare systems.

Hi everyone! I’m Eliana, a freshman and new member of Eliot House! I’m studying Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy along with a citation in Amharic. I’m an Ethiopian-born Cambridge resident raised six minutes away from Harvard! I aspire to one day become a pediatric doctor dedicated to reducing healthcare disparities in both local and global underserved communities. On campus my involvements have ranged from serving as a first-year representative on Harvard Undergraduate Black Health Advocates to volunteering at Cambridge Afterschools Program through PBHA. Whether it is through the work I do now or in the future, I am passionate about empowering underrepresented voices and creating spaces where all experiences feel seen, valued, and cared for. Outside of academics, I enjoy showing my friends around Boston, reading, and sharing my culture and experiencing new ones with others!

Areas of interest in global health: Maternal and reproductive health in conflict zones; global mental health; social determinants of health; health equity for Black and Brown communities.

Hi! My name is Rylea Pritchett and I am a rising senior studying psychology (cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology track) and American Sign Language on the pre-dental track. I currently live in Leverett House but am originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. I am passionate about dentistry, mental health, and youth health. I enjoy learning more about public health in dentistry and how psychology interacts with healthcare. I am excited to explore more about the intersections of my interests, and bring new perspectives to HGHI SAC. Outside of academic spaces, I love anything beauty and fashion-related, journaling, and baking. Please reach out with any questions about being FGLI or pre-dental/pre-health at Harvard!

Areas of interest in global health: Dentistry; mental health; youth advocacy.

Hi! My name is Eleshaday, and I’m a sophomore from Chicago studying Integrative Biology with a secondary in Global Health & Health Policy and a citation in French. I am an Ethiopian-American and first-generation college student, holding great pride in my culture and upbringing as it led me to become passionate about serving disadvantaged populations in the healthcare context. As a proud Chicagoan, I am very familiar with surprisingly large income gaps and gained a drive to make a difference in these issues present not only in my city but across America and the world, unfortunately. Coming from a rich cultural background that Ethiopia provides, I have a passion for different cultural traditions and values and the concept of them affecting simple human decisions, and I am especially interested in that idea within the healthcare context and hope to travel throughout college to discover more. In my free time, I enjoy watching all genres of film, listening to music, and volunteering whenever I can!

Areas of interest in global health: Global healthcare equity; patient advocacy; scientific/sociological/medical anthropological research; pediatric cancer; maternal/reproductive health; infectious diseases; non-communicable diseases.