By Anne Riker Garlington
Five students in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions bachelor’s in public health program participated in summer research internship programs offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Health Equity, and by Columbia University.
Yusra Ahmed, Prudny Bonnaire-Fils, Daisy Chavez and Ikenna Ezenwa were selected for the CDC’s John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars program, which introduces undergraduate students to topics in minority health and health equity and supports their career development with partnerships at seven internship sites around the country.
Kaylinn Escobar participated in Columbia University’s Biostatistics Epidemiology Summer Training Diversity Program, which included eight weeks of research, training, academic and career planning, and social activities around New York City.
The students recommend these internships to any student who might want to gain experience, expand their quantitative skills in public health, and establish a network of peers in their field. Read on for more details on their internship projects and lessons learned.
Yusra Ahmed
Internship site: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Project: Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health, paired with Communities Together for Health Equity. Worked with local barbers and hair stylists to help educate the community on HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C prevention.
Lessons learned: The importance of being intentional with programming and making sure to communicate directly with the community in focus, as each one is unique, and interventions are most successful when they are tailored to their specific needs. It was an enriching opportunity to learn from faculty and professionals in the field about their work and connect with like-minded peers.
Prudny Bonnaire-Fils
Internship site: University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention
Project: Research institute focused on understanding firearm injury risk factors and identifying comprehensive solutions for promoting firearm safety.
Lessons learned: I was able to learn a lot about how different aspects of the environment (e.g., the home environment and the built environment of a community) shape firearm-related behaviors. I had the opportunity to work with multiple institute projects, including completing a literature review on clinician practices to prevent firearm injury in their patients. I learned how this type of information is acquired and used as a basis for evidence-based strategies, a process that often involves community stakeholders.
Daisy Chavez
Internship site: Southern Plains Tribal Health Board as part of their Tribal Health Experiential Student Internship Seminar program
Project: Literature-based research project focused on the relationship between food insecurity and Type 2 diabetes in rural Oklahoma American Indian or Alaska Native populations.
Lessons learned: The importance of decolonizing data. Racial misclassification in American Indians is a trend seen nationwide in mortality records that has occurred through the way data has been collected and reported. As a future public health professional, I believe it is important we acknowledge these harmful data practices and recognize the need for data equity to strengthen and empower all communities.
Kaylinn Escobar
Internship site: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Project: Conducted research in longitudinal analysis of cytokine expression in veterans with a history of suicide/depression to determine whether there is an association between the two.
Lessons learned: I learned to apply my in-class learning to a real-world study and it is okay to ask questions for in-depth guidance; my greatest moments of understanding happened when I shared how I wasn’t sure why a certain line of code affected certain variables. Our greatest strengths as researchers lies in our ability to ask questions more so than finding the answers themselves.
Ikenna Ezenwa
Internship site: Morehouse College
Project: Baking Health Equity Principles in NIOSH Strategic Plan. I conducted a literature review and key informant discussions to collect and analyze equity-centered principles that can be incorporated into the strategic planning process and the upcoming strategic plan for the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Lessons learned: Through my experience, I was able to gain a better appreciation of both the research process and the significance of occupational health to public health. I also got to learn how to generate a manuscript and poster presentation, which has furthered my research understanding.