Past Cohorts
Class of 2022
Michele Sainvil, M.D.
Effective Forms of Contraception and Family Planning in Global and Local Haitian Communities
Dr. Sainvil completed a combined track project for CARE and Global Health. She partnered with NGO’s in the global and local Haitian communities to identify and promote effective forms of contraception and family planning. The goal of her project was to improve the acceptability, accessibility, and affordability of reversible contraception to reduce the percentage of unintended teenage pregnancy at KMC by 75% in 5 years. Dr. Sainvil’s project also aimed to complete the following objectives:
- To reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies in Haitian youth with uncontrolled type-one diabetes receiving longitudinal care in a specialized pediatric diabetes clinic.
- To identify sustainable funding sources to promote sexual and reproductive health through effective, affordable methods of contraception, support, and services.
- Design an initiative whereby adolescents from under-resourced communities have access to accurate, impartial and up-to-date sexual and reproductive health information, and various methods of contraceptives- Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), the Pill, the patch, and condoms.
- To educate and train KMC providers on the insertion and removal of LARCs.
- To establish, build, and strengthen functional partnerships with global and local not-for-profit organizations, hospitals, and global partners to increase access to high-quality, affordable and acceptable products in developing countries.
- Through collaboration with global NGO’s (WCG Cares, Population Council, Biomedical Research (CBR), and ICA Foundation) and local NGO’s (OHMaSS), Dr. Sainvil also procured a donation of 70 units of LNG IUS to be used at KMC to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy at KMC. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, limitation in traveling, accessibility to OB-GYN, limitation of traveling and services during the pandemic, and political unrest, the units could not be used prior to expiration.
Peihsuan Tsai, M.D.
Women’s Health Education & Management in the Masai Mara Region of Kenya
Dr. Tsai partnered with Humans for Education to initially complete a menstrual hygiene management and education with research. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to travel, the project was forced to change direction numerous times. In the end, Dr. Tsai’s project became largely focused on enhancing WASH curriculum and provided trainings to school teachers in rural communities within Narok county, the Masai Mara region of Kenya. Dr. Tsai designed a 5-day boot camp with topics such as puberty, menstruation, STI/HIVs, self-esteem, peer pressure, female genital mutilation and etc. She also trained a local Kenyan woman, who is a physician assistant and activist, by going over the lesson materials and quizzes answers. After completing the training, the woman led the boot camp in person in Kenya while the team at Humans for Education and myself would zoom in at the end of the day for the discussion and Q&A session. Daily, there were 17-18 participants who are all teachers from different schools in the region. Dr. Tsai was fortunate to also be awarded NMPRA International Grant which was be used to print the lesson materials for the teachers to use in the classrooms.
Class of 2020
Luke Eastburg
Luke Eastburg and Andy Peckham (Class of 2019) conducted sickle cell disease birth prevalence study at a district hospital in northwest Tanzania. Both were afforded two months of dedicated time as part of the global health track. Using a new point of care test, they screened 1,000 newborns.
The results of sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait were the highest ever recorded in Tanzania and among the highest ever recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their study was published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer and presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference. Luke and Andy were mentored by Luke Smart (University of Rochester Med-Peds Class of 2012).