Working primarily under the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO), I was awarded the Leadership In Global Health (LIGH) Fellowship by the Yale Institute for Global Health to conduct summer work on the Adolescent Mental Health Team. I helped develop and refine a regional roadmap for addressing adolescent mental health in LAC, detailing successful examples of policies and initiatives as well as highlighting the key areas for nations to focus on. Collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including the Belizean Ministry of Health, UNICEF Belize, and a psychiatrist in Nepal, I was brought onto a team with UNICEF Headquarters to develop a global framework for low and middle-income countries to address adolescent substance use. This process involved conducting a literature review of various screening tools, treatment methods, and existing state policies addressing the issue, as well as using data-driven methods to present our findings in a topic brief. I was invited to continue on in this role during the academic year to conduct an on-site situational analysis of adolescent substance use in Belize in October 2024. This will entail interviewing Ministry of Health members, treatment providers, and adolescents themselves. We will compile our findings for publication and targeted next steps for Belize to address adolescent substance use.

I was elected as the Community Engagement Chair by my classmates to coordinate service/advocacy/engagement events for the Yale School of Public Health community. In addition to moderating the community engagement panel during orientation in August and helping with YSPH Day of Service in May, I will amplify opportunities from the Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP) to engage with the New Haven community and apply our public health skills. I will disseminate opportunities through the SAYPH Newsletter and through communication channels like GroupMe.

After leading an overdose response training in my first semester at YSPH, I took on the role of co-chair of the Yale Addiction Medicine Collaborative (AMC). Through this position, I will continue to lead these trainings while expanding our outreach to discuss topics related to addiction and harm reduction through collaboration with the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine as well as other organizations on campus.

Within the Empowering Neighborhoods and Relationships to Improve Community Health (ENRICH) Lab, I am working on Project RENEW (Social and Geographic Influences on Substance Use Recovery and Treatment). This study seeks to examine the potential triggers and relapse factors of people who are enrolled in alcohol and substance use treatment. Using advanced technology and GIS mapping, the project aims to analyze how individuals' spatial behavior and social networks influence urges to use alcohol and relapse. This research will provide valuable insights into the role of environment in recovery, informing the development of effective interventions and treatment strategies.Research findings will significantly contribute to the field of public health and provide effective strategies for promoting health and addressing substance use in diverse populations.

Elected as one of the department representatives for the Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) MPH Class of 2025. Duties include organizing social events, disseminating important information to students, and facilitating communication and concerns with SBS faculty and the school as a whole.

Working as a research assistant under Professor Abbe Gluck on the implications of the Braidwood ruling on public health and preventative healthcare. Expected co-authorship upon publication.

Student Fellow at the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at the Yale Law School. Interested in the legal aspects of the opioid epidemic as well as gun violence in the United States.

Accepted into the Health Justice Practicum course in conjunction with the Yale School of Public Health. Dedicate ~10 hours/week to support the expansion of gender-responsive harm reduction services in New Haven. We are pulling together insights from a summer 2023 workshop and relevant research to develop a dedicated report to ground action, and supporting spaces and interventions for relevant and committed actors to expand gender-responsive harm reduction work. This includes efforts to develop transparency and accountability around spending of opioid settlement funds.

Working with faculty and staff in the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine to evaluate the Collaborative Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) program at Yale. Coding qualitative interviews from PA students who participated in the program to evaluate effectiveness and room for improvement.

Working under Dr. Ayana Jordan, MD PhD at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Professor Leo Beletsky at the Northeastern School of Law on a project called “Culturally Response Integrated Harm Reduction Services for Black and Latinx People Who Use Drugs." The study’s primary objective is to develop a harm reduction (HR) intervention to reduce drug overdose and fatalities specifically among Blacks and Latinx people who use drugs (PWUD) populations. As a legal navigator, I play a crucial role in offering personalized support to participants while connecting them with the study’s legal partners. My roles include triage and referring participants to appropriate legal services, educating about naloxone and Good Samaritan laws, and analyzing cases to address structural determinants of health.

Worked as a research assistant on Project ED-INNOVATION, where I recruited patients admitted to the emergency department for a randomized control study concerning different methods of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD)

Working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center under Dr. Carrie Fry. Will be analyzing how current US policies influence stigma surrounding opioid use disorder.

Working in the lab of Dr. Cody Siciliano through the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, investigating the impact of drugs of abuse on the neural circuits associated with cognition and motivation.

Will be conducting a senior thesis as part of the Honors program through my Medicine, Health, and Society major. Thesis: “Investigating the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment for adolescents suffering from substance use disorder (SUD).”

Tutor student athletes in biology, neuroscience, and Spanish.

Clean workout equipment and machines while working in a team environment to ensure safety of students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working as a medical scribe in the Foot & Ankle Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Orthopedics

- Exploring career options by learning about the differences between PhD, MD, and MD/PhD programs. - Hear from current students, physicians, and scientists in their respective fields

Worked in the Department of Neuroscience in the lab of Dr. Patrick Mulholland to study the impact of alcohol-drinking on stress responses in mice. Created a training dataset using machine learning software to predict mouse behavior in an open field task called the looming/sweeping disk. Also assessed the effects of a mouse model of PTSD on future conflict-based choice behavior. Final project: "Analysis of mouse behavior: use of machine learning and a mouse model of PTSD"

-Assisted Dr. Bettis in the Regulating Emotions and Stress in Teens (REST) Lab-Qualitatively coded data from adolescent responses to a questions about disclosure of suicidal thoughts, ideation, or attempts to their parents-Categorized parental responses to adolescent's disclosure to inform the development of an app to target emotion regulation (ER) processes to prevent suicidal behavior and depression after adolescents are discharged from emergency rooms due to psychiatric emergencies

The Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab conducts research focused on understanding anxiety and anxiety neurocircuitry in psychiatric disorders through multi-level and multi-modal methodologies. • Assisted with NIMH Multi-Site Anxiety Study in conjunction with NIMH and UW Madison• Acted as a “judge” during the Trier social stress task, where cortisol levels and body language are measured in children ages 8-12

• Learned about the dangers of drugs and alcohol in order to present to local middle school students • Chosen to participate in the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Conference in Washington DC based on demonstrated passion• Traveled independently to other schools and organizations to educate a wider audience• Spoke to legislators to demand change in drug policy and action by the California government• One of five students selected to be on the Orange County Drug Use is Life Abuse (DUILA) board