Srusti Bhalerao
UTHealth School of Public Health
Host site: Massachusetts General Hospital
I am a second year Masters in Public Health student with a major in Epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health, Houston, Texas. I earned my Bachelors in Dental Surgery from India in 2022. Mitigating smoking and implementing tobacco cessation strategies for cancer patients has always been my driving force. My research interest lies in cancer research, tobacco cessation strategies and chronic diseases. I am thrilled to be working with Dr. Elyse Park and Dr. Angela Walter on The Smoke Free Support 2.0 clinical trial this Summer. Through this internship at the Harvard Center for Health and Happiness, I wish to closely understand the effect of virtual tobacco cessation programs in oncology settings and this initiative will ascertain the most effective approaches to involve community oncology sub-affiliates and devise strategies to enhance the acceptance and integration of smoking cessation in community oncology operations. I am incredibly excited to be working at the Mass General Hospital for this project and it will serve as an opportunity for me to contribute to and hone my skills in manuscript writing and data analysis.
Emry Ray Breedlove
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Host site: The Biology of Trauma Initiative at the Broad Institute
My driving goal in public health research is to examine the relationship between stress and poor health outcomes, and to identify productive and counterproductive responses to personal and social stressors in order to effectively promote the positive mental and physical well-being of others and myself. This summer, I will be collaborating with Dr. Karestan Koenen, Center Affiliate Alyssa Fuller, and many talented peers at the Broad Institute’s Biology of Trauma Initiative to explore how individuals diagnosed with PTSD or other mental health disorders respond to their disorder’s associated social stigma and health challenges. Through this internship, I will be gaining valuable field experience with data analysis within the context of my research interests. From the experience I will gain, I will be further empowered to contribute to the public health field’s growing knowledge of positive well-being and effective interventions.
Shannon Constable
Fuller Graduate School of Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy
Host site: Harvard Business School
I am a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy in Pasadena, California. I am passionate about researching and developing therapeutic interventions utilizing the collaborative, interdisciplinary model of holistic psychology to promote human thriving. My master’s project is focused on the relationship between spirituality measures and mental health outcomes among psychiatric inpatients. This internship will allow me to advance my research skills and knowledge concerning behavioral analysis. I am excited to work with Dr. Leslie John on studying self-disclosure and well-being through a systematic review. I am grateful for the opportunity to improve my analytical skills and understanding of quantitative research.
Ethan Epstein
Brown University
Host site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
I am an undergraduate at Brown University studying Health and Human Biology and Visual Arts. This summer, I am thrilled to be working with Dr. Gloria Yeh at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on several studies exploring tai chi and other mind-body interventions aimed to promote self-efficacy and physical activity in individuals with chronic diseases. I am personally interested in investigating the mind-body connection and learning about integrative medicine more broadly. I look forward to building my data analysis skills and engaging in qualitative research projects through this internship.
Maleah Fekete
Harvard University
Host site: Massachusetts General Hospital, Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatric Oncology
My doctoral research investigates the ways people do and do not rely on their close relationships for support in the context of Deaths of Despair in rural Appalachia. More broadly, I am interested in understanding social variation in access to feelings of closeness and connectedness, and the implications of this variable access for health outcomes. This summer I will work with Dr. Lucy Finkelstein-Fox to investigate sexual wellbeing among female colorectal and anal cancer survivors. My goals for this internship are to learn more about conducting applied research aimed at generating an individual-level health intervention, learn more about conducting rigorous team-based research, and develop skills for writing to public health and medical experts.
Fairuziana Humam
University of Miami School of Education and Human Development
Host site: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard TH. Chan School of Public Health
I am a rising third-year PhD student in Community Well-being at the School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami in Florida. I am also an international student from Aceh, Indonesia. My research interest is understanding how Muslim women perceive and experience the interactions of gender norms and religiosity in a patriarchal religious culture and how those aspects influence women’s well-being. For the internship, I am working with Dr Bizu Gelaye and Dr Kathy Trang on a systematic review of emotion regulation in youth mental health interventions in LMIC, a study funded by Wellcome Trust. We will work with an advisory board of youth with lived experience from different parts of the world. We want to study how far literature is relevant to the youth’s experience and how the current systematic review would benefit the youth. This process would be good learning for me because I might as well do something similar for my dissertation. I am also looking forward to improving my efficiency in completing a systematic review for publication. My other goal is to network with experts in my research area and see where my interest lies in social science and public health studies for my future career.
Sanmit Jindal
University of New Haven
Host Site: Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness
With a deep interest in exploring the interconnections between mental and physical health, I am fascinated by how these dimensions influence each other, both positively and negatively. My passion extends to combating the stigma associated with mental health, aiming to foster a more inclusive and supportive society. This summer, I have the privilege of working with Dr. Laura Marciano to explore interventions to decrease social media use/screen time and how they affect well-being. By delving into this topic, I aspire to contribute to evidence-based strategies that can effectively enhance health outcomes. During this internship, my primary goal is to apply the epidemiological and biostatistics skills I acquire to real-world settings. By translating research findings into practical recommendations, I hope to play a role in informing policymaking to drive innovative approaches and take a holistic approach that considers the multifaceted aspects of mental well-being. I am also eager to enhance my analytical skills and deepen my understanding of qualitative research methodologies through this internship. By gaining valuable experience in data analysis and interpretation, I aim to contribute to the advancement of public health research and practice.
Piotr Piasecki
Boston University, Wheelock College
Host site: Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital
At Boston University Wheelock College I am a lab manager for the Performance, Recovery, and Optimization (PRO) Center under the leadership of Dr. Edson Filho. My research focuses on the areas of group dynamics, mindfulness, and flourishing in performing populations. This summer, I am thrilled to be working under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Celano and company on a National Institute of Health study examining a novel behavioral intervention to promote adherence in individuals who have experienced varying degrees of heart failure. The intervention is a combined positive psychology-motivational interviewing approach to improve health behavior adherence and reduce adverse events in high-risk populations. I look forward to learning from the interdisciplinary team working on this project and strengthening my research skills.
Emily Song
Tufts University School of Medicine
Host site: Empower team with Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School
This summer, I will be working on the peer support training project with the Empower team at the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School. I am excited to learn about management and teamwork in a professional setting, as well as the process of project development. I look forward to the new skills I will develop in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and how the research conclusions can inform policymaking.
Isabella Van Wittenberghe
Brown University School of Public Health
Host site: The Lazar Lab for Meditation Research at Massachusetts General Hospital
I am interested in studying the relationship between mindfulness and adolescent mental health, as well as investigating the neural mechanisms involved in mindfulness and how it impacts both psychological and physical well-being. This summer, I am excited to work with Dr. Sara Lazar on grant writing projects that delve into the areas of mindfulness, maturity development, character strengths, and depression/anhedonia. I look forward to learning more about the grant writing process and hope to strengthen my writing and research skills through this work.