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Daphne Lasher, Neuroscience, ’25<\/h2>\nDaphne Lasher, Neuroscience, ’25<\/h2>\nWhy did you choose to apply and participate in the HFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n I wanted to apply to the Health Fellows Program because it was one of the main reasons I chose Trinity. I knew the program offered invaluable hands-on experience that would help set me apart when I applied to physician assistant school. Opportunities like the HFP, where you can shadow providers and gain clinical exposure are so rare at the undergraduate level, and I knew I wanted to try to be a part of the unique experience. I saw the program as a way to not only build the skills I would need in my future career, but also to explore healthcare further and learn from professionals who are already doing the work I hope to do.<\/p>\n Tell us about your research experience in the HFP.<\/strong><\/p>\n My Health Fellows experience at Connecticut Children\u2019s Hospital was truly amazing. I worked daily and in person in the Pediatric Cardio-Oncology Unit. I not only conducted research, but had the opportunity to shadow across both pediatric cardiology and oncology units, observing nurses, PA\u2019s and attending physicians. I was extremely lucky to be mentored by Trinity alum and former Health Fellow Tiffany Berthod, whose guidance\u2014and Dr. Olga Salazar\u2019s and Dr. Andrea Orsey\u2019s\u2014made the experience especially meaningful. For my research, we examined the accuracy and clinical value of CMR vs. ECHO in pediatric cardio-oncology care to better understand which imaging technique is best equipped to detect heart defects due to cancer treatment. Our findings will hopefully be used to shape a new standard of care for pediatric cancer patients in the future.<\/p>\n How did your experience in the HFP impact you as a student and as a future professional?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Health Fellows Program had a huge impact on me both as a student and as a future healthcare professional. It pushed me to become a lot more proactive and confident in how I communicate, especially when working with providers and other staff in a busy clinical environment. I also had to balance coursework, research, and long clinical hours, which really strengthened my time management and helped me learn how to keep myself grounded and organized which are skills I use every day now in my job after Trinity.<\/p>\n Professionally, the program gave me clarity I wouldn\u2019t have found otherwise. Being able to observe different roles in pediatric care helped me realize that the physician assistant path is the best fit for me, something I\u2019m not sure I would have discovered without the HFP. It also made me realize how much I love pediatrics. Before this experience, I wasn\u2019t certain what age group I wanted to work with, but seeing the compassion and teamwork in pediatric cardiology and oncology solidified that this is where I want to be.<\/p>\n Overall, the HFP gave me confidence, direction, and skills that I\u2019ll carry with me into PA school and into the kind of provider I hope to become.<\/p>\n Why did you choose to apply and participate in the HFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n I chose to apply to the Health Fellows Program because I wanted an experience where mentorship was a central part of the learning process. Clinical or research opportunities can be found in many places, but that does not always mean the professionals you work with are actively invested in teaching students. What stood out to me about HFP was that the physicians, researchers, and faculty involved were committed to helping students learn and grow.<\/p>\n The program offered a unique opportunity to work closely with professionals in healthcare while developing research skills in a structured academic environment. I was excited by the idea of learning directly from clinicians and researchers who were passionate about their work and willing to share their knowledge.<\/p>\n The chance to connect with mentors and explore different areas of medicine ultimately made HFP an opportunity that I did not want to miss.<\/p>\n Tell us about your research experience in the HFP.<\/strong><\/p>\n During the Health Fellows Program, I conducted research at Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Rogers, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, and Kristen Volz-Spessard, a researcher and Program Coordinator at the Youth Suicide Prevention Center.<\/p>\n Working with them allowed me to explore the topic of transgender and gender diverse suicide ideation, an issue that continues to be a growing public health concern. My mentors were deeply involved in both clinical care and prevention work, which gave me valuable insight into how research can be used to better understand and address mental health challenges among young people.<\/p>\n The experience pushed me to develop stronger analytical skills while also learning how research can inform real-world interventions. Being able to conduct research within a team helped me understand how data, prevention programs, and healthcare systems can all interact to support patient care outcomes.<\/p>\n How did your experience in the HFP impact you as a student and as a future professional?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Health Fellows Program helped me better understand the relationship between research, clinical practice, and public health. Through the program, I had the opportunity to shadow a neurosurgeon as well as a child abuse and maltreatment physician. These experiences exposed me to areas of medicine that focus on protecting and supporting vulnerable populations, which deeply resonated with me.<\/p>\n Meeting Dr. Ada Booth was especially impactful because I had not previously realized that child abuse and maltreatment was a distinct medical specialty. Learning about the field sparked a strong interest in understanding how healthcare teams respond to trauma and abuse in children. Since then, I have become increasingly interested in contributing to research in this area and learning more about how different forms of abuse and trauma manifest in a child.<\/p>\n I would not have had the opportunity to explore this field or connect with physicians doing this work without the support of Dr. Rogers and Kristen, who made it possible for students like me to expand our networks and learn directly from professionals in the field.<\/p>\n Why did you choose to apply and participate in the HFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n I chose to apply to health fellows because I wanted an opportunity to do research while gaining clinical hours. I also knew being a part of health fellows would stand out when applying to graduate schools.<\/p>\n Tell us about your research experience in the HFP.<\/strong><\/p>\n I personally did research at Connecticut Children\u2019s with Dr. Brendan Campbell. He is a general pediatric surgeon, and I would shadow him in the operating room and also participated in rounds with him. I did research with him on gun safety, and we found from prior research that surgeons store their firearms unsafely at the same rate as the general population. Along with this, the highest cause of death in the U.S. from ages 1-19 is from firearms. We conducted a pilot study to collect preliminary data and distribute safes in order to educate others on how to safely store their firearms.<\/p>\n How did your experience in the HFP impact you as a student and as a future professional?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have developed better time management skills. I was balancing health fellows with 2 other rigorous courses and at the beginning, I was trying to do the readings, assignments, and research the night before class and it caused me to get no sleep and lead to unnecessary burn out. Overtime, I learned to manage my time properly and do all the readings, assignments, research, etc. early and overtime, my mind got sharper and my grades increased. This will definitely carry over when I had to graduate school.<\/p>\n After my final semester at Trinity, I will be heading to the UMiami Miller School of Medicine for my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. HFP has helped me with this because it was definitely a standout in my application. The amount of research hours put in, the clinical hours, and also bringing up topics I learned in class into my interviews, it made my overall resume and application stand out so much. As a result, I received no rejections in my application process, and I believe Health Fellows was a big factor into this reason.<\/p>\n Why did you choose to apply and participate in the HFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n I applied to and participated in HFP because I was interested in gaining clinical research experience and shadowing to better understand how clinicians in different specialties work together.<\/p>\n Tell us about your research experience in the HFP.<\/strong><\/p>\n I worked with Dr. Catherine Wiley and Dr. Jennifer Haile at CCMC’s Primary Care South pediatric office, conducting research for the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Dr. Wiley and Dr. Haile are both pediatricians. I conducted a quality improvement project to improve pediatric lead poisoning prevention education, and assisted in the revision of the lead prevention education handout. I shadowed at my clinical site, and my experience culminated in presenting my research findings at CCMC’s Primary Care All-Staff Meeting.<\/p>\n How did your experience in the HFP impact you as a student and as a future professional?<\/strong><\/p>\n As a student, HFP taught me to manage my time, particularly when I have an “open schedule.” It was particularly important for me to learn how to organize and balance my work schedule, even when I was not under direct observation. My time in the program prepared me to collaborate and engage meaningfully in professional work teams, while also completing deliverables in a timely manner.<\/p>\n While applying to optometry school, I frequently reflected on my research experiences in essays and during interviews. HFP was especially impactful in developing my interest in public health and clinical research, so much so that during my application process, I intentionally sought out optometry programs that had a variety of research programs. During my time in HFP, I grew a strong relationship with both Dr. Wiley and Dr. Haile, and I have been deeply grateful to receive a recommendation letter from Dr. Wiley. The Topics in Healthcare Seminar was particularly helpful for being able to effectively communicate my perspective on various healthcare challenges. In interviews, I felt those conversations and essays prepared me to showcase my position and stance on addressing public health as an optometrist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Daphne Lasher, Neuroscience, ’25 Why did you choose to apply and participate in the HFP? I wanted to apply to the Health Fellows Program because it was one of the main reasons I chose Trinity. I knew the program offered invaluable hands-on experience that would help set me apart when I applied to physician assistant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":673,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-51","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Narlin Chimbo Once, Neuroscience, ’25<\/h2>\n
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Felix Schmidt, Psychology, ’26<\/h2>\n
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Rachel Fearon, Neuroscience, ’26<\/h2>\n