Public Health – Page 2 – CA Work Experience Program

Day 7 – Diversity!

You might be curious about the title of this blog post, and I’ll get to that right now. Today was full of conversations with people from incredibly different departments, positions, and roles in the organization. This diversity is especially highlighted by the fact that we have mostly been talking to people in the CTID department, and we barely crossed paths with these people today!

We started off with Todd Bachman and Vanessa Cooke, who are in charge of Procurement Administration. Essentially, they work with FHI 360 after they have been approved to do research to make sure that they have the materials necessary. It seemed to me that their job was an interesting mixture of accounting, networking, and business. They also brought us some items from many different companies, such as tiny cars and yo-yos, which we played with for the rest of the day.

After a very short lunch break of half an hour, we met with Hannah Goetz, who went to Cary Academy and is now interning at CTID. This was an incredibly interesting conversation because her knowledge of Cary Academy gave her a unique perspective and allowed us to make the conversation more specific to us. Her talk about her experience taught me how crucial it is to step out of your comfort zone and interact with those around you, especially in college.

Next, Anna Lawton, who works with BECS, came and talked to us about human-centered design. She described the idea behind her research as “soft science;” essentially, while “hard science” is quantitative and based off of hard facts, her type of research is based off of interviews and other qualitative information. She talked about a trip she took and the research she did there, including individual interviews and group interviews. This was a really interesting new side to research that I had never really considered.

Lastly, Margaret Groves, the Director of Regulatory Affairs, came and discussed her career and the regulatory affairs department. Essentially, this was the legal side to research, which requires making sure that all of the research is following protocol so that it can be utilized when it is finished. The most interesting part of this conversation was when we talked about how, when you are doing research in multiple countries (which is done a LOT at FHI 360), you typically go by the most stringent research regulations so that you can publish your information everywhere. I had never really thought about all the consideration that went into research, so this was very interesting.

Overall, a great day! We talked to a bunch of amazing and passionate people, finished all of our projects (!!), and ate some delicious burgers. I can’t complain!

Day 7: Regular Regulatory Stuff

Yesterday, we got to meet with a completely different side of public health. Behind-the-scenes departments like procurement and regulation came to talk to us about how they help FHI 360 achieve its goals and run smoothly. Since, I’m interested in health policy, I was very interested in what the regulators had to say about the balance between under-regulated markets and dangerous drugs, and over-regulated markets and expensive drugs. The general consensus was that it was a hard balance and that there were instances of both, the health policy specialists will be changing in the coming years.

We also got to meet a leader in qualitative research, who talked to us about the interpersonal relationships that are critical to gaining the trust of research subjects. We also learned about the ethical challenges that face research with the advent of technology including things like “whether or not a digital signature can provide consent.”

Day 6: And We’re Scrolling!

On day 6, we focused a lot on our mini projects. One of those projects is a literature sorting assignment, in which we look at a long list of papers for researchers, and suggest which papers seem relevant to the research, and which papers don’t. The database of papers is huge, and as a result, the sorting process can take hours. Salma and I worked for probably 2-3 hours, just sorting through articles, and we still have probably hundreds to go.

We also got to meet with more researchers and people on the tech side of things. One of the employees we met is responsible for creating and managing drug databases for the company. The goal, is to inform consumers on the side-effects of taking two drugs at once, or the risks that certain drugs put them at. By increasing awareness, the databases alleviate concerns and stress.

Finally, we also got an introduction to some of the groundbreaking technologies that FHI 360 is experimenting with. Some include microchips that can remotely release drugs into the body every month. Others are subcutaneous and intradermal injections that manipulate the pharmacokinetics of the drug allowing it to last in the body longer.

Day 6 – So Many Articles

Another busy day! We began with a bit of free time, in which we decided to start the 2 supplementary tasks we were assigned. In one, Dr. Lara Lorenzetti, who is researching ways (specifically “savings groups”) to get those in developing countries to adhere to their HIV medicine. She asked for our help in looking through all of the literature to determine which pieces would be useful to her research. In the other, Dr. Rebecca Callahan did research and asked for help in beginning to develop a Powerpoint for her to present her findings. We decided to split it up, with RJ and I working on the former and Chiara and Krishan working on the latter. RJ and I read SO many articles (hence the blog title), but we actually became pretty fast and worked together well. It felt great to know that this small task we were doing would be used for something way bigger than ourselves.

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^^ click to see how many articles we sorted through today

We also talked to a couple of people today. First, Dr. Jennifer Ayres discussed her role in the CTID. She had a really interesting perspective because she was one of the only chemists at FHI 360. To tell you the truth, I had been waiting to meet with her since I learned about her chemistry background a couple of days into the job. While talking to her, we learned even more about contraceptives and how they work, specifically as it relates to drugs and dosages.

After we took an hour to explore main street and eat lunch, we headed back to talk to Chris Harmon. He discussed his work with the CTID, which was incredibly different from the others’ in that he was mainly focusing on the technology aspect at the moment. Basically, he was working on compiling a couple of different databases. One was to compile all of the contraceptive technologies that were being worked on, one was a database of the main chemicals that were in contraceptives, and one was a system to determine if using two drugs at once would give negative side effects. I thought the third was the most interesting, as it has to be a pretty complicated system for you to be able to go through all the different pairings and get an answer.

Finally, we met with Holly Burke. She was also a scientist, but she worked for the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health division (RMNCH). She talked to us about the research aspect of her job, including the studies she had done with injectables and the results that she had gotten. She also talked to us about her career and her journey as a whole.

All in all, a great day! Can’t wait for tomorrow, where we will have 4 (!!) back-to-back meetings and will hear MANY perspectives!

Day 5: New Horizons

Yesterday at FHI 360, I met with some of the leaders in contraceptive technology innovation. First we met with Dr. Kopf, who is the director of research and development at the Contraceptive Technology Innovation Department. He talked a lot about his circuitous journey to FHI 360. He went from the lab to teaching to the pharmaceutical industry to FHI 360. “Very often, I am told by students that they want to do ‘A’, which will lead to ‘B’, which will lead to ‘C’, and ‘D’. How often does that happen?” he questioned. He told us that as life throws us different curveballs, we shouldn’t be scared. It’s all part of the process.

On a sidenote, I may have taken Dr. Kopf’s advice too seriously yesterday, and explored a little bit too far. The sushi restaurant we ate at offered their plain wasabi as almost all sushi places do, but they also offered a “Real Wasabi” option. I left the restaurant with teary eyes and a stinging nose.

Day 5 – Social Events and Sushi

Although we didn’t interact with as many FHI 360 employees today, our many projects ensured that our day was as full as always. The first hour of our day was spent working on the innovation project that I have told you all oh so much about. Finally, after another session of hard work, we finished our presentation!

Next, we spoke to Dr. Greg Kopf, Director of R&D in the group that we are working with, the Contraceptive Technology Innovation Department. He provided an incredibly unique insight into his journey and gave us lots of career and life advice. Our conversation with him was invaluable.

After some more time to work and lunch at Basan, the sushi restaurant nearby – their BuyOne GetOne HalfOff deal on Mondays had been LONG awaited by Krishan, RJ, Chiara, and I – we met with Kristine Torjesen. She is a pediatrician by training, but is currently a scientist who has a large leadership role in clinical trials. As someone who is ABSOLUTELY a leader and rather than a follower and has loved her leadership roles this year, our talk with her really resonated with me. Whatever field I go into, I know I eventually want to have leading and decision-making abilities.

Finally, we sat in on a meeting with the person who deals with contraceptives at the National Institute of Health. I would be lying if I said I understood more than 20% of the conversation, but it was still interesting to listen in on. Finally, after this meeting, we joined a retirement party for one of the FHI 360 employees. We enjoyed the company of all these intelligent and sweet people, as well as an assortment of desserts.

the long-awaited sushi

Day 4: The Grind

Friday, was primarily a work day for the FHI 360 team – a needed one at that. With three projects to complete, Friday was spent knocking out component after component of various projects.

The first project that we’ve been working on is putting together literature regarding a correlation between adherence to medication and the financial support of savings groups. The idea behind this paper, is that financially supported community members are more able to focus on their health. On Friday, we used Mendeley, a reference gathering source like NoodleTools to help compile a list of relevant resources for the project.

The second project we’re working on is more on the technical side of things; with Dr. Callahan, research utilization specialist, from the contraceptive technologies innovation department, Chiara, Krishan, Salma, and I are working to design a presentation that both highlights the information of a past research study, but also engages the audience. One of the issues with traditional research papers is that for financiers, the information may come across as too technical, complicated, or boring. By engaging the audience, FHI 360 is more capable of garnering support and grants.

The final project that we worked on was the YTH or Youth, Tech, Health project. In this assignment we’re tasked with using social media to promote global health – a task which we’ve begun to accomplish using Instagram. With our Water.Wellness account we hope to promote global access through education, feedback, and partnerships with larger organizations like Swell. Our promotion plan is a line of Swells called the Swellness Collection, where pieces from the collection utilize artwork from developing nations. Part of the proceeds also goes to funding the construction of wells where water access is low. For the communities this aims to help, the project both provides financial support to artisans in the region, and also enables the community to get water. One of the primary challenges for at-risk water scarce populations is that low access to water impedes other aspects of life. How can a community be economically productive if they’re primary concern is dehydration?

Day 4- Last day at RTI

Today I spent my last day in the lab for a majority of the time which i loved. I started the morning aliquoting. Basically it’s taking a simple of a solution that was used in the trial and pipette a small sample around 2 ml and putting it in a small vile to keep while the containers used in the trial is sent off to the lab. I did this for all the trials used before they were sent to the lab. Afterwards I had time to finish up my mini project that was i doing this week, a powerpoint full of images to show the women in africa to explain and get their opinions and thoughts on the device. Then we went to lunch we talked about our weekend plans. Afterwards I went back to the lab and was taught how to properly dispose of non-regulated liquid waste, and then I helped dispose of a large amount of this waste. Lastly I pippetted some samples into a quartz dish with lots of little wells that would inserted into a device that uses UV spectroscopy to record the concentration of the drug in the solution that was released by the device placed in this solution to mimic a real person. Afterwards I debriefed with Dr. Rothrock about my week at RTI and showed/sent her my presentation that she would later use. I had an amazing week at RTI learning about what they do as a company, learning about the cool project that Dr. Rothrock and her team is working on, and getting to work in the labs! It was a fantastic experience.

^ Me pipetting solution into the quartz plate to be placed in the uv spectrophotometer

Day 4 – Innovating in the Real World (and some awesome speakers)

Today was, unsurprisingly, another awesome day at FHI 360! When the first hour of our day was dedicated to working on our main project and going to get waffles, I knew that we would have a rigorous yet fun day. We did quite a bit of brainstorming during this period, and finalized our idea to utilize Instagram. Even though we had agreed yesterday to use the poll feature of the Instagram story, use posts to educate, and use live videos to answer questions, we focused in on the details, such as what questions to ask and what the format of our posts would be. We even created a real Instagram account to show the samples of account stories, posts, and live videos. We also solved another important part of our project, which was deciding how to gain publicity for our account. We had the idea to collaborate with big name accounts to gain interest and support underdeveloped countries. Our example of this is pairing up with Swell, the water bottle company, to create a collection of water bottles created by artists in an underdeveloped country. A portion of the profits from this collection would go directly to the country where the art came from. Additionally, we would start a giveaway, where Instagram users can do a few simple things, such as tagging friends and answering the poll questions, to get the chance to win one (or many) of these Swell bottles.

from waffles –> the grind

Throughout the day, we worked on this idea and developed the presentation, in between the speakers that came and joined us. First, Merywen Wigley, Project Director of Integrated Development, and her intern Kara came to join us. They discussed the humanitarian crises that were occurring and showed us some videos. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t crying by the end of it. However, while I was watching, in between my anger at the injustice and my sadness, I decided that helping these refugees was absolutely something that I would love to explore doing for the rest of my life. With my love for service, language, and science, it could be perfect for me.

After lunch, we talked to Sara Tenorio, the Director of Research Ethics. She discussed all the processes that they have to go through in order to ensure that all people involved in research are there by choice and are aware of the possible harms and benefits. This was really interesting and really taught me more about the legal side of healthcare.

Lastly, we talked to Kyle Healy, the son of an FHI 360 employee and a current student at App State. He talked to us about the gap year that he took, including what he did there and what he learned. It sounded like an incredible experience for him, and it definitely made me consider taking a gap year!

BANG: Testing Contraceptive Quality and Compliance, Day 3

If you were to ask me a week ago about my experience in the lab, I would reference advanced chemistry with Mr. Rushin, and tell you about all of the cool experiments that we did. After yesterday, that experience has grown. With Dr. Kavita Nanda, Dr. Jill Ferguson, Sara, and David, we travelled to PQC: Product Quality and Compliance. We met researchers who showed us various contraceptive methods, and then elaborated on their goal at FHI 360. Our researcher explained that when sending aid to developing nations, it’s imperative that the aid we send is of good quality; we don’t want to be responsible for an HIV outbreak, because of broken condoms. At PQC, scientists use a variety of tests (and cool technology) to examine the strength, durability, and efficacy of contraceptives.

PG warning ahead:

At PQC, the first lab we were in was the condom-torture lab. We got to see condoms rapidly filled with large quantities of water, to check them for holes; condoms blown up in vacuum chambers, to check for strength; and condoms stretched and heated, to check for elasticity and durability. The slow-motion video of a condom exploding may be one of my favorite souvenirs so far. Afterwards, I got to apply some chemistry, in the drug potency lab. Here, scientists introduced us to their usage of spectroscopy, High Pressure Liquid chromatography, titration, and dimensional analysis. The Mr. Rushin student in me geeked out. Perhaps the best part of the day was getting to see lab concepts I had worked with applied in real life settings. Here, the science wasn’t for a lab grade. It was to promote global health by providing critical tools for sexual empowerment within the region.