Eunoia Global Health Podcast

Ria Mohan serves as the International President of HOSA–Future Health Professionals on the International Executive Council. She is currently a 3rd year student in the Guaranteed Admission Program for Medicine (8-year BS/MD) at Virginia Commonwealth University. As an aspiring physician, Ria has been deeply involved in advancing HOSA’s mission of furthering leadership development and global engagement. Beyond HOSA, she has been heavily involved in organ donation advocacy, infectious disease research, and mentorship initiatives in her community.

Tisha Chatterjee is a biomedical engineering student and the founder of 'Handheld for PCOS', an initiative focused on advancing awareness around women’s hormonal health. She is actively involved in international research collaborations, working alongside high-performing peers across interdisciplinary domains, while also pursuing independent research and contributing to work under professors and within her college environment.Her work reflects a disciplined, research-driven approach, shaped by both structured academic exposure and self-initiated exploration. With a strong focus on biology, healthcare, and innovation, she is building toward contributing to meaningful, real-world solutions in biomedical science.

Arya Devanath is a high school sophomore with an interest in medicine, neuroscience, and writing. She is the founder of Memory Matters, a community and podcast which brings together the stories of those affected by dementia with the latest scientific research and storytelling, reaching 130k+ worldwide, and of the local Mind Tricks: The Magic of Neuroscience, an initiative which uses magic tricks to help young people understand complex neuroscience. The author of mystery novel "The Defiance", Arya, deals with themes of resilience, trauma and PTSD in her work. 'The Defiance' has earned the author multiple nominations for major book festivals and has helped in a successful fundraiser raising over $250,000 for science curiosity. Deeply interested in research and writing, Arya has interests involving how experiences at the molecular level influence the brain. She is currently exploring approaches that integrate mental health, stress biology, addiction, and her passion for dance. This work has contributed to her recognition as a National Neuroscience Brain Bee winner and enabled her to present her research at international conferences and at Stanford University. She also enjoys Bharatanatyam, hiking, creative writing, and baking.

I had the absolute honor of speaking with Christine McGarvey. She is a rare disease advocate, scientist, trained ballet dancer, and mother who shared her experience navigating the healthcare system as someone living with an undiagnosed condition. Despite the setbacks she has faced, McGarvey's resilience and determination is prevalent throughout her story, offering hope and illustrating the need for change. Relevant resources for those living with undiagnosed diseases can be found at the following links:1. udnf.org 2. Undiagnosed Disease Network: undiagnosed.hms.harvard.edu3. Undiagnosed Diseases Network International: udninternational.org

Elizabeth is a Psychology and Molecular Biology student at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She has always been curious about how science and empathy come together to shape better healthcare, and that curiosity has guided her journey so far.Through her work in the summer intensive, Elizabeth touched on pediatric oncology and global health, and learned how much impact us young researchers can make when we lead with both evidence and heart. Outside the lab, she is passionate about mentorship, advocacy, and building community.Elizabeth's goal is to one day pursue pediatrics and continue creating space for compassion in science.

Today, I spoke with a young researcher who is making waves in the global health academic space. She completed a capstone project as part of our Rare Global Health intensive and explored tropical rare diseases. Roohie Patel is a pre-med student, aspiring to become an oncologist. She has a strong passion for biology and research, particularly in rare diseases. Outside of academic passions, Roohie loves reading and travelling. Listen to her compelling, inspiring story today!

IB student and advocate Ali Bitek Yuggu shares his experiences living in Uganda and his aspirations toward paving the way for a healthier world. We spoke about education's impact on healthcare access, and how strengthening one's knowledge has the potential to build community. Tune in on this insightful episode to learn more about Bitek's current projects and impressive achievements in spreading awareness on a global scale.

In this feature series, EGH executive director Anshi Purohit spotlights a pioneering global health advocate and entrepreneur who is working towards bettering the world. By partnering with nonprofits to advance their healthcare approach, Lowe is a dedicated innovator who emphasizes the importance of community. We listen to her compelling story and how she got involved with global health. In addition, Lowe offers inspirational advice for future health professionals. Her insight is both nuanced and valuable. 

Let's discuss common stereotypes in the medical field that often influence unhealthy behaviors and approaches to care throughout the world. Global healthcare is unique and diverse, but this means that standards and beliefs are different across a wide spectrum. In today's micro-episode, our podcast director Rui En will share his perspective on four healthcare myths and how they've become powerful influences in society.

In this episode after our brief hiatus, two International Baccalaureate high school students (one from Switzerland and another from Texas) join our podcast director from Thailand to create an immersive perspective on global health. Our guests explore the intricacies of infectious diseases, how treatment differs across locations, and what it truly means to feel protected and safe. Welcome back to another engaging, inspiring discussion.

Rachel Thompson, Women in Global Health Policy and Research Associate, has over a decade of experience across humanitarian, global health, and development sectors, and is passionate about tackling gender and health inequities. She has worked with the Red Cross Movement and several NGOs in program roles across Africa and Asia. Previous research projects have looked at family planning, the Ebola response, universal health coverage, and healthcare in conflict zones. More recently Rachel has returned to the UK where she has worked as a researcher at Chatham House and as a policy advisor at the World Obesity Federation. With Women in Global Health, Rachel has led several research projects. Abhijit Dhillon serves as a Research and Policy Assistant for Women in Global Health’s State of Women Leadership in Health Report. She is an interdisciplinary social sciences researcher with research focus on gender, human rights, governance,  policy analysis and health systems. 

Dr. So is recognized worldwide for his expertise in chronic hepatitis B and primary liver cancer prevention, research, treatment and health policy. He served as a consultant for the FDA and was a member and co-chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health’s Hepatitis B Expert Panel. He was also a member of the Board of Population Health and Public Health Practices of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and a committee member of the 2010 IOM report on “Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: a national strategy for the prevention and control of hepatitis B and C”, and the 2016 National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on “Eliminating the Public Health Problem of Hepatitis B and C in the United States. He also serves as a special adviser on viral hepatitis for the World Health Organization Western Pacific regional office. In 2010, he received the CDC and ATSDR Honor Award for mobilizing people and resources in ways that have changed global public health policies related to hepatitis B, and was recognized in 2014 by the White House for global and national leadership in the prevention and control of viral hepatitis.

Aleicia Zhu and Amogh Rao are co-founders of ImmiMD, connecting immigrants with doctors who share their culture. Eugenia from Hong Kong discusses immigrant healthcare with Aleicia and Amogh, comparing policies in Hong Kong and the United States. ImmiMD is always looking for more volunteers; you can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSca5PTg9tqHOTiVb0v047ffOPvH4kHsVOaAXh9M_cp5K002Dw/viewform?usp=sf_link​. GenDream, the social entrepreneurship and cultural exchange program that provided us with so much support, is accepting Spring Community Leader applications from students across the world: https://www.gendreamleaders.org/apply.

In this episode, Rhea joins Sama in discussing her extraordinary work in mental health youth-led legislation in Australia and policy translation with the Harvard STRIPED Initiative. Rhea is a half-Indian, half-German high school student with a passion for creating tangible social impact through highlighting and promoting interdisciplinary approaches, especially in the field of mental health. She currently leads the Australian Policy translation at the Harvard STRIPED Initiative, based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Body Confident Youth Initiative. In this position, she has led a team of 15+ young Australians and has pioneered community projects supporting mental health and body image by receiving a $50,000 grant from the federal Australian Government, impacting over 2000+ young people. She has played an integral role in successfully implementing legislation, lobbying the Victorian Government to provide $16.5 million dollars towards E-Waste legislation. Moreover, as an Australian Future Leader in Mental Health, Rhea presented at the Mental Health Foundation Australia’s annual mental health summit for 600+ people. Currently, she is helping co-design mental health and wellbeing technologies suitable for people of CALD background with the University of Sydney and is developing an eating disorders educational module for adolescents in collaboration with the Columbia University Valegos College of Physicians. For her community initiatives, she was recently awarded the 2022 Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year. She hopes to continue to empower interdisciplinary approaches to solve public health issues in the future, by bridging geographical and socioeconomic inequities exacerbated by pertinent global issues.

In this episode, Sama joins Eugenia in discussing her research on this issue, whilst also discussing how this aspect of global health can be managed on a public and individual level. Sama grew up in Egypt with a dream to work in the research field. She has assisted in microbiology and medicinal chemistry research labs and has gained practical skills. She also has been an active member of her community, launching campaigns to raise awareness about current healthcare issues for students. Her favorite quote is "be the change you wish to see in the world" by Gandhi. Since she is passionate about public health and volunteering, she served as an English teacher assistant in an orphanage and recently founded a journal club to raise awareness of the recent research findings for students. She also joined the IYRC program and wrote a systemic review paper about the multidrug-resistant bacteria in particular Acinetobacter baumannii entitled “Antibiofilm and efflux pump inhibitory effect of Silver nanoparticles in combating multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.”

Simar Bajaj is a sophomore at Harvard who conducted research with the thoracic surgery and obesity medicine departments at Massachusetts General Hospital on everything from health equity to the impact of delays in treatment, publishing in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet Respiratory Medicine. He is also the founder and host of The Medic Network which provides a student's take on all things medicine through interviews with leaders in the healthcare space from policymakers (Dr. Shalala, Secretary of U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services under President Clinton) to startup founders (Dr. Pooviah, Co-founder of Google-backed Elly and  Shark Tank Winner) to researchers (Dr. Michael Chiang, Director of the  National Eye Institute). In high school, Simar presented several abstracts at national conferences and published first-author papers at Stanford University School of Medicine. In this episode, Simar joins Eric Gu to give advice on how to engage in research as a high school student.

This episode of the Eunoia Global Health Podcast features a deep dive into palliative care with Columbia medical student Paul Lewis.

Dr. Anthony J. Alberg is an epidemiologist who currently holds the position of Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. Dr. Alberg’s research has primarily focused on cancer epidemiology, the health effects of tobacco, and tobacco control. Dr. Alberg has longstanding commitment to working to eliminate health disparities. Today, the nationally renownwed Dr. Alberg joins Eric Gu to discuss the far-reaching economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing the disparities in access to healthcare highlighted by the pandemic.