RALPH KISTLER RESEARCH INTERNSHIP 2023

Established in 2021, this internship is for undergraduate college students who are interested in biology, neuroscience, public health, and/or non-profit operations.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to introduce our Ralph Kistler Internship Recipient at the Hydrocephalus Association. Melissa S.  is thrilled to be interning with the Hydrocephalus Association this summer. She is originally from the Chicago area but is currently a junior studying public health at American University. One of her largest interests within public health lies in health research, particularly focusing around health equity and noncommunicable diseases. Prior to her work with the Hydrocephalus Association, Melissa had explored the field of health research by conducting a study at her university gathering data on the various experiences students had utilizing health services on campus. This research consisted of creating and distributing a survey, collecting responses, analyzing data, creating graphs and tables to display quantitative data, and conducting interviews with students to collect qualitative data. Data was primarily analyzed to discover if experiences were different based on student demographics, but other factors, such as whether they had a chronic condition, mental illness, or learning disability were also looked at.

Melissa has had opportunities to explore other areas of public health through her coursework as well. She further explored noncommunicable diseases upon researching and writing an in-depth scientific paper on the risk factors, causes, treatment, symptoms, and current research of Addison’s disease. She also got the opportunity to interview the manager for the SNAP and WIC programs at D.C. Hunger Solutions and create an infographic and detailed analysis to better understand the scope of food insecurity in Washington, D.C. In general, she is passionate about health policy and epidemiology in addition to health research. She is excited for this internship because it is a phenomenal opportunity to build upon her academic career while empowering the hydrocephalus community.
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Catrine Wilford

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