Introduction

I’m Saheba Bhatnagar, a junior majoring in bioengineering and interested in women’s and global health. I chose to apply to the Loewenstern Fellowship to gain a unique perspective of medicine and public health priorities in a low-resource setting, and learn about what actions can be taken to improve quality of life.

Over this past summer of 2016, in Bangalore, India, I participated as a research intern at Research Triangle Institute–an international organization that performs research for governments and clients in areas such as economics, social policy, technology, and health. Their mission is “to improve the human condition by turning knowledge into practice.” Under Dr. Suneeta Krishnan, a professor at UC Berkeley, I analyzed data and contributed to reports assessing the weaknesses and improvements of current cervical cancer prevention programs. After this experience, I’ve gained a new appreciation for the role of culture in healthcare, qualitative public health research, and my background as an American.