Preethiya Sekar
Preethiya, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Minnesota Medical School, had her first global health experience following her graduation from Carleton College. She gained valuable experience while working at the Public Health Foundation of India in New Delhi during her Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship (2018-2019). Her project employed a qualitative approach to delve into women's health-seeking behaviors at mobile cancer screening camps, as well as the factors that hindered or facilitated their health-seeking decisions.
This transformative experience motivated her to extend her medical training by a year to pursue an NPGH Fogarty Fellowship in Kampala, Uganda (2022-2023). Throughout this period, she collaborated closely with both her U.S. mentors, Drs. Radha Rajasingham and David Boulware, and her Ugandan mentors, Drs. Elizabeth Nalintya and David Meya. Together, they developed multiple projects within a multifactorial phased randomized control trial (ENCORE), which focused primarily on enhancing the detection and outcomes of people with advanced HIV disease. Her projects ranged from assessing the prevalence of opportunistic infections (Histoplasmosis) among people with HIV in Kampala to a mixed-methods project assessing the implementation and acceptability of a point-of-care CD4 test.
Prevalence of Histoplasmosis Antigenemia in people with Advanced HIV Disease in Kampala Uganda
Infectious Disease Institute
Uganda
What does the Kean Fellowship mean to you?
I applied to the Kean fellowship as I was nearing the end of my year in Kampala. Receiving this fellowship facilitates my return to Uganda for two months and will allow me to continue my work on characterizing opportunistic infection prevalence (Histoplasmosis, CMV, EBV, Toxoplasmosis) in patients with advanced HIV disease. It will be invaluable to be back in person with my mentors who have taught me much about opportunistic infections and the unique challenges in detecting and treating them in the sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda context. I’m looking forward to being back in Uganda, continuing to grow as a researcher and connecting with other Kean fellows in Uganda and beyond.
What do you anticipate learning?
I eagerly anticipate learning about the advancements made in the management of advanced HIV disease and its updated package of care since my year in Uganda. The Ministry of Health is periodically updating its guidelines to reflect the latest research and emerging technologies. I’ll be spending time in the ART clinics and will get the opportunity to see firsthand the integration of novel tools. I’m also excited to be reunited with my colleagues in Uganda as much of my learning in the past has come from them and their on-the-ground experiences. And, of course, I’m looking forward to expanding my current repertoire of Luganda phrases.
What interests you about tropical medicine and what problems are you interested in solving?
My interest in global health is rooted in a commitment to lessening disparities and leveraging research as a tool to promote equitable access to healthcare. During my Fogarty fellowship, I worked on a project to understand the challenges different stakeholders faced in the implementation of a point-of-care CD4 test. I was concurrently taking a course on implementation science offered through the University of Washington through the Fogarty fellowship. I had the opportunity to learn about and practice contextualizing quantitative data through conversations to understand the “why” behind the numbers. I’m hoping to continue using these skills I’ve developed to find ways to bridge the gap between research findings and applications in real-world settings.