Haiyan Ramirez Batlle
Haiyan was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez and later obtained a graduate degree in Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
As a college student-athlete, Haiyan served as assistant coordinator for a non-proselytizing Jesuit youth group that built housing, education, water, and electrical infrastructure in rural communities across Latin America. While completing his Masters, Haiyan volunteered for a summer with Gardens for Health International, an NGO promoting sustainable agriculture for HIV-positive farmers in Rwanda to increase nutritional independence and adherence to antiretroviral treatment.
At the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Haiyan completed a Health Policy scholarly concentration and conducted extensive research in insurance coverage disparities among Hispanics during the rollout of healthcare reform. His research has led to oral and poster presentations at regional and national conferences, submission of a manuscript for publication to a peer-reviewed journal, moderation of a panel at Brown’s Health Disparities Symposium, and the Petersen Educational Enhancement Award to fund the production of two video-based tutorials in Spanish on insurance access and utilization prior to the upcoming insurance enrollment period.
Haiyan is currently applying to Internal Medicine residency programs. He intends to continue to work in addressing health disparities locally and globally and after his residency plans to obtain a fellowship in Infectious Diseases.
Project: "Clinical Rotation at Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander Humboldt"
March 20, 2016 - May 20, 2016
Peru
What does the Kean Fellowship mean to you?
Many emotions surfaced while reading I received the fellowship: I felt happy, empowered, fulfilled, and yet humbled. It meant that I'd have the opportunity of reconnecting with the stories that led me to pursue medicine. It meant that I would have a chance to continue on a trajectory towards a career based on serving the underserved locally and globally through research and academic medicine.
What do you anticipate learning?
The Kean Fellowship will enable me to effectively address social determinants of health as a future physician both locally and internationally. As a US trained medical student in an evermore interconnected world, a clinical rotation in tropical medicine stands as an exceptional opportunity to develop diagnostic and management skills regarding complex yet historically neglected diseases affecting the world's poorest. Moreover, the Kean Fellowship provides an opportunity to learn about medical practices in other cultural and resource settings, and explore potential for future international collaboration.
What interests you about tropical medicine and what problems are you interested in solving?
For me, the most compelling aspect of tropical medicine is its direct orientation towards relieving the enormous burden of infectious diseases that affect the world's poorest. Although I intend to specialize in Infectious Diseases and am fascinated by illnesses such HIV, Malaria, and Tuberculosis, I am exited to further explore historically neglected tropical diseases as well as the efforts being made to ameliorate them. The Kean Fellowship will provide me with an unique chance to network with experts in the field and identify concrete research opportunities of high impact.