Jess Dawson

Jess is a second-year medical student at the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle. She graduated summa cum laude from American University, where she received two bachelor’s of science degrees in Biology and Business Administration. She aspires to be an infectious disease physician one day. Her other interests include advocacy, deconstructing social determinants of health, volunteering at student-run clinics and diving for the Seattle Aquarium. In her free time, Jess enjoys being outside with her two puppies.

 

Project: "Cost Effectiveness of Tuberculosis Screening among HIV infected pregnant women in Kisumu, Kenya"
June 21, 2017 - August 25, 2017
Kenya

 

What does the Kean Fellowship mean to you?
The Kean Fellowship provides the opportunity to travel to Kisumu, Kenya, to perform a micro-costing study to understand the costs of scaling out a TB screening method in HIV+ patients to a larger community. I am honored to be chosen for this prestigious Fellowship and I look forward to continuing my journey in infectious disease research and patient care. 

What do you anticipate learning?
I hope to learn more about conducting research abroad and continuing the longitudinal connection between people from the University of Washington and the community within the equatorial town of Kisumu, Kenya. I also want to learn more about the vibrant culture of Western Kenya and to learn firsthand about the tropical diseases that affect the people who live there. 

What interests you about tropical medicine and what problems are you interested in solving?
I am interested in working with the immigrants and refugees, the patient population who are predominantly affected by tropical diseases in the U.S. I hope to contribute to the development of cost-effective treatments for tropical disease to help lower the disease burden, particularly in low-income communities across the globe.