Health & Societies Student Advisory Board
The HSOC Student Advisory Board is a group of students who plan and sponsor activities and coordinate information to support the HSOC major. Activities include career panels, blood drives, lectures, field trips, course fairs and social events. New members will be chosen in April 2009.
Current Projects of the HSOC SAB
FAQs about the Health & Societies major
Research, Internship, Fellowship and Career Opportunities
Questions? Suggestions? Email us at hsocsab@gmail.com
2008-2009 HSOC SAB
Anup Das '10 (anupdas) Disease and Society
I am a junior in the college, concentrating in Disease and Society, with minors in BBB, Health Care Management, and Chemistry. I am currently pursuing research in both health care economics and health care quality reporting. I want to go into medical school as well as pursue graduate studies in health care policy/health services research. Disease and society has exposed me to another way of looking at problems, something I definitely would not have gained through any other major, and I hope I can combine this with health care quality improvement in the future.
Rahima Dosani '09 (rahimafd) International Health
I am a junior in the college, double majoring in Health & Societies and South Asia Studies, and I am interested in studying and researching international health policy with respect to infectious diseases and social determinants of health. I plan to study and work to correct local and international health disparities and advocate on behalf of underrepresented and impoverished communities around the world. I have done health education curriculum development and HIV/AIDS training in Karachi, Pakistan, and would be more than happy to answer any questions relating to global health internships or health disparities work. Rahima accepted an offer from Diamond Management and Technology Consultants, for their healthcare vertical, for next year. She plans to do consulting for a couple of years and then return to school to study global health.
Dan Eisenberg '09 (danielme) International Health
My primary area of interest rests in domestic healthcare reform. I have held research internships at both Bellevue and the Columbia Nursing hospitals in New York, in addition to a policy internship in Washington DC this past summer. During my semester abroad, I was able to work at a public tuberculosis hospital in South Africa. Although I am graduating in the spring, please feel free to contact me with any questions about HSOC in the meantime!
Sarah Gearhart '10 (esarah) International Health
I am a junior in the college, concentrating in International Health, with a minor in Chemistry. I am pre-med, and have most of my background in research (stem-cell, developmental genetics) but am eager to become more involved with the public aspect of health. My interests are in Central and South America, and after medical school I would like to work in clinics wherever I am needed. I am most interested in providing people with the medical care they need in the most helpful and efficient way possible, which is why I chose the HSOC major. Unlike the upper classman, I do not yet know a great deal about the various opportunities in the department, but I am happy to talk about my impressions so far.
Jessica Ho ’09 (yjho) Disease and Society
My primary interests include infectious diseases, global health, and the interaction between political, social, and economic factors which may act as determinants of health. I'm also majoring in Economics and considering graduate study in the field of demography. I'd be happy to address any questions in these and other areas, and have recently completed an internship in health services research at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics on the ethics of vaccines.
Thomas Hou ’09 (houp) Health Policy and Law
I am interested in various aspects of health policy in the US and abroad, with emphasis on primary care and urban health. Worked on literature study of primary care indicators and outcomes at the Leonard Davis Institute and applying it to a Brazil context. Also worked in Boston to start up a nonprofit advocacy group for high-risk patients with retired physicians, social workers and lay persons, for purpose of improving primary care. Plan to continue studies and research in primary care, with Philadelphia as possible setting.
Sarah Ladley '10 (nsladley) Public Health
I am currently a Junior in the college, majoring in the Public Health concentration and minoring in Nutrition. I am interested in international nutrition- undernourishment versus over nourishment and how to find a balance and enough food for those who are undernourished. I aspire to investigate nutrition as a preventative health care procedure in the United States- will it cut down on medical costs? How will the government urge its citizens to live a healthier lifestyle? I plan to go to graduate school to study nutrition and earn my registered dietitian (RD) license in order to practice clinically and do research. I am also interested in bioethics (genetic, stem cell) with an emphasis on the personalized/ molecular side of nutrition (also known as Nutrigenomics).
Amanda Nelson '10 (nelsonap) Health Policy & Law
I am a junior in the College, concentrating in Health Policy & Law and minoring in Consumer Psychology and Spanish. I am interested in the commoditization of health care over time and the extent to which these concepts can be applied to health care reform (ie public health campaigns). Also, I am concerned with the degree to which health care policy in the United States shapes the experiences of patients and institutionalizes disparities. I aim to apply the interdisciplinary knowledge that I have gained in this major towards a law degree
Alix Pruzansky '10 (alixm) Disease and Society
I am a junior in the college concentrating in Disease and Society. Specifically, I am interested in the growing presence of obesity as well as healthcare in under-served communities. Since being at Penn I have had the opportunity to study and research obesity and obesity related illness both in classes within the major and with nutritionists and physicians at HUP. In addition, I spent two months volunteering in a medical clinic in Honduras both aiding physicians and teaching pre-natal and diabetes classes. I plan on writing a senior thesis in the fall about bariatric surgical treatments among adolescents. The HSOC major has provided me with many perspectives on health and healthcare which I hope to bring with me to medical school in the future.
Bo Peng '09 (bpeng) Public Health
I am pursuing a concentration in Public Health with a minor in BBB and aim to become a physician with hopes of bringing in my collective interdisciplinary interests to better practice medicine. The HSOC major satisfies my taste for the two questions of "why" and "what now". I'm interested in the U.S. health care system and in particular how to implement practical effective measures to decrease disparity and eliminate prevalent diseases. I am also interested in the various ethical questions arising from the development of new technologies and how the average person can interpret these dilemmas.
(All email addresses are @sas.upenn.edu)
