Q: Please tell us about yourself. Where did you live before Seattle and what were you doing?

A: I was born in Senegal and grew up in Oakland, CA. I went to undergrad at Saint Mary’s College of California, where I majored in Health Science. After college, I did AmeriCorps VISTA with East Bay College Fund (scholarship program). Prior to UW, I worked as a Program Coordinator in Mentoring in Medicine & Science, an organization that provides support and mentorship to students who are interested in a career in health but are underrepresented in the field.

Q: What research are you doing as a Research Assistant (RA)?

A: I am working with Dr. Donna Denno on two projects currently. One is on Environmental Enteric Dysfunction, in which we want to understand the factors that are present in children who are stunting, particularly focused on the intestines. The other project is Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS) in the Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition Network (CHAIN) (a sub-study under the CHAIN program), in which we want to understand cause of death in malnourished children.