Healthcare Access in Rural Ghana

Headshot of Osei Kwado Boateng, CEO, OKB Hope Foundation. Quote reads "“Something had to be done to help address the health disparities between rural and urban communities in my home country”"

Growing up in Ghana, Osei Kwadwo Boateng experienced disparities in rural healthcare infrastructure firsthand. “Someone living in a rural area might walk ten miles or more to a city, just hoping to see a doctor,” he explains. After losing his grandmother—which he says could have been prevented with better access…

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Second-Year MPH Student Presents at 22nd Annual Biomedical & Biological Sciences Symposium

Alyssa Morse, Cornell MPH '24, presenting her poster at the 22nd Annual BBS Symposium

Last month, Cornell’s Biomedical & Biological Sciences Program held its annual symposium where students, faculty, and staff from the College of Veterinary Medicine attended sessions, a keynote, and poster session throughout the day. MPH Student Alyssa Morse, Cornell MPH ’24, represented the Whittaker Lab and presented a poster titled “Intra-host…

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Alumni in Action: Avalon Monti

As an MPH student, Avalon Monti didn’t imagine one day using her public health skills to help prepare astronauts for future missions to Mars. Then, Monti saw an open position for an epidemiologist at NASA, and impressed the hiring team with the systems thinking skills she had developed at Cornell.…

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Alumni in Action: Xuan Li

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)’s website describes itself as “the world’s largest humanitarian network,” supporting over 192 countries and 14 million volunteers. IFRC’s program areas span disaster and climate crisis risk reduction, health and care, gender and youth inclusion, and building national capacities.…

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Alumni in Action: Rohit Manshani

Rohit Mashani has worked for the healthcare consulting company Veranex since graduating from the MPH Program. Veranex “provides end-to-end solutions” for clients developing new healthcare technologies, explains Manshani. According to its website, the company is a “MedTech conceptto- commercialization partner.” This means that Veranex has teams working with client companies…

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Cornell MPH Students Advocate for Global Childhood Immunization Programs on Capitol Hill

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of sustainable and equitable immunization programs worldwide. Despite decades of progress, the pandemic has created major setbacks to existing vaccination programs. This week, three Cornell MPH students took to Capitol Hill to reiterate the importance of childhood vaccination programs around the world. Second-year…

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Alumni in Action: Aly Trombitas

Aly Trombitas never planned to be a nutritionist. Before coming to Cornell, she began her career with community nonprofits in food, farming, and environmental education. To take on more of a leadership role in the field, she knew she would need a master’s degree. When Trombitas found Cornell’s MPH Program,…

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Rural Health Assessment

As a small, rural health department, Madison County Department of Health (MCDOH) relies on interns for extra support. Internships are “a win-win,” says MCDOH quality improvement coordinator Erica Bird. “We have a staff of about 30, so we really appreciate the extra hands, and students get to take what they…

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Clinic-Community Partnerships

In December 2021, a team of Cornell University MPH Program faculty were awarded a 2021-22 Engaged Research Grant from the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. The group, led by Lara Parrilla, lecturer and community and academic partnership manager, was one of two awardees this year. These grants are…

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Caribbean Agency Collaboration

When Dr. Lorraine Francis, associate professor of practice with the MPH Program, arrived in Ithaca in 2019, she brought to the Cornell community 18 years of experience in Caribbean public health, including tracking disease outbreaks and helping Caribbean nations prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Last spring, Francis…

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