As a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Solutions Science Lab at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Andreína Martin works with Latinx children and their Spanish-speaking families enrolled in clinical trials that measure nutrition and health outcomes. Her team’s work introduces children to interventions to positively impact their “weight loss journeys,” and then surveys the children and their families while measuring shifts in Body Mass Index (BMI). “Our approach to guiding kids through these interventions is intended to be uplifting and affirmative,” says Martin.

After graduating with the first Cornell M.P.H. cohort in May 2019, Martin joined Cornell’s Dietetic Internship Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, where she spent a year immersed in community and clinical nutrition, at first working with Foodnet Meals on Wheels to provide food and nutrition consultations to elderly people. Once the coronavirus pandemic broke out across New York State in March, Martin’s work shifted to working entirely with COVID-19 patients and their families. In April 2020, she started an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) rotation with Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, and was able to conduct online nutrition consultations with ICU patients, as well as their family members.

This year, Andreína has been able to use her training and experience to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to the lab at Stanford. “Our team sees the value of having an M.P.H. perspective on board,” she says.