MPH students, Seb Loonen and Avni Patel, met with staff members in Representative Sean Casten’s office to talk about their Applied Practice Experience (APE) projects, and the impact of federal funding—particularly the 2021 Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act (RISE)—on furthering public health research.

Representative Casten, who co-sponsored the RISE act, is dedicated to health policy and has supported 118 health-related bills throughout his time in Congress.

“The RISE Act allows public health students to contribute to clinical research and gives us the opportunity to be part of groundbreaking work,” says Loonen. For his APE, Loonen conducted clinical research on the use of new-age HIV medication in Haiti and the potential for use in low and middle income countries.

Patel’s APE with USAID examines how federally funded research helps promote health and advance nutrition. “My work allowed my team and I to provide key recommendations to USAID on global nutrition programs,” she says. “It’s now more important than ever that we continue our global health research.”

Written by Avni Patel and Katie Lesser