2017-2018 MRSP Scholars

Jennifer Bayly (2017–2018 MRSP Scholar) is entering her fourth year as a medical student at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Prior to her medical training, she attended Penn State University, where she majored in biobehavioral health with minors in global health and health policy and administration. Currently, she is working under the mentorship of Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable, Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Dr. Kelvin Choi in the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Dr. Erik Rodriquez, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Her research focuses on health disparities related to tobacco use and secondhand exposure and explores protective and risk factors among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Her current career plans include practicing primary care while performing public health research, with a goal of working toward the elimination of health disparities.

Fernando Vazquez (2017–2018 MRSP Scholar) attends Dartmouth Medical School and is working under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Mannes in the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center’s Department of Perioperative Medicine. His research focuses on the genetics of pain, non-opiate analgesia, and the effects of anesthesia on cognition, memory, and gene expression in the brain. Fernando co-founded Dartmouth’s Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) chapter and is in his fourth year on the LMSA Northeast Executive Board, currently serving as its co-director. In addition to fostering diversity in medicine through mentorship, Fernando is interested in pursuing a career in surgery.

Sophie Claudel (2017–2018 MRSP Scholar) joins the MRSP fellowship from Wake Forest School of Medicine. She is working under the mentorship of Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable, Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Dr. Erik Rodriquez, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), to investigate tobacco biomarkers and smoking patterns among Latinos of different national origin groups. She also works with Dr. Tiffany Powell-Wiley, NHLBI, to study social determinants of cardiovascular disease risk factors, including physical activity and sedentary time, among urban African Americans. Sophie has won several awards for her research and community engagement through free medical clinics in North Carolina. Her career focus is on addressing chronic disease health disparities in underserved and minority communities through epidemiologic research and intervention.