NYAM Congratulates the Junior Fellows Class of 2011

A cohort of 56 students from eight middle and high schools in four boroughs completed a successful school year as NYAM Junior Fellows on May 24, marking the occasion with a Research Poster Session and Culmination Ceremony at NYAM. Over the past nine months, the Junior Fellows have traveled to NYAM to attend seminars on the Millennium Development Goals, global health careers, and the history of medicine; work on their writing and presentation skills; and learn from NYAM staff how to conduct secondary research and develop a research project on a public health-related question of their choice. The Junior Fellows Program, a partnership between NYAM, New York City public schools, and regional academic medical centers, is designed to stimulate middle and high school students’ interests and career awareness in public health, science, medicine and research.

At the Research Poster Session held in the Library Reading Room, each Junior Fellow proudly presented his or her findings to an audience of parents, teachers, principals, NYAM Fellows and staff, including NYAM President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD. The students spoke with knowledge and confidence about complex health issues from asthma in urban settings to the effect of AIDS on African societies.

Daniella of Robert H. Goddard Middle School, MS 202 in Queens, conducted her research on the prevention of birth defects, focusing on the mother’s perspective. “I wanted to clarify why certain babies were born with defects and others weren’t, and what the mother can do to prevent that,” she said. Her research was inspired by the fact that when her mother was pregnant with her, “the sonogram showed that I was going to have birth defects,” although thanks to her mother’s preventive efforts, she was born healthy. In her future career, Daniella hopes to work with pregnant mothers.

Like Daniella, many of the Junior Fellows chose to focus their research on diseases or public health conditions that have affected a family member or friend. Daniel of Manhattan’s Harlem Village Academy High School said that he decided to research type 2 diabetes prevention among minorities because his father had been at risk of developing the disease, while Sabrina from Robert H. Goddard High School, HS 308 in Queens, focused her project on triggers of anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls after becoming concerned about body image issues among her peers.

While many people have never heard of Peripheral Vascular Disease [PVD], Skender, a student of The Park Slope Education Complex, MS 88 in Brooklyn, is now an expert on the condition, which involves plaque or fat clots in major veins and can be caused by smoking, lack of physical activity, and excessive fat intake. “My mom has the disease but is an immigrant and doesn’t speak much English, so I wanted to be able to explain it to her,” he said. Thanks in part to Skender’s research, his family has been able to work together on a plan to improve his mother’s lifestyle and health.

When asked about his favorite part of being a Junior Fellow, Skender spoke excitedly about coming to the NYAM Library to do research, and in particular, taking notes from the library’s vast selection of books.
 
Several other Junior Fellows shared Skender’s enthusiasm about the research component of the program. “The help from the staff was a lot of fun and helped me a lot,” Sabrina said. “After the trips, we’d all talk about what we found out.”

Tiasha from Robert H. Goddard High School, who has known since seventh grade that she wants to be a pediatrician, enjoyed the trips to the library because she “got to learn more about topics I always wanted to know more about” and hone essential skills like “learning to put the information into my own words.”

Following the Research Poster Session, the Junior Fellows’ accomplishments were celebrated during a Culmination Ceremony in NYAM's Hosack Hall. Dr. Boufford expressed how impressed she was with the research poster presentations, calling the Junior Fellows’ research experience “a real head start” on high school, college, and careers in medicine and the health professions. She added that it was an honor to welcome the 2010-11 cohort of Junior Fellows to the program back in November and then watch them graduate in May, earning the status of NYAM Scholars.
 
“I was gratified to hear that you enjoyed the challenge and intensity of the program,” Joanne Eichel, Director of NYAM’s Office of School Health Programs, told the Junior Fellows. Ms. Eichel then welcomed the students to NYAM’s accomplished group of more than 1,000 Junior Fellows alumni.

“The Scholars program will allow you to continue to build and prepare for your academic and professional growth in the fields of public health, science, medicine and research,” added Junior Fellows Project Director Melissa Mendelson, noting that Scholars will have the opportunity to participate in lunch discussions, educational seminars, lab experiences and other career development opportunities.

The New York Academy of Medicine Office of School Health Programs launched the Junior Fellows program in 1996 with 25 students. To date, more than 1,000 students have completed the program and become Scholars. For more information about the Junior Fellows program, please visit www.juniorfellows.org.

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Posted on May 25, 2011

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
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New York, New York 10029
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amartin@nyam.org

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