The work I’ve done in Bass Connections over the past semester has been one of the most fulfilling, eye-opening experiences I’ve had at Duke so far. Through my project “Closing the Gap on Health Disparity and Treatment Outcomes in Hypertension,” I was able to get first-hand experience working with students from a multitude of disciplines and academic levels to understand what it takes to implement an effective community interventional study. I was especially surprised how open the professors and graduate students were to working directly with undergraduates as part of this project.

After quickly being onboarded to the team, I was immediately designated a small cohort of patients who I contacted weekly as a student volunteer for the Lincoln Community Health Center. The excitement of making a direct impact on members of my community is something that has always driven me towards the field of medicine, and through this project I was able to do just that. Working with mentors like Dr. Holly Biola and Dr. Bradi Granger has only strengthened my passion for community health and has given me role models to look up to for years to come.

Apart from the weekly patient calls and team meetings, I also really enjoy the format and content of the project course. With research-focused peer forums structured to perfectly align with the work we do with our patients weekly, I’m able to get both a broader understanding of similar studies being done around the globe, as well as strengthen my ability to comprehend health-based research papers. Assignments like completing a CITI [Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative] course for Biomedical Research or discussing various design methods better equip me for the work I hope to do the next few years.

As we currently discuss sustainability plans for the future of our project, I look forward to continuing work with this Bass Connections team over the summer and taking the skills I’ve gained into many more research areas in the future.