Team India is a group of nine UC Irvine medical students led by Dr. George Chandy traveling throughout Southern India, committed to developing a greater understanding of medicine in a developing country. During the trip, the Team will experience the diversity of health care in India by volunteering at state-of-the-art teaching hospital to tribal clinic and visiting patients from remote rural areas to the slums.
Team India is also working in collaboration with Dr. Mani Chandy's research team from the California Institute of Technology. We will be testing the medical devices at hospitals and clinics we visit. We hope to share our adventures and findings with our friends, families, and colleagues through this blog.
Goals
1. The primary goal for this trip is to develop a greater understanding of medicine and its disparities a developing country, and the concerns and obstacles faced by both patients and physicians in India.
2. To test the medical devices developed by Cal Tech in order to evaluate its effectiveness and utility in hospital teaching.
3. To first-handedly experience the Indian culture to become more culturally competent physicians who are better able to serve a diverse population.
Team India Members
Dr. G Chandy - Dr. Chandy is a professor in Physiology and Biophysics at the UCI School of Medicine. He receieved his MD from Christian Medical College, India and his PhD in Immunology at the University of Birmingham, England. He has received various recognitions for his teaching and research, including Kaiser Permanente's Best Teacher award, the Silver Beaker Award, and the Athalie Clarke Award's Excellence in Research.
Cristina WC - Cristina is a second year medical student at UCI. She received her B.S. from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) double majoring in Neuroscience and International Health Studies with a focus on Latin America. Before medical school, she conducted mental health research at the NIH in D.C. for two years. She hopes to pursue family or emergency medicine and work with underserved populations both domestically and abroad.
David T - David is a second year medical students at UCI. He received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California Los Angeles. David has conducted basic research and clinical research in the field of HIV during his undergraduate education. He plans to pursue an education in infectious disease in populations domestically and abroad.
Dawn M - Dawn is a second year medical student at UCI. She received her B.A. from Stanford in 2009, with a major in Human Biology and a minor in Dance. Dawn has done sports med research in Stanford’s Human Performance Lab, and peds rehab research at UC Davis. She has particular interest in Integrative Medicine, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pediatrics. In her free time she enjoys practicing ballet and trying to improve her Spanish.
Folu A - Folu is a second year medical student at UCI. He graduated with a B.S in Biological Sciences from San Diego State University in 2009, where he also did cardiovascular disease research. He has a passion for global medicine and medical in third world countries. He hopes to compare this experience in India to medicine and his experiences growing up in Nigeria. At the moment he plans to pursue a residency in internal medicine.
Martin H - Martin is a second year medical student at UCI. He graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology in 2009, and spent the last two years there researching neural stem cells and their therapeutic potential in Parkinsons Disease, and public health issues in the emergency department. After a year of playing under the sun as a campus supervisor at an elementary and middle school in the Conejo Valley, he entered UCI SOM. He is most interested in internal or emergency medicine.
Molly B- Molly is a second year medical student at UCI. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S in biological science where she spent a year conducting research in developmental biology. After working as a medical assistant, she pursued a masters degree at UCSB in molecular biology. She is interested in latino health as well as underserved and international medicine, and hopes to pursue a career in OBGYN or Emergency Medicine.
Morgaine D - Morgaine is a second year medical student at UCI. She received her B.S. at UCLA in 2009 with a major in Biochemistry and minor in Mathematics. Morgaine also balances being a nurse at the Emergency Department and being a medical student.
Kimberly T- Kimberly is a second year medical student at UCI. She received her B.S. at UCI in 2009 with a major in Biological Sciences and minor in Management. In 2010, she received her M.P.H. from her alma mater with a concentration in Sociocultural Diversity and Health. Before medical school, Kimberly conducted basic science research in neuroscience and enjoys tutoring and dance. She hopes to pursue a field in Internal Medicine or Cardiology domestically and internationally.
Siobhan P – Siobhan is a second year medical student at UCI. She received her BS from San Francisco State University in 2008 with a major in ecology. In 2008, Siobhan was licensed as a phlebotomist and worked for several years in a clinical laboratory providing free care for HIV+ patients and IV drug users. A year afterwards, trained as a labor and delivery doula, she provided prenatal and labor assistance to pregnant teens and underserved mothers. Siobhan plans to go into primary care specialty to provide for the underserved.Photographers
Patrick N - Patrick is an EMT and is currently applying to medical school. He received his B.S. from the University of North Dakota with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies: Health Sciences. Afterwards, he conducted cancer research at the NIH in D.C. for two years and then trained in California to become an EMT. He also has an intense passion for photography and will serve as our trip photographer.
Jonathan C - Jonathan is a fourth year undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara. He is currently majoring in Cellular and Developmental Biology. Last year, he conducted molecular research in the MCDB Neuroresearch Institute at UCSB. He currently is trying to finish his pre-medical requirements, and looks forward to applying to medical school in the coming future. Besides schoolwork, Jonathan enjoys playing various sports and playing his electric guitar.
