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Investigator Development Core
The Investigator Development Core is focused on providing interdisciplinary mentorship to students and early career investigators in the conduct of community-driven, health equity-related research via providing resources related to a range of research approaches and statistical methods, assistance with development of pilot projects, manuscripts and grant proposals, and other opportunities for professional development.
Student Research Opportunities
Are you a student who is interested in getting involved in community-based health equity-focused research?
We can help make connections to community collaborators and help mentor projects!
Recent Student Projects
Spring 2024
Health Careers Exploration and Empowerment
May Li, M4 in the Chicago Medical School and Aequitas Health Equity Scholar, is carrying-out a project with Waukegan to College, an organization focused on assisting first-generation college students and their families navigate the path to higher education. The Aequitas Health Equity Honors Society aims to promote health equity among the local community surrounding RFU. Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated efforts towards this goal during their training and are expected to plan and carry out a project during their M4 year which will advance health equity in the greater community. May is working with Waukegan to College to develop a multi-faceted approach to equip students with the resources and support they need to pursue health-related careers which includes presentations by local community members who will share their journey in pursuing careers in the health professions and creation of a resource packet for program participants.
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| May Li, M4 |
Summer 2023
Understanding the Health Information Needs of Lake County Community Members
Four Chicago Medical School M2 students partnered with team members from the Live Well Lake County Community Health Improvement Plan Access to Care team to make a plan for gathering data on the health information needs of Lake County residents and provide recommendations for implementation by the team. The team is interested in learning about the health information topics community members are interested in, how they would like to receive that information, and what their past experiences have been accessing such information. Data gathered will ultimately help inform the development of a culturally-tailored health education curriculum for Lake County residents. By disseminating the curriculum along with a separate resource map, the team aims to increase community member health literacy by 10%.
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| Angélica María Arzuaga, M2 | Sefonobong Obot, M2 |
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| Kayla Talebi, M2 |
Sarah Tiba, M2 |
Assessing Social Determinants of Achieving Diabetes Standards of Care Among Individuals in Lake County
Lauren Mitchell, Scholl College of Podiatry P2 Student, was selected to participate in the T35 Summer Research Program, which offers academically promising podiatric medical students a rich and didactic summer research experience. Lauren’s summer project aimed to understand the socio-structural factors that are associated with not achieving standards of care among people under diabetes care management within the Lake County Health Department. Results from this study will help identify priority groups that could benefit from interventions and additional resources to ensure they have adequate access to diabetes-related care.
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| Lauren Mitchell, P2 |