Thank you, SAEMF Donors, from Elizabeth A. Abrams, MSPH

Ms. Abrams is a second-year student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Her experience and professional interests drive her desire to develop expertise at the intersection of clinical medicine and public health. After undergraduate training, Ms. Abrams completed a master’s degree in public health that focused on health behavior change and community-based participatory research methods, often implemented in collaboration with and support of populations receiving suboptimal care or who are under-engaged by the health care system. She researched care systems for people who use drugs and those living with HIV, including the implementation and evaluation of programs aiming to reduce HIV viral load among youth locally and globally. She then served as project coordinator leading substance misuse intervention programs for the Washington, DC Hospital Association, where involvement with physicians, scientists, community partners, and patients ultimately led her to medical school. Ms. Abrams has co-authored 10 publications, including one as lead author focused on health care provider experiences helping implement an HIV youth peer mentoring program. She is working towards a career as a physician-scientist through which she can specialize in clinical and public health interventions.