Irma “Camila” Martinez is an award-winning artist who enjoys taking art classes as a way to find balance in her schedule. She’ll be a molecular and cell biology major on the pre-med track at UConn, and hopes to get involved in research and clinical work. In high school she was a member of the medical club, which allowed her to learn about different medical roles, technology, and education. One of the club’s notable speakers was a cardiologist whose enthusiasm made her appreciate those who work in the medical field. Irma also found it to be an incredibly rewarding experience to shadow her aunt, an oral surgeon. Originally from Lima, Peru, Irma now lives in West Hartford, CT and graduated from Hall High School.
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2018 Rowe Scholar: Andrew Hungerford
Andrew Hungerford is a biological sciences major with a particular interest in the nervous system. He has shadowed a surgeon at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, where he was able to see surgeries in person. A native of West Hartford, CT, Andrew graduated from Northwest Catholic. He loves to solve Rubik’s Cubes and the many variations that have come out since the original.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Ashlie Delskey
Ashlie Delskey hails from Somers, CT where she graduated from Somers High School. She enjoys running and playing lacrosse. A nursing major, she’s been inspired by her experiences shadowing a nurse practitioner and PA, who she says remained calm and friendly despite their high patient volume. She has also spent years watching her cousin’s pediatric team take care of him at Boston Children’s Hospital, and she notes that they’ve always been patient and kind.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Erika deAndrade
Erika deAndrade recently spent a summer gaining a great deal of experience with the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. At the Atlanta VA she shadowed and assisted different medical personnel, while at the Fayetteville VA she worked on the psych ward, taking notes, observing, and assisting mentally unstable veterans. At the VA Compensation Evaluation Center she observed and assisted with the documentation of veterans’ conditions post-service. Erika is from Ledyard, CT and graduated from Ledyard High School. She has a strong interest in science because she believes it helps us understand the world around us and that it’ll continue to be a pivotal subject of study in the future. She’s also very interested in the visual arts and ceramics. Another of Erika’s hobbies is travel and experiencing other cultures, which is made easier by the fact that her father’s a pilot and she flies for free.
2018 Rowe Scholar: Paulo Belato
Paulo Belato is a soccer fanatic. He loves playing it and cheering on his favorite team, Tottenham Hotspur FC. He was lucky enough to be given a trip to England and France as a graduation gift, and watched professional games in each country. Paulo also enjoys the study of biology and chemistry, which he believes are the foundation of modern medicine. He has shadowed nurses at Danbury Hospital, a pharmacist at Woodbury Drug Store, and a physician at Black Rock Pediatrics. He learned that health care providers need to be genuine to make their patients feel comfortable and safe, that there is a reason behind everything, and that one must do what one loves in order to be satisfied at the end of the day. Paulo graduated from Bethel High School in Bethel, CT, where he has lived since the age of four. Both his parents were born in Brazil, so the Brazilian culture has a big influence on who he is and his interests.
2017 Rowe Lecture
Eric Feigl-Ding, PhD
Founder/Director of ToxinAlert.org
Faculty at Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Chief Health Economist at Microclinic International
Founder of Campaign for Cancer Prevention
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at 5:00 pm in the Student Union Theatre
Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding is an epidemiologist, nutritionist, and health economist. His research focuses on disease risk, digital technology, social networks, public health policy, and economics of prevention. He is principal investigator of several randomized trials in Kentucky, Denmark, and Jordan. Projects for which he is the PI, CEO, or executive director have received more than $10,000,000 in funding. His more than 100 publications in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Lancet have been cited more than 20,000 times.
As founder of the Campaign for Cancer Prevention in 2007, he led the first online crowdfunding effort to raise more than $500,000 for medical research. This resulted in features in Newsweek, The New York Times, and Chronicles of Philanthropy. He led a two year investigation into the safety of the drug VIOXX.
Dr. Feigl-Ding has been featured in four books and in Craig Newmarks’ 16 People and Organizations Changing the World in 2012. His work was thrice named ‘Best of American Heart Association’ and he received the 2012 Outstanding Young Leader Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the 2015 American Heart Association Grundy Excellence Award, and the 2014 Global Health Project of the Year from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.
Return to The John and Valerie Rowe Scholars Visiting Lecture
2017 Rowe Scholar: Tonya Tucker
An avid volleyball player, Tonya Tucker is a biological sciences major from Newtown, CT, where she graduated from Newtown High School. Tonya’s experiences in healthcare have shaped the vision she has for her future. Volunteering at a free medical clinic has exposed her to issues in caring for the underserved, which is something she’d like to incorporate into her career, while shadowing at UConn Health’s OB/GYN department has sparked her interest in women’s health. Perhaps her most enjoyable health-related experience has been volunteering at a nursing home where she does art therapy with the residents, as art is one of her interests.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Julie Taing
Julie Taing is a graduate of New Britain High School, which offered her the opportunity to become a CNA her senior year. She did her clinicals at hospitals and nursing homes and says that this was an eye-opening experience for her. Before that she had volunteered for two years at the Hospital for Special Care in the Close Observation Unit. She currently works as a CNA in a nursing home, which she says has given her an appreciation of those who work in the health field. Julie is from New Britain, CT and is part of a Cambodian dance troupe that performs Khmer classical ballet and folk dances all over the state. At UConn she’s a chemistry major on the pre-med track.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Bright Eze
A nursing major from Nigeria, Bright Eze has worked with a Nigerian health group to educate the rural population about how to manage diabetic symptoms and use a glucometer to keep track of their blood sugar level. He is also the leader of an organization that encourages high school males, who are skeptical that a man can be a nurse, to become one. Bright is an easy-going person who graduated from Wisdom Comprehensive Secondary School. He’s always available to help and loves playing basketball.
2017 Rowe Scholar: Roselyn Terrazos-Moreno
Born in Lima, Peru, Roselyn Terrazos-Moreno moved to Newington, CT when she was three years old. During her sophomore year at Newington High School, Roselyn shadowed at an eye clinic, which allowed her to learn about machines and tools of the trade as well as the doctor/patient relationship. Soon to be a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn, she has already volunteered at UConn Health and the Newington VA Hospital. In her spare time Roselyn enjoys photography and manipulating her pictures in Photoshop.