Each year, Women’s Health Research at Yale mentors undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine and science. Through the WHRY fellowship these interests are infused with an appreciation for the role sex and gender differences have in medicine allowing them to integrate women’s health into their academic pursuits.
This fellowship is important to me because I have experienced the lack of knowledge and awareness that people have about how health issues of all kinds differentially affect women and men. I look forward to understanding medicine through observation in an active health care setting and appreciate the opportunity to learn more about women’s health as I prepare for the next step in my career
Gillian Clouser
I am incredibly excited to be a part of the WHRY Fellowship. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to hone skills that are necessary to conduct interdisciplinary research that bridge the gap in knowledge about conditions that specifically affect women. Through the Fellowship, under the mentorship of Drs. Martin and Mazure, I am researching and gaining greater understanding of how women’s health education and sex and gender differences are being integrated into the medical school’s curriculum.
Nandini Erodula
Through the WHRY Fellowship, I hope to bring attention to women’s health and advocate for the elimination of inequalities in medicine and science. I hope to be part of the process to challenge a medical system designed by and for men and create a new era of healthcare. That involves gaining a deeper understanding of neurobiology and the effect reproductive hormones have on the neuropathology of drug addiction through my research on sex differences in opioid and cocaine addiction.
Yeji Lee
The WHRY fellowship offers a great opportunity to investigate sex differences in all aspects of science and medicine. I am excited to learn from the experiences of my mentors and fellow students while also contributing to the discussion on sociopolitical and economic issues affecting science and medicine. I am excited to contribute meaningfully to the research in Dr. Sarah Yip’s neuropharmacology lab, which seeks to explain the neural substrates that underlie sex differences in impulsivity associated with addiction.
Sophia Silwal
I am eager to learn about women’s health in research, as well as gain a stronger understanding of how public health initiatives can use research to improve health outcomes for women. The effect of prenatal cocaine exposure on the brain is not fully understood, which can affect treatment options. To aid in changing that, I am working with Dr. Potenza through the WHRY fellowship to investigate gender-related differences in addiction and behavioral health.
Christina Lee
As an aspiring science journalist, the WHRY fellowship is revealing to me how journalism and research should function as public services to advance collective awareness of women’s health. I am thankful for this opportunity to interrogate sex/gender differences in science and medicine, including through my research on the role a high-fat diet has on reproduction. I am grateful to work with a community of researchers and clinicians at the forefront of disrupting the male-centric lens on research.
Kayla Yup