Posted on March 12, 2015
Source: Amy Lai
My name is Amy Lai, and I am a first year MSPH student in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An HIV/AIDS Epidemiology course I took as an undergraduate student sparked my interest in infectious disease. I was motivated to join Generation Tomorrow after seeing their dedication towards community outreach and education. As a student in Generation Tomorrow, I hope to raise awareness about HIV and hepatitis C and gain more insight into the current status of these diseases in Baltimore City.
I am working with the Vaccine is Prevention (VIP) study. VIP is a Phase I/II hepatitis C vaccine clinical trial with active injection drug users. I had the privilege of meeting some of the study participants while assisting my supervisor during their clinic visits. I also had the opportunity to engage in street recruitment. This experience not only taught me how to approach individuals when recruiting for a research study but also the importance of building relationships with your participants.
I performed hepatitis C testing and counseling for the first time at Testing for Turkeys in November. The most significant moment for me was seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I told them that there is very effective treatment now for hepatitis C. I felt empowered knowing that I taught some people something new and that I also gave some people hope regarding their disease progression. This experience confirmed and furthered my passion for public health and community service.
