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Kalifa W

- Research Program Mentor

MD candidate at University of Wisconsin - Madison

Expertise

Projects that approach medicine from a public health perspective; Understanding the global implications of health policy; Using quantitative and qualitative analysis

Bio

Kalifa is a medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and aspires to combine her love for medicine with her expertise in public health. She earned her MPH degree at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in Health Policy and Management and Global Health. Prior, she completed her bachelor's degree at Duke University where she studied psychology and global health. Kalifa has led and published research analyzing healthcare access, health equity, and reproductive health and justice in the United States and internationally. She has worked closely with academics, policymakers, health professionals, and community leaders. In addition to her career interests, Kalifa loves to learn about new cultures and has worked, lived, or visited 17 different countries to date. She also enjoys being active and spends her free time taking dance classes at her local studio, running or biking in her neighborhood. Most importantly, Kalifa loves to give back to her community and looks forward to sharing her passions for art and health with her mentee, while learning from their unique experiences as well!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Community Perceptions of Health Care Access

This project focuses on using qualitative and/or quantitative analysis to assess difficulties accessing health care in different geographic locations. Various factors influence a patient's ability to access health care services, including but not limited to, the ability to pay for care, perceived urgency for care, previous interactions with health care workers, and/or availability of health facilities. Qualitative and quantitative data can be used to identify the motivations behind patients' care-seeking behavior and highlight which populations may be most vulnerable to gaps in health care.

Re-envisioning Maternal Health

Maternal mortality is an ongoing concern for the United States, particularly for Black and Latinx populations who have disproportionately higher rates of mortality. Through interviews with different stakeholders (i.e., physicians, doulas and midwives, and patients), students will share a narrative of the current state of maternal mortality and describe possible solutions from different perspectives.

Coding skills

SAS, STATA

Languages I know

Spanish- beginner

Teaching experience

I developed and taught a writing, reading, and public speaking class for middle school students- several of which were not native English speakers. I am also actively involved in creating and delivering health education curriculums for youth in Kampala, Uganda. I also provide mentorship to the students particularly those who are preparing to enter university. My mentees from previous programs have gone on to have exciting educational and professional careers in engineering, medicine, and public health.

Credentials

Work experience

Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) (2020 - 2022)
Senior Research Analyst
Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology (2019 - 2020)
Project Coordinator
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2018 - 2019)
Global HIV Prevention Fellow

Education

Duke University
BA Bachelor of Arts (2016)
Psychology & Global health
Columbia University
MPH Master of Public Health (2018)
Health Policy & Management; Global health
University of Wisconsin - Madison
MD Doctor of Medicine candidate
Medicine

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