Meet the GHP Committee

 
Maya Babu, Chair

Maya Babu, Chair
Harvard Medical School

Maya Babu is a fourth year student in the MD/MBA program at Harvard. Prior to medical school she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. and B.A. in Neuroscience and Psychology. In her native Minnesota, Maya co-chaired the state-wide non-profit Minnesota Alliance with Youth alongside the Lt. Gov. She also served on the Board of Directors for America's Promise and the Volunteer Resource Center of the Twin Cities, and was appointed to the Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time. Maya was active in founding urban debate programs at several schools in Minneapolis and in 2001 was the National Forensic League's national champion in Lincoln-Douglas debate. She is the student delegate to her state's Committee on Legislation, and has served as the student representative to the AMA-Women Physicians Congress and chair of the MSS Committee on Legislation and Advocacy (2007-2008). She is passionate about global health, and has volunteered with a consumer rights organization in southern India.

 
Uel Alexis, Vice Chair 

Uel Alexis, Vice-Chair
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Uel Alexis is a fourth year medical student at the University of Texas in San Antonio. At an early age, the values of cultural diversity, mutual respect, and benevolence were instilled in Uel by his Creole father and Ethiopian mother. After his university days at Johns Hopkins, Uel's background helped inspire him to perform externships during medical school in Ethiopia and Trinidad & Tobago. Uel's passion for world travel and global affairs drives his objective in this position to provide opportunity and direction for other medical students interested in careers crossing medicine, international health care, and public policy.

 
Soha Patel, Vice Chair 

Soha Patel, Vice Chair
University of South Florida College of Medicine

Soha Patel is a second year medical student at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. She also serves as the Chapter President at USFCOM and on the Region 4 International Health Committee. Prior to matriculating in medical school, Soha graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology. She then pursued a Master of Science in International Public Health/Reproductive and Sexual Health Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She returned back to the States and worked as a pharmaceutical clinical trial consultant while pursuing a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences at Barry University. At USFCOM, Soha is currently doing research on the HPV vaccine and its effects nationally and internationally and also participates in Project World Health, a medical mission organization that serves the people of the Dominican Republic.

 
Marla Davis 

Marla Davis
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Marla Davis is a second year medical student at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science with a focus in International Relations from Duke University in 2002. Following graduation, Marla completed single- and multi-engine flight training and served as a pilot for the United States Navy. After transferring from active duty into the Reserves, she returned to her home state of Kentucky for medical school. Marla currently serves as Delegate for a growing Kentucky AMA-MSS chapter.

 
Kavita Desai 

Kavita Desai
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Kavita Desai is a student at the University of Miami, Class of 2011. She has volunteered in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and India. She has been involved in multiple initiatives, including an eye care screening in Haiti and World AIDS Day.

 
Jared Gallaher 

Jared Gallaher
Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Jared Gallaher is a member of the class of 2011 at Wake Forest University. During undergrad, he studied theology and participated in the HNGR (Human Needs and Global Resources) Program at Wheaton College in Illinois. Over the last few years, Jared has spent significant time in the developing world, and he hopes to rotate overseas during his fourth year. This past summer, Jared volunteered at a medical clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Jared is very excited about being a part of the GHP Committee and looks forward to improving access to international medicine opportunities for medical students.

 
Ratika Gupta 

Ratika Gupta
Thomas Jefferson Medical College

Ratika Gupta is currently a second year medical student at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. She graduated from University of Delaware with degrees in Biology and Liberal Studies. Ratika traveled to India before joining medical school with her non-profit organization, and hopes to be more involved in humanitarian efforts now and in the future.

 
Brandon Kirkland 

Brandon Kirkland
University of South Alabama College of Medicine

Brandon Kirkland is a third year medical student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama. He is originally from Panama City, Florida and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of West Florida. Brandon became excited about global health after his first year of medical school when he spent a month doing research on drug resistance in malaria in Pailin, Cambodia. Brandon is very interested in tropical diseases and HIV and looks forward to working with the Committee on Global Health and Policy.

 
Liz Kwo 

Liz Kwo
Harvard Medical School

Liz Kwo is a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School. After graduating from Stanford, she conducted research on elderly health-care as Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan. Liz has a lot of interests - she's worked in orphanages in Mexico, established health clinics in rural Ecuador, helped to build a women's shelter in Guatemala, and researched traditional medicines in Peru. She is looking forward to working on this committee to help other med students accomplish their goals of working abroad and impacting change.

 
Vijay Narendran 

Vijay Narendran
Texas Tech University Heath Science Center School of Medicine - Lubbock

Vijay Narendran is a third year medical student at the Texas Tech University Heath Science Center School of Medicine in Lubbock, TX. Born and raised a West Texan, he took a short vacation to Chicago where he spent his undergrad years as a student of Economics and Mathematics on the South Side. He returned to his hometown to pursue a joint MD/MBA program, taking some time to work with the American Cancer Society as a Policy Intern in Washington, D.C., and even finding time to go on an epic journey to all of America's baseball parks (all 30 of them) on a crazy 61 day adventure along the way (www.ballparktour08.blogspot.com). Back in medical school for his third year, he looks forward to an anticipated international medical experience somewhere in North or West Africa during his fourth year of medical school.

 
Sophia Tcheung 

Sophia Tcheung
Texas Tech University Heath Science Center School of Medicine - Amarillo

Sophia Tcheung is a fourth year student at Texas Tech University in Amarillo. She grew up in the Houston area and graduated with a business degree at the University of Texas in Austin (hook 'em horns!) Sophia plans on taking some time off after this year to do some research abroad before starting residency. There are so many avenues that students can take to explore their interests in international health, and she would love to help them learn about the possibilities.

 
Sameer Vohra 

Sameer Vohra
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

Sameer S. Vohra is currently a fifth year medical and law dual degree student at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, Illinois. Mr. Vohra, a native of Chicago, Illinois, completed his undergraduate work at Northwestern University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with honors and Science in Human Culture. Mr. Vohra currently serves as the Student Delegate to the Illinois State Medical Society. Mr. Vohra had previously served as an Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Engineering Fellow working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Law Program. Mr. Vohra plans to use his dual degree to impact international health policy, specifically children's health. When not immersed in the world of medicine, Mr. Vohra enjoys the wide world of sports, pop culture in all of its forms, and meeting as many innovative men and women as possible.