Student Researchers Receive PEAK Awards for Fall 2022

Four student researchers and Health Equity Interns were awarded PEAK Experiences Awards for Fall 2022. The Institute would like to celebrate the ongoing work our undergraduate researchers are doing alongside our Faculty and Faculty Scholars. Project descriptions and more information on our students can be found below.

Ascent Awards

Katherine O’Brien Bouvé’24, Julia Papasodoro Bouvé’24 
Retention in Care of People Living with HIV in Nigeria: A Systematic Review 
Mentor: John Olawepo, Bouvé, Health Sciences 

This project analyzes retention in care of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Nigeria. Over 1.9 million people are living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria, and ART treatment is crucial to combating this. However, retention in care on ART is relatively unknown and inconsistent across the literature in Nigeria, thus this project systematically analyzes existing literature on this topic to determine retention in care. We followed PRISMA guidelines and collected 900+ abstracts to review, and narrowed it down to 60 to include in our manuscript and meta-analysis. Through the meta-analysis, we will be able to determine a retention in care statistic.  

Morgan Wong Bouvé’24
Un-Masking the Origins of Maternal Morbidity/Mortality (UMOMMI) 
Mentor: Alisa LincolnBouvé, Health Sciences

In the United States, women of color face disproportionately poorer maternal outcomes, as reflected in their higher rates of severe maternal mortality/morbidity (SMM) compared to White women. The magnitude of these disparities may be affected by a lack of consensus regarding the measurement of SMM internationally. The UMOMMI project will compare the SMM measurement frameworks of the US and Canada by applying them to the same cohort of US delivery hospitalizations. Using National Inpatient Sample hospital data, the project will analyze racial and ethnic disparities, as well as temporal trends, in SMM rates from 2012-2019.

Summit Awards

Jordan Rhyner, Bouvé’23
“Enriching Communities: A Partnership Between Artists and Community Health Centers”
Mentor: Rebekah Moore, CAMD, Music

This project, which is part of a larger longitudinal study investigating the interconnections of art, race, and health equity, seeks to explore the role artists may play in strengthening communities through partnerships with community health centers in the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, South End, Jamaica Plain, and Fenway. Our research team will complete informational focus group interviews that bring together artists and community health center representatives. The findings of the longitudinal study will be presented at the 2022 American Public Health Association conference in November and at the RISE Expo in 2023.

The PEAK Awards are funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, a progressively structured sequence of opportunities designed to support learners as they continue climbing to new heights of achievement in undergraduate research and creative endeavor throughout their Northeastern journeys. From the beginner surveying the landscape with a Campfire Chat or establishing a Base Camp, to those gaining experience while making the Ascent and Building Bridges, to those reaching the Summit, Blazing new Trails, and Shouting Out their successes, the PEAK Experiences Awards offer something for everyone.