Boston University Medical Campus
International Health Program

Israel

I spent my summer abroad in Israel working in the field of medical technology under the direction of Dr. Hossam Haick at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. I was able to learn a lot and contribute medical knowledge to a team of engineers and physicists.

The team I worked with has been designing a device (E-nose) to detect and diagnose various cancers in their earliest stages, while they are still quite responsive to therapy. Thus far, the device has been able to detect cancers of the lung, colon, prostate, and breast by “sniffing out” volatile biomarkers present in the breath in concentrations as low as parts per billion. While abroad, I worked with a team to see if we could preliminarily diagnose other diseases like Parkinson’s disease using the E-Nose. In the first month, I worked to collect samples from PD patients and healthy controls. In the second month, we analyzed the data and saw differences between the breaths of healthy controls and PD patients. The research will hopefully lead to a non-invasive device that can diagnose aliments in man while they are still treatable.

Challenges

I originally signed up to work in the area of breast cancer diagnosis using the E-nose, but when I arrived in Israel, Dr. Haick told me of a new application to the E-nose: detecting Parkinson’s disease. He thought this would be more of a suitable project. Thus, I proceeded.

Lebanon

I conducted research with the help of Lebanese American University and Amel Association (a medical NGO based in Beirut) looking at the perception of reproductive health care services by community leaders in two low-income neighborhoods outside of Beirut. I also interned at ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid), an American-based NGO working with Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East; I helped to do biostatistical analysis on the efficacy of their Creative Health Campaign, a community development/medicine-based endeavor targeting mothers and children on topics as diverse as anti-smoking and pediatric nutrition. This program was implemented in multiple Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings throughout Lebanon.

The challenges I faced were daunting. From being marginally functional in Arabic to being verbally threatened with physical violence by Hezbollah, I dealt with a whole host of issues that ranged from personal incompetence to professional scrutiny. Things came together through the kindness of strangers and the help of people from my past, whom I didn’t even know were in Lebanon at the time. My translator, a B.U. alum and currently a AUB med student, quickly became my co-researcher, along with another American from Harvard. Through the willingness of these individuals, along with their numerous contacts and push for success, I was able to finish my project. I also met individuals who were interested in providing better healthcare and a better future for poor women. This to me, above all, was the most rewarding aspect of my work abroad – meeting like-minded people who had faith that my project would succeed when I was skeptical at times.