The Health Careers Peer Advisors (HCPAs) are part of Brown's Health Careers Advising team particularly available to first-year students and upperclassmen during the academic year. This affords you the opportunity to consult with a Brown undergraduate with experience as a health careers student. The Peer Advisors also coordinate events each semester. Students can email questions to [email protected] at any time.
Follow the HCPAs on Instagram at @Brown_HCA!
HCPA Drop-in Hours through December 7, 2023
View the HCPA schedule and access Zoom links through the HCPA Calendar
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
|
2:00pm-4:00pm University Hall, Room 303 with HCPA Akshay Malhotra 6:00pm-8:00pm Zoom with HCPA Elizabeth Ding |
10:00am-12:00pm 4:00pm-5:00pm Center for Career Exploration, Room 102, 167 Angell St. with HCPA Jacqueline Cho 6:00pm-8:00pm Zoom with HCPA Camille Leung
|
11:00am-1:00pm The Blue Room, 75 Waterman St. with HCPA Francesca Vecchio |
8:00am-10:00am The Blue Room, 75 Waterman St. with HCPA Pooja Kalyan 1:00pm-3:00pm The Blue Room, 75 Waterman St, with HCPA Mya Collins |
Jacqueline Cho
Hometown: Queens, NY
Concentration: Neuroscience (Sc.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Connect for Health Triage Coordinator
- WiSE Co-Lead Coordinator
- Brown Brain Bee Head Coordinator
- MAPS Co-Coordinator
- Figure Skating Club Treasurer
- Triple Helix Editor
- Brown Journal of Medical Humanities Editor
- Clinica Esperanza Volunteer
Research:
- The Hart Lab, Department of Neuroscience at Brown University: Investigated quiescent activity and fatigue phenotypes in a C. elegans SOD1 model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to further understand the relationship between neurodegeneration and fatigue. Currently studying insomnia-associated variants to understand the role of GPCRs in sleep. (Spring 2021-Present)
- Seaver Undergraduate Research Scholar at Mount Sinai in the Yang Lab: Study DDX3X gene function and identify putative mRNA targets using a CRISPR knock-out model of DDX3X in male stem cell lines. (Summer 2022)
Fun tidbit: I love dyeing my hair (even though I should let it recover more than I currently do). Don’t be surprised if you see me with a different hair color randomly!
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Balance is key! It’s okay to take a step back and take a break before you jump back into work again— listen to your body and don’t burn yourself out.
Mya Collins
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Concentrations: Neuroscience (Sc.B.) and Engineering (A.B)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Brown Varsity Track and Field Hurdler
- Vice President of the Black Student Union
- EMT on Brown EMS
- Brown Center of Students of Color (BCSC) Black Heritage Coordinator 22-23
- PR Chair of National Society of Black Engineers
- Ronald Mcdonald House Charity In-House Manager
- BCSC Multimedia Specilaist 23-24
Research:
- BrainGate and Mass General Hospital Neuroengineering Researcher: Research speech neuroprosthesis and decoding cortical activity patterns for organic communication in individuals with severe paralysis
Ask me about: BSU, the BCSC, NSBE, or cool places to go in Rhode Island!
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Never sacrifice your health and wellbeing for an activity that doesn’t bring joy and/or value to your life. You are only an undergraduate student for a period of time, make sure you spend it doing things you genuinely care about. You never want to have regrets that you didn’t get to truly explore and use Brown’s resources to your advantage.
Elizabeth Ding
Hometown: Lexington, MA
Concentration: Biology (Sc.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Brown Science Prep Coordinator
- Salt and Light Christian Fellowship Servant Team
- TA for BIOL 0280 and BIOL 0470
- Global Medical Missions Alliance Vice President/Fundraising Chair
- Rhode Island Free Clinic Volunteer
- Miriam Hospital Volunteer
- BioDUG Leader
- WiSE Peer Mentor
Research:
- Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University conducting translational medical research on prostate and lung cancer neuroendocrine differentiation to cancer therapeutic sensitivity.
Ask me about: Christian life on campus, PVD food recommendations, and easy go-to Asian recipes!
Fun tidbit: I’ve recently gotten back into reading for fun (read: finally read Harry Potter)! Would highly recommend Sweet Bean Paste by Tetsuya Akikawa, When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosick, and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Anything you experience in college can be valuable–– stay present, and try to find a reason to be thankful through it all.
Pooja Kalyan
Hometown: Fayetteville, AR
Concentration: Neuroscience (Sc.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Figure Skating Club, Co-Captain
- US Figure Skating Board of Directors, Singles Athlete Director
- Doctors and Engineers without Borders, Project Manager
- Rhode Island Free Clinic, Volunteer Medical Assistant
- Ronald McDonald House of Providence, Activities Volunteer
- Brown Group Fitness Yoga Instructor
- Partnership for Adult Learning, Volunteer Tutor
- BIOL 0200 TA
Research:
- E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep Research Laboratory: Work as a sleep technician at the lab and assist with data collection and entry for a variety of sleep studies. Pursuing an independent research project investigating potential sleep-related alterations in adolescents at genetic risk for Alzhiemer’s under the mentorship of Dr. Jared Saletin and Dr. Mary Carskadon (June 2022-present)
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Perceptual Learning: Assisted with the investigation of the relationship between sleep and learning through analyzing changes in neurotransmitter levels (December 2021-June 2023)
Ask me about: Figure Skating Club and PVD coffee and food recs!
Fun tidbit: I’m a huge foodie and enjoy trying out different cafes and restaurants in the area! I am also passionate about baking, and love experimenting with new recipes and desserts in my free time! :)
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Try new things, follow your passions, and enjoy your time at Brown! The best thing about being pre-med at Brown is you have so much freedom to explore classes and extracurriculars in many different areas, so take advantage of that. Be sure to make room for self-care: Whatever it may be– meditating, journaling, going on a run– start and end your day with things that uplift you and help you destress!
Camille Leung
Hometown: La Verne, CA
Concentrations: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Sc.B.) and Public Health (A.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- President of Brown-Miriam Volunteer Program
- President of Create@Brown
- CHEM0350/0360 Tutor
- Design Team at Fashion@Brown
- Asian/American Political Alliance
Research:
- Neretti Lab at the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry: working on high-resolution mapping of common fragile sites in DNA, optimizing FISH for metaphase spreads
Fun tidbit: I love anything to do with crafts and DIY! Talk to me about anything - sewing, knitting, jewelry, you name it. Sometimes you’ll catch me working a booth at local flea markets.
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Allocate time to de-stress and do NOT do that all-nighter you’re contemplating. Take care of yourself and enjoy the fun parts about college.
Ask me about: music, craft related hobbies, food around campus
Akshay Malhotra
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Concentrations: Ethnic Studies and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies (A.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Medical Scribe at Brown Emergency Medicine
- Badmaash Dance Company
- Meiklejohn Peer Advisor
- Cape Verde Brown Health Initiative
- Diamondback Terrapin Survey
- Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment (BRYTE) Program
Research:
- Sellke Lab, Cardiovascular Research Center: Investigating medical therapeutic and extracellular vesicle injection treatments for large and small animal models in the setting of chronic myocardial ischemia.
- Clinical Cardiology Research: Clinical research in interventional cardiology looking at outcomes in patients with cardiac arrest undergoing coronary angiogram, sex differences in PCI and severe aortic stenosis, etc.
- Cape Verde Brown Health Initiative: Conducting a health needs assessment of Cape Verdeans living in Rhode Island and Cape Verde.
Ask me about: The best nature spots in Providence or Rhode Island, favorite house plants, or any good book recommendations!
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Take a minute to step back, breathe, and relax. It is easy to get caught up in small details, so always try to remember the bigger picture. Take care of yourself and spend time doing the things you love, and know that everyone’s path to a career in health and medicine is different.
Vansh Patel
Hometown: Suffield, CT
Concentration: Neuroscience (Sc.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Clínica Esperanza: Intake and Health Fair Volunteer
- TA for CHEM0330 and PHP0320
- Radiology Aide at The Miriam Hospital
- Umeed@Brown E-Board
- Meiklejohn Peer Advisor
- First-Gens@Brown E-Board
Research:
- The Stroud Lab, Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital & Brown Center for Children at Women and Infants Hospital: Researching prenatal maternal marijuana and e-cigarette use to better understand the impacts of in-utero substance exposure on placental epigenetic mechanisms and fetal/infant brain growth and neurobehavior (April 2022 - Present)
- Planned Parenthood of Southern New England - Clinical Research Intern: Enrolled participants and processed biospecimens for a study that aimed to identify more reliable means of STI/STD detection (August 2020 - January 2021)
Fun tidbit: I’ve been swimming with sharks!
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: You are doing enough! Do not try to overwhelm yourself trying to do a million different things. Choose activities that are meaningful to you and be sure to set aside time for friends, family, and sleep!
Ask me about: Favorite noodle places near campus, best study spots on/around campus, off-campus employment
Francesca Vecchio
Hometown: Providence, RI
Concentration: Biomedical Engineering (Sc.B.)
Email: [email protected]
Activities:
- Brown Design Workshop Monitor
- President of Brown Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- Biology Group Tutor
- CareFree Clinic Volunteer
- Writer for the Critical Review
- Infectious Disease Society Events Chair
Research:
- The Hoffman-Kim Lab in the Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at Brown University: Researching methods of simulating and treating traumatic brain injury using an in vitro neural model (2022 – Present)
- Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow in Biomedical Engineering: Designed and manufactured a biomedical device using CAD, 3D printing, and injection molding to be used for retinal surgical applications (Summer 2022)
- BronxCare Pre-medical Summer Fellowship: Explored questions related to patient outcomes and quality of care within the BronxCare Health System (Summer 2023)
Ask me about: How to start building & creating in the BDW, whether you want to embroider a T-shirt, print custom stickers, or build a table for your dorm!
A piece of advice you would give to a pre-health student: Don't be afraid to try something outside of your comfort zone and ask questions about it. Your undergraduate time at Brown is the best opportunity to explore. Remember that discovering what you don't enjoy is a sign that you’re doing things right!
