2021 PHEAP Participants

Meet the 2021 PHEAP Participants

Meet Karla Arroyo

Meet Mikelley Baptiste

Meet Adrián Cetz

Meet Esha Elahi

Meet Danielle Long

Meet Tayla McKenzie

Meet Helena Nguyen

Meet Kary Perez

Meet Justin Rodriguez

Meet Keily Sanchez

Meet Maria Truong

Meet Crystal Ukaegbu

Meet Jaleah Wiggins

Karla Arroyo

Karla Arroyo was born in Tabasco, México I currently lives and studies in Mérida, Yucatán, México. She is an undergrad student at Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, and this is the last semester of her senior year. Her major is biotechnology engineering, and her thesis is about Rickettsioses. She is interested in the Indiana University Public Health Entomology Access program (PHEAP), because it merges the two subjects that she has been working on this last year: public health and Rickettsioses. She hopes PHEAP will help her to understand better how these two things complement each other. Her career goals are to finish her thesis about rickettsia and a master's and a Ph.D. about vector-borne diseases or some other infectious diseases that need further investigation in México. A fun fact about her is that she loves reading novels about any topic, and sometimes she get so caught up that she is distracted from her work.

Mikelley Baptiste

Mikelley Baptiste is a junior at Spelman College. She is a psychology major with an expected graduation year of 2023. Although currently living in Georgia, she is originally from New York. She is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) because her career goal is to become a primary care pediatrician. By participating in PHEAP, she also hopes to expand his knowledge of Public Health and the role of people of color in the prevention of vector-borne diseases. An accomplishment she is particularly proud of is her working with her church's children for 7 years. A fun fact about Mikelley is that she loves to dance and choreograph to a variety of styles.

Adrián Cetz

Adrián Enrique Cetz Zapata was born in the beautiful colonial town of Mérida, in the state of Yucatán in México where he has lived his whole life. He is currently studying the 4th year of a 5-year degree in Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry with a major in clinical chemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (Autonomous University of Yucatán). He is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) because he wants to graduate by thesis, which is related to the study of intracellular bacteria transmitted by parasitic vectors such as ticks, lice, mites and fleas. Therefore, knowledge of these species is essential to carry out the necessary sampling. His career goal is to become an important researcher providing information on various insect-borne diseases for the development of treatments to help especially those vulnerable communities that, due to their situation, do not have immediate access to health services and that happen to be the most affected. A fun fact about Adrián is that he is color blind, and he realized it until almost 10 years old when he painted the ground red and his teachers found it unusual.

Esha Elahi

Esha Elahi is a rising sophomore at the University of Michigan, with an expected graduation year of 2024. She is planning to major in Biology, Health & Society, or Public Health Sciences. Esha is originally from Okemos, Michigan but will be moving to Ann Arbor, MI in the fall. She is taking part in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) to further her career goals of working in preventive healthcare and integrating public health with the field of medicine. Through PHEAP, Esha also hopes to gain an introduction to the vast field of public health. A fun fact about Esha is that she has done CrossFit for five years and truly loves it.

Danielle Long

Danielle Long is a senior at Texas A&M University-College Station. She is double majoring in forensic and investigative science/entomology and obtaining a public health entomology certificate expecting to graduate the year of 2022. She is living within the United States currently residing in the great city of Houston, Texas. She is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) because her career goal is to become a medical examiner. By being a member in the PHEAP, she hopes to learn more about public health policies and being able to apply them to the medical field. She also wants to broaden her knowledge on identifying ticks and learning how vector-borne diseases can impact the human body. A fun fact about Danielle is that she is double jointed in all her fingers, except her right thumb, and she can play two instruments.

Tayla McKenzie

Tayla McKenzie is a sophomore at Spelman College. She is a Health Science major with an expected graduation year of 2024. Tayla is currently living in Cleveland, Ohio although she will be moving to Atlanta, Georgia in the fall. She aspires to become an Obstetrician-Gynecologist. She is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program to expand her knowledge of vector-borne disease ecology and tick-borne diseases also to learn why people of color are a vital part of the evolution of this discipline. A fun fact about Tayla is that is she was born with a dislocated knee and had to wear a cast for the first few months of her life.

Helena Nguyen

Helena Nguyen is a rising senior at Seattle Pacific University majoring in Biochemistry major with a minor in Psychology. Even though Helena is currently living in Seattle, Washington, she is originally from Saigon, Vietnam. Helena joins the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) to gain more knowledge in the transmission and prevention of vector-borne diseases, to build a strong supportive community, and to advocate for people of color in the public health workforce. When not immersing herself in the world of research, Helena is either in bed binging on Netflix or sipping a glass of wine and observing the beauteous Seattle with the stunning skyline silhouette.

Kary Perez

Kary Perez is a recent graduate from Florida International University, where she was in the Honors College and obtained her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences. She is the daughter of immigrant parents, where she was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Kary's dream is to become a wildlife/aquatic veterinarian where she can be an advocate for One Health. Her curiosity in zoonotic diseases and the One Health approach has driven her interest to participate in the PHEAP 2021 program. A fun fact about Kary, she loves to travel. In fact, as part of her college experience, she participated in the National Student Exchange program where she attended the University of Hawaii for a year.

Justin Rodriguez

Justin Rodriguez is a senior at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is a biology major with an environmental science minor expected to graduate in 2022. He was born and raised in Mission, Texas where he still resides. He chose to participate in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Program because he did light research on zoonotic pathogens in high school and wishes to further his knowledge on vector-borne diseases and their interest in the health of the public. As a career, he would like to go into research on various subjects involving disease such as epidemiology, virology, or public health entomology. Fun fact about him is he loves, and frequently plays Magic: The Gathering, a competitive trading card game.

Keily Sanchez

Keily Sanchez is a rising junior at the University of Central Florida. She is a biomedical sciences major expected to graduate early, in the year of 2022. She is of Cuban descent and was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Keily is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) in hopes of learning more about how she can bridge the gap between medicine and ecology in her future career as a physician. She hopes to grasp a better understanding of the implications that ticks, and tick-borne diseases have on the health of those occupying the areas in which they are found. A fun fact about Keily is that she runs a small at-home bakery called Kiwi's Sweets.

Maria Truong

Maria Truong is a junior at Gonzaga University from Beaverton, Oregon. She is a biology major in the class of 2023. Although she is a pre-dental student, she is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) in order to gain a better understanding of Public Health and disparities to people of color in preventative health care. She hopes to add to a health care community that recognizes, addresses and combats racial disparities and implicit bias. A fun fact about Maria is that she has an unusually intelligent leopard gecko named Norberta.

Crystal Ukaegbu

Crystal is a second year DrPH student for school year 2021-2022. She is participating in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) because one of her career goals is to be a public health research scientist. She looks forward to learning about Public Health Entomology and discover areas of research where she can contribute to. Her other career goals align with trnsitioning into a healthcare management role later on in her careera where she can advocate for change in underserved populations. Her research interests includes: Infectious Diseases, Racial Disparities in Women's Health, Geriatric Care, Health Policies, Cancer Prevention & Control, and Global Health issues. A fun fact about Crystal, she enjoys cooking and traveling to new places.

Jaleah Wiggins

Jaleah Wiggins is a junior at Spelman College (Atlanta, GA). She is a biology major graduating in 2023. She is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and has lived there her whole life. She found her interest in the 2021 Public Health Entomology Access Program (PHEAP) because she wanted to learn more about research and enhance those skills. She hopes to gain more knowledge of Public Health and how Public Health initiatives and concerns affect people of color. Her main career goal is to be a pediatrician. An accomplishment she is proud of is her learning German and American Sign Language (ASL). A fun fact about Jaleah is that she loves baking and cooking new food.