APEx Student Profiles
Nikita Durnev
Certificate: Public Health Research Methods
APEx Site: NYC Preparedness and Recovery Institute (PRI), ICAP at Columbia University
APEx Position: Strategic Planning Fellow
Tell us a little about your APEx and the work you did. My practicum was based at the NYC Preparedness and Recovery Institute at ICAP at Columbia University, where I worked as one of three interns on a large-scale regional public health planning initiative. Our work centered on contributing to a multi-year strategic plan for public health emergency preparedness and response across HHS Region 2. I participated in stakeholder consensus-building, qualitative analysis of community input gathered through listening sessions, and the translation of regional priorities into objectives and specific activities.
What made you interested in applying for this practicum, and what stood out to you about the organization or role? I was drawn to ICAP's NextGen program because it offered something more than just a usual internship. The combination of a project placement with structured mentorship, professional development sessions, and consistent access to experienced supervisors made it truly feel like an investment in our social, human, and professional capital. ICAP's positioning at the intersection of research, practice, and policy also made it an environment, in which I was excited to learn and practice by doing.
Has your practicum work changed your politics and policy work? Since most of my practicum work was remote, this setting made me appreciate the importance of clear, open, and proactive communication about project deliverables even more. It also allowed me to further consider how responsibility for one's own work develops in such settings. Since we were not present together in one office space, I needed to carefully consider how my written communication affects the way I convey messages, report on my work, and connect with colleagues. Most of my work prior to the practicum had also been remote, whether research or policy evaluation. In this sense, my practicum provided me with the opportunity to further deepen my existing skill set and reflect on what it means to work remotely and deliver results across cross-functional teams. When one works remotely, it is important to stay on top of multiple communication channels and organize one's working schedule appropriately.
How has your practicum furthered your career goals? This practicum introduced me to a way of working at the intersection of strategic planning, evaluation, and public health systems that I had not previously imagined for myself. The skills I developed, including structuring long-term plans, defining measurable objectives, and engaging with different stakeholders to receive their input and feedback, are transferable well beyond any specific sector or setting.
Has the experience changed or influenced your long-term career goals? I want to be transparent about something I think many students could relate to. I entered this practicum without any clear intention to pursue a career in emergency preparedness. Now I think that openness is actually an asset. I think there could be pressure on students to arrive at a practicum already certain of where they are headed, as if the experience should confirm rather than explore their professional interests. For me, it was an opportunity to try something new, build meaningful professional relationships, and contribute to important work.
I would not say I developed a specific professional focus on emergency preparedness and response. The experience still showed me that my skills can be truly transferable across different professional fields. That was perhaps the most valuable thing I took away. Prior to this, my knowledge of the field came almost entirely from my research on pandemic response. Getting to see the broader landscape of preparedness work from the inside was rather exciting.
What are some unexpected things you've learned? The most significant thing was discovering that I could contribute effectively in a strategy and planning environment. I always thought my professional strengths are in applied social and behavioral sciences. I therefore did not expect that skillset to translate into strategic work. What I found was that the ability to synthesize complex information, identify patterns across qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods data, and anchor recommendations in evidence are exactly the capacities that strategic planning requires. The two skill sets therefore converged in ways I had not anticipated.
I also learned something specific about the nature of evidence in emergency preparedness. It is way harder to generate than in many other areas of public health. The field relies heavily on proxy and other similar events and careful documentation because the conditions being planned for cannot ethically or practically be replicated. Understanding that constraint gave me a better appreciation for the methodological creativity the field demands, and a broader perspective on what evidence-based practice can look like when the context is so unpredictable.
Yinshi Wang
Certificate: Sexuality, Sexual and Reproductive Health
APEx Site: NYU Langone’s Harvest Share Program
APEx Position: Bilingual Community Health Intern
Tell me a little about your practicum and the work you are doing. My practicum was completed with NYU Langone Health within the "Harvest Share" program, a community-centered, equity-driven initiative. The project aims to improve diet and social environments for immigrant communities. I was deeply involved in this program through community outreach and research support, which not only allowed me to coordinate with different parties but also strengthened my research management skills. A significant portion of my role involved a pilot study on Asian women’s intergenerational health. This qualitative-driven research focuses on Chinese American mother-daughter relational dynamics, acculturation, and health behaviors.
What made you interested in applying for this practicum, and what stood out to you about the organization or role? The Harvest Share program stood out to me with its commitment to linguistic and cultural inclusiveness. The opportunity to work with diverse immigrant populations in Brooklyn, specifically as an international student myself, was attractive to me because it offered a chance to join a community I might resonate with. Furthermore, the focus on intergenerational health among Asian women aligned with my academic interests in how cultural beliefs and immigration status shape health behaviors across different life stages in terms of gender health.
Has your practicum work changed your politics and policy work? The practicum significantly deepened my understanding of how structural inequities and systemic biases directly undermine health equity. I noticed how language barriers, immigration status, and a lack of culturally competent care create structural obstacles for immigrant women, especially when they are elderly with health conditions and find it challenging for social adaptation. This experience has shifted my perspective on policy to be more focused on the intersections of acculturation and health. I am now more convinced that policy work must be informed by qualitative, community-led insights to address the nuanced ways that acculturation impacts health awareness and access.
How has your practicum furthered your career goals? Through the practicum, I found the work related to research administration particularly challenging and attractive. I enjoyed working as a coordinator to bridge and communicate with multiple parties throughout the research program, as well as the chance for community outreach to directly communicate with local people and the program participants. By participating in data collection, analysis, and reporting in progress with a research project, this practicum has provided me with the practical evidence-based experience necessary to pursue a career in community-centered research or program evaluation within an academic or clinical setting.
Has the experience changed or influenced your long-term career goals? Previously, I viewed health research as a more detached process, but I now see the value of integrated roles where researchers are also part of community distribution, outreach, and coordination. My long-term goal is now more firmly rooted in developing interventions that respect and incorporate traditional cultural knowledge rather than dismissing the acculturation gaps for diverse populations.
What are some unexpected things you've learned? One thing I learned from this experience was trust. Through the interviews, I realized that building trust requires a high degree of cultural humility. Refraining from assuming a position of “medical or scientific correctness” could be critical for researchers to avoid biases and deliver our respect towards participants to make them feel understood and heard. It is still important to create a space where participants feel their lived experiences were truly valued, even though the objective for the study was to explore and address health problems.
Diego Quintana Licona
Certificate: Public Health Research Methods
APEx Site: Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET)
APEx Position: One Health Unit Intern – ENGAGE Internship Program
Tell me a little about your practicum and the work you are doing. During my practicum, I worked as part of EMPHNET's One Health Unit, collaborating with their Public Health Emergency Management Center and Research Division. I primarily worked on the project "Operationalizing Humanitarian One Health" in collaboration with the University of Geneva, where we described 'Humanitarian One Health' as a new concept in the context of the triple planetary crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation). I was in charge of conducting this research effort for countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by reviewing publications, grey literature, impact reports, and white papers to locate initiatives that complained to our criteria. I also supported quantitative data analysis endeavors for other projects and took preparatory certifications through the International Academy of Public Health (IAPH).
What made you interested in applying for this practicum, and what stood out to you about the organization or role? I applied due to my longstanding commitment to improving the health outcomes of migrants, refugees, and forcibly displaced populations in NYC and abroad. I strive to achieve this through research, data analytics, and advocacy. What stood out about EMPHNET was the opportunity to gain professional experience outside of the US, in humanitarian work, collaborating with global partners and institutions, and within an international agency comprised mostly of professionals from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA). That perspective felt irreplaceable.
Has your practicum work changed your politics and policy work? Working in an international agency gave me a richer understanding of public health outside the US viewpoint and surfaced key differences in program implementation required for humanitarian settings. It also allowed me to see the effects of historical discrimination and structural disparities affecting marginalized communities across the world. Internally, I got to present my findings at EMPHNET's Monthly Technical Day, including operational and policy recommendations for the EMR; this pushed me to think more pragmatically about translating research into actionable policy while receiving feedback from practitioners and scientists coming from all over the world. My view was drastically expanded!
How has your practicum furthered your career goals? My practicum gave me professional experience in both international and humanitarian work, which makes my applications for future opportunities in the multilateral sector or with organizations abroad much stronger. I can now speak from experience, not only course theory. I also built a strong network which I feel comfortable reaching out to for recommendations when I am applying for full-time positions. Practically, getting to develop R code for a cancer awareness project in Iraq sharpened my quantitative and data analytics skills, making me competent for Data Analyst/Scientist roles. I plan to bring this skillset to future humanitarian roles.
Has the experience changed or influenced your long-term career goals? My practicum confirmed my desire to pursue a career in humanitarian health and policy. It helped me confirm the populations I want to work with and the skillset I am able to bring to the table and to market myself. I look forward to utilizing my quantitative and data analytics skills to improve program design and implementation in humanitarian settings, and now I have concrete experience to build on, not just aspirations.
What are some unexpected things you've learned? I was surprised to see how, in humanitarian work, things do not need to be fully flushed out, nor do all answers need to be obtained in order to operationalize. I saw that it is more important to be pragmatic and attend to urgent needs than to delve in theory—I really appreciated this approach! Coming from an academic environment, that was a genuinely refreshing reframe of what "good work" looks like. I now strive to be much more pragmatic with my projects and continuously look into how to apply my findings.
Abla Messie
Certificate: Global Health
APEx Site: 2 sites in Lomé, Togo - Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Publique (CFRSP) and Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ATBEF)
APEx Position: Research Inter (and part-time translator)
Tell me a little about your practicum and the work you are doing. During my time at CRFSP, I analyzed health survey data focused on geriatric populations and HIV using descriptive statistics. I also had the opportunity to participate in a joint workshop between physicians, PNLSS, WHO AFRO, CRFSP, and other organizations involved in the management of HIV, hepatitis, and similar diseases in Togo. I was able to draw on my language skills in French, Ewe, and English to support funding proposal development activities between 5 CBOs across Ethiopia, Eswatini, Togo, Cameroon, and Ghana in English and French.
What made you interested in applying for this practicum, and what stood out to you about the organization or role? As a global health scholar who was born in Lomé, I chose to complete my practicum in Togo to better understand the health system structure from the perspective public and private actors. Equally, I am interested in amplifying collaborations between Francophone and Anglophone countries, both within the African context and globally. This practicum gave me the chance to meet both of those objectives.
Has your practicum work changed your politics and policy work? My practicum experience provided a glimpse into the multifaceted nature of global health delivery and management, particularly in under-resourced settings. Global health delivery must maintain quality and ethical standards while navigating barriers related healthcare investment and workforce shortages. My time in Togo renewed my fervor for community centered solutions, health systems strengthening, and global equity.
How has your practicum furthered your career goals? In addition to sharpening my professional French language skills, lending insights on collaboration strategies among diverse stakeholders, and expanding my approach to global health advocacy, my practicum experience provided critical global project work experience. I am grateful to have experienced living and working in global health outside of the United States.
Has the experience changed or influenced your long-term career goals? This experience confirmed both my desire and ability to practice public health outside of the United States.
What are some unexpected things you've learned? It was interesting to see the prevalence of traditional medicines among younger and older populations. Researchers and physicians in Togo are thinking through how to balance health education with healthcare choice. Researchers are also interested in how to build effective and ethical collaborations with traditional medicine practitioners.