JERSON MONTON
MENTOR : Pallav Pokhrel , PhD , MPH
PROJECT TITLE : Betel-Nut Use Patterns Among Adolescents in Guam : Understanding Ethnic Differences in Perceived Social Norms , Social Influence , Accessibility , and Permissiveness
My experience with the CREATE program has definitely sparked my interest in doing research in my future academic endeavors , whether it be working in a wet lab setting or doing data analysis , so much so that I intend to apply to medical school . Dr . Pokhrel and his team were very helpful in every step of my internship from assisting me in formulating my hypothesis , organizing my ideas , and working with the database .”
ALESSANDRA CUEVAS
MENTOR : Monica Esquivel , PhD , RDN
PROJECT TITLE : Larger household size increases fruit and vegetable intake and food security status of children participating in the baseline study of the Keiki Produce Prescription ( KPRx ) program .
Everything I ’ ve learned in the CREATE program has pushed me to continue pursuing medicine . I also learned a lot from my mentor — from the importance of doing research to being confident in myself . She has taught me the little things about conducting research and the major things about reaching the community through research .”
PAUL DUMARAOS
MENTOR : Samantha Streicher , PhD , MPH
PROJECT TITLE : Comparing Lifestyle Factors and Cancer Risk Among Multiethnic Cohort Japanese Americans of Okinawan and Mainland Japanese Origin .
Before I joined the CREATE program , I was interested in doing medical research despite the limited amount of research opportunities on the island of Guam . After being part of this , there were major changes to my academic path . I grew to appreciate the concept of cancer epidemiology and its significance to public health not just in Hawai ‘ i , but also in Guam and various places around the world . I learned that there is a lot that needs to be done in Guam when it comes to public health , access to health care , and medical research .”
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