STEAM Towards a Healthier World
Lauren Sturgill
Sammamish HS, WA
Senior (2019-2020)
Career Goals:
When I shadowed the emergency room at Overlake Hospital I felt inspired by the care team and the lengths they went to in order to care for various patients. This is why I want to be a pediatric emergency room physician assistant, because I want to help children in need regardless of income and whether they can afford care or not. Additionally, I enjoy volunteering and working with children which is why I want to pursue a career in Pediatrics.
What did you learn from this course?
I have learned about personalized medicine and how it can prevent major epidemic diseases through having a more balanced diet and exercising often. I was flabbergasted when I learned how you could reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s with simply keeping your brain active through learning. This discovery was all through systems medicine and P4 medicine.
What advice do you have for future Ambassadors?
- If you are commuting by bus to ISB, do a test run a few days before. I did this and it helped me so much on my first day by making my commute faster and reducing anxiety and stress about commuting in the bustling downtown Seattle.
- Bring money or a debit/credit card because you never know when you will need it. There are a ton of nice eatery’s around ISB that a lot of interns go to for lunch. Also, every Thursday from 10-3 there is an adorable farmers market with incredible food and flowers. I recommend bringing money every Thursday!
- Think about your showcase project the end of week 1. You only get 5 days to work on the project so you need to plan ahead and use your time wisely. But most importantly, remember that the showcase project can be outside of the box, just like art should be!
– Showcase Project –
"Personalized Medicine 4 U"
Project Team Member: Gavin Kendal-Freedman
Who/What inspired this project?
I was inspired to explore P4 medicine after the presentation by George Haddad (Chief Medical Officer for P4 Medicine Institute).
Click to read the full story (pdf).
How does your project communicate the relationship between the environment and health?
My project is a short story about a 17 year old girl who has anorexia nervosa and an exercise addiction. She goes to a personalized medicine clinic to see why she is lacking in her performance in sports and school. She then learns through multiple tests (including an ultrasound) that even eating super healthy (but not enough) and exercising (but too much) can negatively impact a person's health drastically. This goes to show others that you can overdue something deemed in society as healthy, to the point where it negatively effects your physical and psychological health immensely.
Who is your target audience?
Teens and young adults; they need preventive medicine more than any other age group because this is where they reach a stage in their life where they are allowed to make unhealthy decisions (such as smoking tobacco). It is paramount that this age group go to a personalized medicine clinic to see their risk for major diseases and how to prevent it through diet and lifestyle. That way they will be more mindful about the choices they make throughout life.
As an Ambassador, how do you plan to share your message with your target audience?
I will tell my fellow teenage and young adult friends about my project and publish my short story online. Additionally, I will market my message on social media sites such as Instagram for numerous people in my targeted age group to see.