Q&A with 2016 Bass Connections Team Member Elizabeth Monahan

Elizabeth_Monahan

Published December 12, 2016 under Education News

Elizabeth Monahan was a member of the 2015-2016 Bass Connections team "Environmental Epidemiology in Latin America: Leishmania." We talked with her to learn more about the project and her hopes for its outcomes.

Name: Elizabeth Monahan
Hometown: Minnetonka, Minnesota
Program: Master of Science in Global Health 
Graduation Date: 2017

Why did you join this Bass Connections project?

I worked as a research assistant with Dr. Bill Pan. As I developed my thesis, I found that it matched closely with the work of Dr. Pan’s Bass Connections project. My thesis centered around comparing the effectiveness of two different insecticides, permethrin and deltamethrin, that are used to treat bed nets to prevent insect borne diseases such as malaria. 

Some areas in Peru are starting to use an insecticide, called malathion, which is a neurotoxin and may have long-term negative health effects. Permethrin and deltamethrin are currently approved for human usage while malathion is not.

What has been the best part of Peru/the project?

The team has been great. Everyone gets along really well, which makes it easy to get our work done and have fun.

What do you hope to accomplish as part of this project?

I hope to collect and synthesize enough data so it is meaningful and will help the people here.

Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree in global health?

I was a biology and Spanish major as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame. Global health was a great way to combine those two interests. I’m also interested in the medical field, so I hope to be able to use this training going forward.

To learn more about the team's work in Peru, view our multimedia feature and video about the project.

 

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