Scholar Profiles

n/a	Scholar:	Vijay Brimahdesam (2005-2007)
	High School:	Jackson Prep.
	Hometown:	Jackson, Missouri
	Area of Study:	Biomedical Engineering, Public Policy Studies, Chemistry
	Summer 2006:	NC Institute of Medicine
Vijay Brihmadesam, from Jackson, Mississippi, is a joint public policy and biomedical engineering major with a minor in chemistry, he graduated in May of 2007 with honors. He has published an article along with Anirudh Krishna in Economic and Political Weekly regarding hurdles to accessing the Indian IT boom; As a scholar he completed a summer internship at the North Carolina Institute of Medicine where is primary work was creating an instrument to survey all public health care providers in order to create a public database; His thesis entitled "Solvable Puzzle: Diabetes and Hispanics in North Carolina" was centered on finding the switch point for providing diabetes care for uninsured Latinos in North Carolina. After graduation Vijay has accepted a job with a leading business strategy consulting firm.

n/a	Scholar:	Theresa Poulos (2005-2007)
	High School:	New Trier High School
	Hometown:	Wilmette, Illinois
	Area of Study:	Art History, Economics, Health Policy Certificate
	Summer 2006:	Office of Research, Demonstrations and Rural Health Development
Theresa Poulos, from Wilmette, Illinois, graduated summa cum laude as a joint major in Economics and Art History and also completed the Health Policy Certificate. She did her summer internship for the NC Office of Rural Health and Community Care, where she worked closely on the ICARE Initiative on mental health and the ABCD program on child development. She wrote a senior honors thesis entitled, "Modern ART: Determining a Couple's Most Cost-Effective Embryo Transfer Decision," which earned High Distinction in Economics. Because IVF is not commonly covered under insurance, Theresa was interested in researching how couples their embryo transfer decisions by considering long- and short-term costs. She showed that couples who transfer high numbers consider only short-term costs and highly discount the long-term costs and impacts on parental quality-of-life. These results suggest either that IVF should be covered by more health insurance plans, or that parents considering the procedure be more well-informed of the potential long-term costs and outcomes. The paper will be printed in the Duke Journal of Economics and has been submitted for publication and presentation to other national journals.

	Scholar:	Sarah Haseltine (2006-2007)
	High School:	Greenwood Laboratory
	Hometown:	Springfield, Missouri
	Area of Study:	Program II: Ethics and Religion in Health Care
	Summer 2007:	NC Institute of Medicine
Sarah Haseltine is a student in Duke's individualized curriculum program, Program II, where she is pursuing an A.B. in Ethics and Religion in Health Care: Issues and Implications. She has spent the last year interning with the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, interacting with clinic directors from across the state as part of the Safety Net Project and collecting data related to the clinics' services and number of uninsured patients.   She plans to spend the summer continuing to develop this project and beginning a thesis that will examine a public health issue in North Carolina from an ethics-related perspective. A native of Springfield, Missouri, Sarah has spent two summers working as a camp counselor. At Duke, she is co-president of the Duke Organ Donation Initiative and a Council member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.  After graduation, Sarah plans to attend medical school.

	Scholar:	Matthew Piehl (2006-2007)
	High School:	Lakeville Senior High School
	Hometown:	Lakeville, Minnesota
	Area of Study:	B.S. in Biology with minor in Economics and Health Policy Certificate
	Summer 2007:	Office of Research, Demonstrations and Rural Health Development
Originally from Lakeville, Minnesota, Matthew Piehl is in the Class of 2008 at Duke University, where he is working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, a minor in economics, and the Health Policy Certificate. After graduation, he hopes to pursue further degrees in law, medicine, and health policy. In his free time, Matthew loves to read, especially authors John Irving, John Grisham, and Minnesota native F. Scott Fitzgerald. Matthew also attends as many Blue Devil tennis matches and football and basketball games as possible. He hopes to use his position as a Jim Bernstein Health Policy Scholar to study the impact of obesity on North Carolina's uninsured and to determine how to better halt the epidemic early in life.