Prior to entering the PhD program at UofL, she worked as a medical laboratory technologist for the State of North Carolina, UNC Healthcare and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She also has experience working for an international health non-profit organization, developing fundraising activities for the organization to provide medical and social services for Chinese orphans with special needs. Kuo is a second-year PhD student in the epidemiology department of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

She took time out of her schedule to talk to UofL News about what motivates her and what her goals are as a Health and Social Justice Scholar.Ìę

UofL News: What motivated you to invest in health and social justice?

Diana Kuo: Ever since my time as a grad student in my master’s program I was interested in epidemiology, but also international health. A lot of international health courses I took had a human rights perspective with health, so my background has been fluctuating. After I graduated from the master’s program, I worked for an international health organization in a fundraising office for our operations in China where we helped handicapped orphans. Once I left that career I went into the medical field as a medical technologist helping to diagnose diseases. Inherent in me has always been the idea that the health and wellbeing of everyone in our community is important. That sent be back to pursue my PhD. One of my main topics of interest in epidemiology is social epidemiology, which melds a lot of different disciplines to understand this bigger picture of health and why it is different in different populations.

UofL News: What is one experience that drives you to make a difference?

Kuo: My most significant experience was in my MPH program in which I did an internship with a student-run organization. We went to Uganda to catalog services offered by NGOs, MPOs, private clinics and local hospitals for HIV and AIDS patients and their friends and family who were affected. While I was there we worked with a local brother-and-sister-run orphanage. In Uganda there is no such thing as a state-run orphanage system, so it’s basically people taking in children from the street. A lot of those children are orphans because their parents died of AIDS and none of the family members want to – or can – help out. One of the days we were there we went around talking to children who had not yet gone to seek someone to help them. They were still living on the streets. A lot of them were hiding in the sewer drains. I think that was one of the most up-front and eye-opening events I ever experienced.

UofL News: What would you like to accomplish as a Health and Social Justice Scholar?

Kuo: It will depend on how we collaborate to figure out what would be the best project to help the community, but I think there are a lot of issues that are not directly related to health but contribute to whether people have healthy lives. One of the main things is to get the idea of public health out to the community and affect policy change in the city. Although I don’t know when or if we will achieve this, I hope it will be within my lifetime.

Introduced in the spring of 2016, the Health and Social Justice Scholars Program engages professional students with local communities and faculty mentors to bring about changes to benefit underserved populations in the Louisville area. Read about fellow scholars in this program, and .Ìę

Green is a second-year student in the UofL School of Dentistry. UofL News had the chance to talk to her about her motivation and her goals.Ìę

UofL News: What motivated you to invest in health and social justice?

Ashton Green: I’ve always been very aware that the best way to be useful in society is to serve those around you. I have also always had an interest in the field of health care. In my initiative to address local health care disparities, I think my target area would deal primarily with cigarette smokers because in Kentucky smoking is a huge issue.  Part of my motivation for choosing to focus on smoking also stems from my family. Some of my mother’s side of the family is from Kentucky and we have lost several relatives due to lung cancer and esophageal cancer. Smoking and diseases that stem from it are very personal to me and I want to come up with a resource that I feel the greater community can easily use and learn from. Hopefully this knowledge can contribute to cultural change. The impact might be small at first, but I feel that if you target one area you have the ability to focus on it and expand it to make greater change later.

UofL News: Explain one experience that drives you to make a difference.

Green: Upon first moving here I wasn’t quite aware of how intense the problem of smoking is. One time while walking home from school I passed by the hospital. As I walked by, I saw patients in hospital gowns and some carrying IV poles standing outside smoking cigarettes. As you can imagine, this was such a confusing sight, but in that moment I realized people must not be aware of how detrimental smoking actually is. I was definitely shocked that day. I remember calling my mom about it and saying, ‘You won’t believe what I just saw.’ That was pretty eye-opening.

UofL News: What would you like to accomplish as a Health and Social Justice Scholar?

łÒ°ù±đ±đČÔ:ÌęI want to create something that is sustainable long after I graduate. I have a few ideas I would like to speak with my mentor about and get the ball rolling. I definitely want to address smoking cessation and create a resource that will last long after I’m gone, because the point is to make permanent, positive change if you can. I have some ideas that I am really excited about.

Editor’s note: UofL News also had the opportunity to talk to Health and Social Justice Scholar Mallika Sabharwal. .Ìę

About the Health and Social Justice Scholars program

Introduced in the spring of 2016, the Health and Social Justice Scholars Program engages professional students with local communities and faculty mentors to bring about changes to benefit underserved populations in the Louisville area.ÌęFor more information, visit .

The prize is for biomedical engineers who wish to gain international research and academic experience and provides round-trip international airfare, a monthly living stipend to cover cost of living, health and accident insurance and tuition reimbursement. As a Whitaker Fellow, Choi will spend a year starting fall 2016 at Helmholtz Institute at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, working on the development of a right ventricular assist device.

Choi is on target to graduate May 2016 with a master of engineering in bioengineering degree from the .

“This award will allow me to forge new engineering skills and network with world-renowned researchers as well as gain my first research experience abroad and assimilate to German culture and language,” Choi said.

Before heading overseas, he will complete a summer internship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Maryland.

“I was offered the summer internship with the FDA to develop a mock circulatory system to standardize testing of left ventricular assist devices,” said Choi. The device is typically used for patients with severe heart failure.

Choi says faculty member Steven Koenig, department of bioengineering, helped him compete for the award by setting up meetings with Koenig’s colleagues in Germany.

“Through Dr. Koenig’s mentorship and networking opportunities, I was able to achieve this award,” Choi said.

Choi is a 2009 graduate of duPont Manual High School and the son of Jung-In and Kyung-Ju Choi of Louisville.

He has earned other prestigious awards during his time at UofL, including the Joseph Henry Award in Translational Bioengineering, which recognizes students who have devised or potentially devised a new medical invention, and the Rolando “Chip” Cheng Jr. Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes students with a humanitarian, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.

She hails from Bradfordsville, Kentucky. Population: about 300 people. Actually, make that 300 very proud people.

That’s because has made them extra proud by winning a prestigious . The prominent award went to just 54 U.S. college students this year and is valued at $30,000. Wilson is Kentucky’s only 2016 Truman Scholar.

The prize recognizes college juniors with a record of outstanding leadership and community involvement who want to pursue careers in public service. The winners will receive their awards in a May 29 ceremony at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

Wilson is a political science, philosophy and women’s and gender studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is also a and expects to graduate in May 2017.

After she graduates from UofL, she intends to use her scholarship to earn a PhD and a law degree from the University of California Berkeley School of Law.ÌęShe then plans to focus on a career in civil rights.

“Hannah has certainly earned this honor,” said UofL President Dr. James Ramsey. “She exemplifies ambition, academic excellence, leadership and a passion for justice and I am certain that she will emerge as a leader of her generation.”

Dr. Patricia Condon, who directs UofL’s Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities, said the highly competitive scholarship is a golden opportunity for public-service minded undergraduates like Wilson.

“During her time at UofL, Hannah has wisely leveraged leadership and community service opportunities — especially through her McConnell Scholarship. The Truman Scholarship is an ideal next step for her,” Condon said.

“I’m honored to be a Truman Scholar and I look forward to seizing the opportunities made available to me by the foundation in pursuit of a lifetime of public service,” said Wilson. “It is especially a privilege to represent the rural, central Kentucky community of which I am a product in my acceptance of this award.”

Wilson is the daughter of Cindy and Todd Wilson of Bradfordsville. She graduated from Marion County High School in 2013 and was the school’s senior class president.

Twelve UofL students have been Truman Scholars since 1977, the year the national program was launched.  Last year, UofL’s  was also Kentucky’s only Truman Scholar.

Patricia Condon, who heads the prestigious scholar program, said the total number of Fulbrights since 2003 now stands at 102. She said six more candidates are still waiting to receive word or have been chosen as alternates, which means the number could continue to grow.

UofL has been to build an infrastructure and campus culture to help students compete for prestigious scholarships. The reason UofL officials often refer back to 2003 when tracking the number of Fulbright scholars is because that was when the recently formed National and International Scholarship Opportunities Office was fully up and running.

“Prior to 2003 there were just a handful of UofL Fulbrights, so it’s pretty obvious from these results that our scholar program is nothing short of outstanding,” UofL President James Ramsey said. “Crossing that 100 mark felt pretty incredible.”

Condon gave high praise to the university community for mentoring top students and helping them during their academic journey.

“As I began working on an invite list for a scholar celebration, I realized that we had 60 faculty members and university leaders—including several deans—who helped these scholars compete and prepare for their awards,” Condon said. “This enthusiasm and support is what really sets our program apart.”

She also noted that the destinations for this year’s Fulbrights include lesser known countries such as Belarus, Estonia, Malawi and Namibia, demonstrating that UofL will have the opportunity to impact some of the furthest reaches of the globe.

The university that 2013 alumna Rae Hodge earned a Fulbright award and plans to announce the names and destinations of the additional winners in the coming weeks.

UofL also was as one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars.