Alexandra Poeschla

Alexandra is a third-year medical student at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Since starting medical school, she has been mentored by Dr. Radha Rajasingham at the University of Minnesota to study cryptococcal meningitis management and prevention in people with advanced HIV disease. She has travelled to Kampala, Uganda twice to spend time with the cryptococcal meningitis research team and observe the presentation and treatment of cryptococcal meningitis and other opportunistic infections related to advanced HIV, in addition to outpatient screening efforts for people with advanced HIV. 

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of a Whole Blood Cryptococcal Antigen Semi-Quantitative Point-of-Care Assay in Patients with Advanced HIV; Analysis of Clinical and Birth Outcomes of Pregnant Persons with Advanced HIV
Mulago National Referral Hospital and associated clinics
Kampala, Uganda
 

What does the Kean Fellowship mean to you?
The Kean Fellowship has given me the invaluable opportunity to return to Kampala to be on the ground with the meningitis research team. Through this fellowship, I am able to reconnect with and learn from colleagues that I worked with last summer, establish new relationships and collaborate on projects. 

What do you anticipate learning?
I anticipate spending time in the outpatient clinics in Kampala, learning more about effective implementation as well as challenges of clinical research. 

What interests you about tropical medicine and what problems are you interested in solving?
I am interested in how collaborative partnerships can expand healthcare access and improve delivery of needed care in underserved populations, especially for preventable and treatable diseases. I am excited to build on existing relationships with the meningitis team in Kampala, continuing to learn from their expertise on facilitating consistent and comprehensive care in an under-resourced setting.