Phillip Bonsu just finished the first week of his fourth and final undergraduate year at the University of Virginia, after having spent the summer in his native Ghana conducting public health research that clarified his post-graduation goals.
Long interested in pediatric care, Bonsu now finds himself unexpectedly interested in the maternal sector. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
Raised in Ashburn, Bonsu is pursuing a degree in global public health and data science on a pre-medicine track. He spent a few weeks this summer in a new study abroad program he helped establish, immersing himself in a medical field he never thought he’d enjoy.
In collaboration with the University of Ghana Medical School, Bonsu and eight fellow Hoos conducted public health research in Accra, supervised by UVA professor Rajesh Balkrishnan, who teaches population health data analysis.
Q. How did you spend your summer?
A. I took part in a UVA summer research trip in Accra, Ghana, for 2 1/2 weeks. There were nine students, most of us global public health majors. We spent our days in various rural communities within the Accra region, anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours away from the capital city, collecting data on vaccinations, follow-up care, and generally trying to understand potential ways to improve rural health care.
We partnered heavily with Family Health University, and if we weren’t collecting data, we were getting a better understanding of the landscape of Ghana’s health system.
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