Meet IDSA and HIVMA’s Medical Student Policy and Advocacy Interns

IDSA and HIVMA are piloting a new medical student internship program this summer to give medical students interested in ID and HIV the opportunity to learn more about the connection between the federal policy making process and their future work as physicians and researchers by working with IDSA and HIVMA staff at our headquarters. We recruited from medical schools across the country in search of candidates reflecting the diversity of the field of infectious diseases and are thrilled to welcome Abigail Mudd and Uchenna Okoji to help us to advance ID/HIV policy priorities this summer.    

Abigail Mudd is a first-year medical student at Drexel University Medical School who holds an MPH in epidemiology from Drexel with a minor in infectious disease prevention and control. Abigail has worked in infection prevention and control in both healthcare and community settings. Abigail shared her enthusiasm for the field of ID and this internship, stating, “ID seems to be that magic field where clinical work, research, public health, and advocacy all meet; that is the kind of medicine I want to practice. I am here to learn as much as I possibly can about how this field advocates for their patients and informs meaningful change in federal policy."

Uchenna Okoji is also a first-year medical student at Drexel who holds an MPH in healthcare management from Yale School of Public Health. Uchenna expressed his excitement for the internship and the field of HIV, noting, “My interest in infectious diseases, and specifically HIV/AIDS, is rooted in my passion for reducing and eliminating health disparities among marginalized and underserved communities that are disproportionately affected by these diseases. As a future medical provider, I am interested in learning how specific policies are developed at the federal and local level and how physicians contribute to and can influence these policies for the betterment of their patients and the profession. Through this internship at IDSA/HIVMA, I am excited to see first-hand how policy, advocacy, and medicine coexist in healthcare.”