Rosemary Mejia envisions a society in which more individuals—regardless of their financial or demographical barriers—have equitable access to healthcare. This is one of the keys to global transformation, Mejia believes, and she aspires to be part of that change. Now one step closer to pursuing her ambitions, the thesis student at New College of Florida has earned a Fulbright award to study epidemiology in Peru. Mejia will conduct research at the Sede Cusco Tropical Medicine Institute at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia for one year, beginning in mid-August. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia is one of the top medical schools in Peru, and one of the major producers and publishers of scientific research in the country. The Sede Cusco program focuses on epidemiological, clinical and translational research of neglected tropical diseases, specifically Fasciola hepatica (a parasitic infection that affects the liver). While researching this disease in Cusco’s rural communities, Mejia will use existing databases to perform a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of the spatial distribution of fascioliasis. Mejia is now finishing her senior thesis, How Universal is Universal? A Comparative Study of Refugee Access to Health Care in France and Germany, which is sponsored by Professor of Political Science Barbara Hicks, Ph.D. Mejia is comparing the universal healthcare systems of France and Germany, and how asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants access medical care.

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