Release
UAlbany's Vanessa Saldanha Receives National Fellowship
Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 28, 2006) -- University at Albany School of Public Health (SPH) graduate Vanessa Saldanha has been named an ASPH/HRSA Public Health Fellow for 2006, one of only 11 graduating students nationwide. The fellows were selected to begin projects within the Bureau of Health Professionals (BHPr) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Saldanha travels to Washington, D.C., this month.
Saldanha's position with ASPH will be as Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Fellow under the Bureau of Health Professions within Health Resources and Service Administration. AHECs are academic-community partnerships that train healthcare providers in sites and programs responsive to state and local needs. AHECs link resources offered by academic health centers with existing community assets to provide educational services to local healthcare providers, students and faculty to improve healthcare service delivery within underserved areas. Saldanha will receive training in enhancing established AHEC centers and assisting in expanding AHEC programs.
Saldanha came to the University at Albany from her home in Queens, N.Y in 2000. She successfully completed her bachelor's degree in three and a half years with a major in sociology and minor in biology. In May 2006, Saldanha completed a master's degree in public health. During her time at UAlbany, Saldanha was a peer mentor for the Project Excel program assisting and guiding incoming and undergraduates. Saldanha also volunteered in the Albany community as a rape crisis advisor, worked and volunteered at Albany Medical Center and was the vice president of Golden Key International Honor Society. She also served as president of the SPH graduate student organization from 2005 to 2006.
Through its partnership with the New York State Dept. of Health, UAlbany's School of Public Health offers students immediate access to internships at the Health Department, Albany Medical College and variety of other public and private health institutions throughout New York State. Students have unique access to study the most profound health issues facing us today: the threat of bioterrorism; the spread of HIV/AIDS and other emerging diseases; the lack of affordable and accessible healthcare for individuals and families; environmental hazards; substance abuse and social violence; maternal mortality in developing countries; the promises and threats of genetic engineering; protecting food and water supplies. For more information, visit UAlbany's School of Public Health.
