Maddi Gilpin, a public health major graduating next semester, currently has an internship with Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She’s training as a research assistant and creating visual abstracts. Her research studies at BWH are about women with cancer. While she admits that cancer is difficult to study, her internship work provides valuable experience.
“There are so many different causes of [cancer],” Maddi said. “There’s a lot of unknowns, especially…with the woman population, [as] women are more susceptible to cancer.”
Maddi is currently doing research with Professor Amy Shafrir, who also works at BWH part-time. Professor Shafrir was able to connect Maddi with the hospital and help her get this opportunity. Her studies at Merrimack have also supported her internship, as she is completing an independent study for a class this semester. This requires significant responsibility, as students must design their own research project and recruit participants.
Maddi’s passion for public health dates back to high school. She went to a tech school in Tyngsboro before coming to Merrimack. Her trade was in medical assistance.
A huge turning point during high school was COVID-19. With public health being at the forefront of everyone’s lives, she knew it would be her future career.
“[When] COVID hit…public health was…very talked about,” she said. “That’s when it [really] sparked my interest and I was applying to schools and…Merrimack had the major I wanted so I went with that.”
While research in public health is a very broad field, Maddi can see herself continuing this type of role in her future job,
“I knew I wanted to go into research, [but] I was still trying to figure out what [exactly]”, she said. “I just needed some sort of experience…and this has been good for me, so I think I am going to carry [this] on in the future…as well.”
For students that are looking to be in Maddi’s position, her advice is to utilize their network and get involved on campus right away.
“Use your network to your advantage. That worked out for me, [as] I was doing research with the professor,” she said. “[But] I would say get into it earlier. I didn’t get into it until last year. If you’re a freshman, see what you could do on campus. See if there’s any opportunities [to take] advantage [of].”
Maddi looks forward to continuing her internship at BWH, as she wraps her spring semester at Merrimack.
