Aryana Valle Portela, Advanced LEAP Scholar 2024-26
This past summer, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant for the California Abundant Birth Project (CA-ABP), working on their Evaluation Research team. The CA-ABP provides monthly income supplements to Black and Brown pregnant individuals who meet certain prerequisites in various counties around California. If selected, participants receive monthly cash stipends for 12-18 months during the preterm and postpartum period. The Evaluation Research is a subgroup within the CA-ABP that seeks to help researchers understand how well the program is working for participants and how...
This past summer, I was an intern for Birth By Us, a pregnancy and postpartum app designed to support and empower women and birthing people of color. Birth By Us is a woman-founded organization that centers community-based and equitable maternal care.
My first week as an intern focused on literature reviews related to maternal health inequities, especially those affecting birthing people of color. I also researched existing maternal health apps to analyze gaps in access and designs that Birth By Us could address. Through reviewing platforms such as Mother Goose Health, Health In Her...
Last semester during RRR week, some advanced LEAP scholars and MCAH graduate students volunteered at Oakland’s Ronald McDonald House for their holiday initiative Comfort & Joy. The initiative consisted of multiple free toy shops across the Bay Area for families with sick and injured children to pick out any toy they wanted for free. This location in particular was right across UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, making it the perfect holiday stop for nearby families and...
The 2nd annual EmpowerMED symposium took place in Berkeley Way West this past November. EmpowerMED is designed to expose pre-health students to the various health professional fields they can enter within the medical and public health fields. During the symposium, undergraduate students have the opportunity to connect with a diverse panel of local health professionals and ask questions about their career journey to gain insight into what future they would like to envision for themselves. This event was hosted by UC Berkeley’s public health student organization Medicine,...
LEAP Peer Ambassadors are senior undergraduate public health students in our Advanced LEAP Scholar cohort. LEAP Peer Ambassadors connect with students who are interested in MCAH, share experiences about student life and community environment, and provide mentoring with academic planning and creating a balanced workload.
Advanced LEAP Scholars participate in a long-term MCAH undergraduate curriculum that includes MCAH coursework, a summer internship, and a research fellowship. Advanced LEAP Scholars will receive academic and professional support from LEAP, including but not limited to advanced leadership training, guidance on the graduate school application process, and mentorship/advising opportunities with graduate students and faculty.
The YEDI/LEAP Fellowship is an annual opportunity open to Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI) undergraduate scholars. YEDI is a program of Innovations for Youth (i4Y), “a cross-disciplinary, innovative research hub addressing issues of youth equity through collaborative research, training and community engagement.” Five fellows were selected and...
Our faculty has worked with instructors to include MCAH-related content and didactic materials in several undergraduate courses. A few courses are highlighted below. More information can be found on the Berkeley Academic Guide: https://guide.berkeley.edu/courses/pb_hlth/ and academic year offerings can be found on the Berkeley Class Schedule: https://classes.berkeley.edu/
PBHLTH 110A: Introduction to Maternal, Child and...
The MCAH Alumni Community & Networking Event is an annual gathering organized by UC Berkeley’s Center of Excellence (COE) in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) with the purpose of creating opportunities for networking, reconnection, and celebrating MCAH achievements. As an undergraduate MCAH LEAP scholar, I had the privilege of serving as a student assistant and attending the event this year on October 29th at...
