Students study a fatal tropical disease where it lives

Grace Kennedy, ’25, and Katherine O’Brien, ’24, spent five months in 2023 at a rural clinic in Kenya researching visceral leishmaniasis, among the world’s deadliest parasitic diseases. Kennedy focused on tracking treatment outcomes, while O’Brien delved into environmental risk factors for the disease, which is prevalent in impoverished tropical regions. For both health science majors, the experience exemplifies the vital importance of context—cultural, economic, and social—for understanding problems and creating solutions.