The Daniel Lewis Ravin, MD Award honors current MD students and PhD candidates enrolled in the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University who show promise in the fields of occupational or environmental health. The 2022 - 2023 award winners are Hannah Clarke, Rebekah Russell, and Anirudh Prabu. Read more about them below!
Hannah Clarke
Tell us about yourself:
My name is Hannah Clarke, and I'm from Philadelphia. I went to CWRU for undergrad and for my MPH, and I'm currently in the University Program at the School of Medicine (seeking an MD). I absolutely love gardening; I find it to be so healing for me. When COVID first hit, I served as a farmhand in Saskatchewan, Canada while completing my MPH classes virtually. That whole experience really solidified my love for plants, animals, and nutrition, and I happened to be taking Environmental Health with Dr. Mulloy at the time, which expanded my perspective of nutrition equity.
What excites you about the Daniel Lewis Ravin Award?
My passion project is an organization I co-founded called Periods for Peace, where I teach sexual & reproductive health education (SRHE) to adolescents. I want to figure out how to weave my passion for nutrition into my SRHE curriculum. The Ravin Award allows me to do that!
What are your plans for this award year?
My plans are to get training on urban and rural adolescent nutrition and nutrition advocacy to develop modules for early, middle, and late adolescents that challenge my students to consider how nutrition inequity impacts their health and wellbeing. My ultimate goal is for students to have the tools for nutrition advocacy by the end.
Rebekah Russell
Tell us about yourself:
I am happily born and raised in the Cleveland, OH area. Interestingly, my family lived approximately 2 miles from Case when I was growing up. I am currently a third-year medical student in the University Program. My academic interests involve social policy, health policy, healthy equity, and social justice. In my free time, I enjoy eating at various restaurants across Northeast Ohio (I currently have a list of over 40+ restaurants that I’ve tried and enjoyed), remaining physically active, and traveling to visit family and friends.
What excites you about the Daniel Lewis Ravin Award?
I am really excited about the opportunity to work with the Swetland Center. During my MPH program, I was exposed to environmental health, but much of my education on the topic has been extracurricular. Through this award, I look forward to formal training in the area of environmental health. I hope to learn how to conduct community based participatory research and expand my understanding of the breadth of the field. Especially with our current climate challenges, I feel that it is important, as a future physician, to understand the ways in which the environment impacts our patient’s health. Moreover, I am motivated to learn about solutions to our current environmental and occupational health challenges.
What are your plans for this award year?
This award will be used to advance my efforts to use research to progress environmental justice and inform policy. As a medical student, I am required to complete a medical degree thesis. I am currently working on a project looking at the relationship between environmental factors and maternal health. I hope to use this award to further this research project. In addition, I plan to complete a host of training sessions from organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United Nations on Climate Change."
Anirudh Prabu
Tell us about yourself:
I am from Richmond, VA. I went to undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis and spent one year before medical school as an Americorps VISTA at a public health nonprofit in the Washington DC area. I am a big tennis fan and enjoy trying out new plant-based recipes.
What excites you about the Daniel Lewis Ravin Award?
I am excited for the mentorship support and opportunities to explore my interests at the intersection of food systems and planetary health.
What are your plans for this award year?
I plan to work closely with the Swetland Center and AAFP Primary Care Leadership Collaborative to help design a community kitchen to improve nutrition equity in Cleveland. I also hope to engage in health policy work that mitigates the harmful health impacts of climate change.