Lilah Fones

UConn School of Medicine, Class of 2021

I was born and raised in Easton, Connecticut before attending Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.  I earned my BA from Wesleyan as a triple major in Biology, Chemistry, and Neuroscience & Behavior.  As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to pursue research in the Chemistry department while also competing in two sports as a student athlete. In the two years between graduating from Wesleyan University and matriculating at the UConn School of Medicine, I worked as a Research Technician in a neuronal specification lab at Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains, New York, and volunteered as a Chief Research Associate at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

As a Chief Research Associate, I worked in the Emergency Department enrolling patients and their visitors in clinical research studies focused on getting patients and their visitors up to date on primary health care visits and cancer screenings, as well as providing tobacco cessation services. In doing so, I referred many medically underserved individuals to where they could obtain primary health care screenings. This experience opened my eyes to the barriers preventing many individuals from obtaining proper health care, and has motivated me to help individuals navigate these barriers to obtain the best health care possible. As part of the Urban Service Track, I hope to better understand challenges that prevent underserved individuals from obtaining adequate care, as well as obtain additional firsthand experience working with underserved urban communities in Connecticut to better prepare myself to serve these communities as a physician.