Lisa DiFedele

UConn School of Medicine

After earning an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Molecular Biology at the University of Colorado, I worked for a number of years, first as a veterinary assistant and then conducting research in the areas of gastroenterology and infectious disease. A desire to merge all of my interests steered me toward Yale and a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a focus on Infectious Disease Epidemiology. There, my interest in medicine flourished and my desire to become a clinician crystallized. During my Yale studies, I worked abroad in health centers located in impoverished communities. Examples include an outreach project in a small fishing community of coastal El Salvador, and research into intestinal helminth immunoepidemiology in Peru and Guatemala. Working alongside doctors with great clinical skills in resource-poor settings, I realized that while compassionate clinicians are in short supply in underdeveloped countries, there is also a great need in our country. I hope to combine my public health and clinical training to offer not just cures, but prevention as well. My expectation is that the UST will teach me even more about the issues and complexities inherent in advocating for both underserved communities and the individuals they support.