Cynthia Gagliardi

UConn School of Pharmacy, Class of 2013

Background: I am from the shoreline suburb of Branford, CT, but spent a lot of my time in the city of New Haven, CT where my grandparents and extended family have lived since their emigration from the Mediterranean. I recently received my B.S. in pharmacology in spring 2011 and will be graduating with my Pharm.D. in spring 2013.

Related Experience: My involvement in pharmaceutical research has introduced me to a different form of problem solving where the answer is not always found amongst a list of multiple choices. Also, as the newly elected president of Rho Chi, I am gaining valuable leadership skills. I really enjoy volunteering at the South Park Inn Homeless Shelter and Migrant Farm Worker Clinics because I formed meaningful relationships with patients despite having only one meeting with each of them. Only being a student, it was my first experience of patients confiding in me their health problems, and relying on me for guidance. From these experiences I knew I wanted to be part of Urban Service Track and spend more of my time helping the underserved populations. I believe many healthcare issues can be solved at their source, an unhealthy diet. One major concern I want to address for the underserved population of New Haven is their accessibility to healthy and wholesome meals. Investing in healthier diets now will decrease the need for expensive medication in the future. As a newly appointed UST Scholar, I am excited to be provided the opportunity to address these issues with the support of an interdisciplinary healthcare team, and to work directly with underserved patients in the New Haven area.