This profile was current as of May 2023, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.
Alexandra DeAngelis is currently working with Professor Tamara Kay in collaboration with ECHO-Chicago to publish a paper on the effectiveness of telementoring sessions in disseminating information about best practices for treating pediatric COVID-19 cases. DeAngelis is also working with Prof. Kay on her senior thesis, which will address which features of Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) enable the model to reduce disparities in access to specialized medical care. Project ECHO is a collaborative global health model that allows medical experts to serve as mentors for community healthcare workers. Its goal is to ensure that patients can receive high-quality care in their home communities and to increase access to specialty treatments in underserved regions of the world. DeAngelis will be using qualitative data coding software for interview transcript analysis in order to explore how ECHO leaders and physicians are able to serve the specific needs of their local communities while staying up to date on best medical practices.
During the Winter Term of her sophomore year, DeAngelis participated in the St. Francis Menstrual Health Project in Uganda through Kaya Responsible Travel. With a team of three other Notre Dame students, DeAngelis worked virtually with a community of adolescent girls and young women from outside of Jinja, Uganda, to improve their menstrual health by assisting trainers in providing education on the topic and teaching them how to make reusable pads. In April of 2021, DeAngelis attended the Virtual Global Health & Innovation Conference hosted by Unite for Sight. During the summer of 2021, she participated in Notre Dame International’s Virtual Global Professional Experience Program and was matched with a laboratory run by Dra. Tania Estrada Jiménez, a professor in the Department of Medical Sciences at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP). Under the mentorship of Dra. Estrada, DeAngelis investigated the role of non-structural proteins in the viral replication of dengue with the ultimate goal of identifying a target for an antiviral drug that could be used as a treatment. She was able to continue her work with Dra. Estrada at UPAEP while studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico, for the fall 2021 semester. In Puebla, DeAngelis also rotated through urgent care, university medical clinic, and physical therapy services and was able to learn about traditional medicine and the Mexican healthcare system.
Thesis Title: Addressing Health Inequities: How Project ECHO Reduces Disparities in Access to Specialized Medical Care