Christian Abraham Arega ‘20

Christian Abraham Arega is a recent graduate ('20) from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Arega majored in biochemistry and minored in anthropology while at Notre Dame and will be pursuing a Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health Policy at Yale University starting in the Fall of 2020. She is currently working as a Health Policy Research Fellow at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and is assisting with the development of best practices for improved implementation of Charity Care laws in Illinois. 

This profile was current when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community as an undergraduate.

Christian Abraham Arega is interested in accessible health care as well as innovative ways to make health and wellness attainable for people in developing countries. This semester, Abraham Arega will be working with Professor Natalie Porter on her senior thesis looking at Disparities in Health Care Access for Undocumented Latino Immigrants in Indiana and Illinois. Abraham Arega’s work will be looking at the effects that the different health policies instituted in these states have on immigrant’s access to healthcare and their health outcomes.

During her sophomore year, Abraham Arega worked with Professor Vania Smith-Oka and has conducted anthropology research on the medical uses of plants for Type II Diabetes in rural Mexico. She presented her research at the annual meeting for the American Anthropological Association in San Jose, California in November 2018. This past summer, Abraham Arega took part in a Community Health Internship with the Indiana School of Medicine in South Bend and worked closely with community partners to better understand the many social determinants that play a role in determining health outcomes.

Thesis Title: Disparities in Health Care Access for Undocumented Latino Immigrants in Indiana vs. Illinois