Ellen Pil ‘21

Ellen Pil is currently studying Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) with Professor Tamara Kay. Project ECHO is a collaborative model that links community healthcare providers with medical experts, thereby enabling patients with complex and/or chronic conditions to receive care in their home communities. Pil focuses on the global spread of the ECHO model and the factors contributing to its diffusion. She primarily works on interview transcript analysis using qualitative data coding software. Additionally, Pil is completing a senior thesis under the supervision of Professor Jeff Harden. Her thesis examines the relationship between the opioid epidemic and longitudinal trends in state-level opioid policy.

During summer 2020, Pil investigated misbranded and unapproved drugs through an internship with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to her experience at the FDA, Pil completed the Notre Dame Washington Program while interning at the National Center for Health Research. In summer 2019, Pil worked on policy advocacy to benefit federally qualified healthcare clinics in the Chicago metropolitan area and traveled to the Galapagos Islands to explore the historical and scientific foundations of evolution. Pil previously traveled to Munich, Germany to conduct research on overlapping ideological influences in Gothic literature. This research was presented at three conferences, including the ACC Meeting of the Minds. Pil also interned in rural South Africa to educate local healthcare workers about malaria, identify public health concerns, and design intervention strategies. Pil’s work has been funded by University grants from the Glynn Family Honors Program, Notre Dame Scholars’ Program, Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program, Notre Dame International, College of Science, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, and First Year of Studies.