The Human Biology Synthesis provides students with the opportunity to expand on the work they are doing in their academics, extracurriculars or other passions. This is a compilation of the 2017-18 Synthesis proposals that were submitted and approved. Shareable final projects are also linked. To learn more about starting your own Synthesis project please contact the Human Biology Capstone Coordinator.

Synthesis Project Title: A Conversation with Black Women in Medicine

Final output of the Synthesis project: Documentary, Short Film

Abstract: As of 2015, 4.5% of physicians in the US are African American and black women make 2.5% of physicians in the country. African Americans take up 13% of the US population, needless to say there lacks diversity in the medical field. Of course the low percentage of doctors of color in the field can be discouraging to minority pre-med with big dreams of becoming physicians. I want to take a look into the life of some doctors of color. In this short film, I will be sitting down with black women to have a candid conversation about their journey to medicine and what it’s really like being a minority and a woman in a pre-dominantly white medical field. With this video, I hope to not only highlight the need for more doctors of color, but also encourage minorities of color to continue pursuing their dreams of becoming a doctor.

Shareable Final Project: A Conversation with Black Women in Medicine

Synthesis Project Title: Media, Propaganda, and Rape and Sexual Slavery in Rwanda 1994 and ISIS-Controlled Territory Today

Final output of the Synthesis project: 60-70 page essay

Abstract: I will expand a paper I wrote last spring for David Cohen’s class on Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and International Criminal Tribunals. The 35 page paper currently focuses on rape as a means of genocide during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Beginning with an analysis of the colonial history that set the stage for ethnically-based hatred, I move into a discussion of colonial-era stereotypes about Tutsi women in particular. The instigators of the Genocide capitalized upon these stereotypes to wage a pre-genocidal propaganda campaign against Tutsi women. When analyzing the unprecedented use of rape and sexual violence during the genocide, it becomes apparent that the media’s assault on Tutsi women contributed to the ubiquity of such heinous tactics. The second half of the paper analyses the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Gacaca Courts. Although the ICTR was the first court to convict somebody for genocidal rape, the legacy of the tribunal in relation to justice for women survivors remains decidedly mixed. The same goes for the local Gacaca justice system. This year, I will expand the project to explore ISIS’s enslavement, rape, and torture of Yazidi women. I hope to connect my work with the analysis of genocidal rape in Rwanda and subsequent justice mechanisms in a number of ways. By examining ISIS recruiting media and other propaganda, I hope to investigate how media/propaganda has evolved as an instigator of gendered violence in the case of ISIS. In addition to examining the recruiting media, I will analyze the way that internal, “biblically-derived” ISIS ideology connects to and differs from the Hutu extremist ideology. I will also use my analysis of the justice (or the lack thereof) for Rwandan women survivors as a jumping off point to explore what the international community owes to the Yazidi women. What did we learn from the ICTR? How are the situations similar and different? Would a process of reparations that doesn’t depend on a justice process be possible in the case of ISIS?

Synthesis Project Title: Disrupt Diabetes

Final output of the Synthesis project: research conference and white paper follow up. Note: synthesis projects that involve events held at or sponsored by Stanford University require additional meetings related to official policy and funding.

Abstract: The goal of our conference is two-part: the first is to disseminate research focused on technology within diabetes to provide attendees with a "lay of the land" in ways that technology is currently being leveraged. The second part of the conference will use patient-centered design to understand unmet needs, specifically within accessibility and affordability of technology in underserved communities. In teams of diverse stakeholder groups ranging from undergraduate students to patients to physicians, groups will brainstorm high-impact research questions that can push the field forward. Researchers will then lead the groups to provide insight into next research design steps with a research question in hand. By the end of the day, each team will pitch their research idea to the entire convening, and the top two teams will receive an award to continue to engage on their research development. Our conference is unique in that while many academic conferences can often be very high-profile and academic, we aim to create spaces for collaboration and empathy by bringing together patients, students, clinicians, physicians, and thought leaders to the same table.

Synthesis Project Title: Design of Digital Health Education

Final output of the Synthesis project: My final project will be finished as a series of health education videos posted online to be taught in the classroom. I hope that with enough time, I will be able to personally teach the material that I research and compile once the videos are made.

Abstract: The student organization H.E.L.P. 4 Kids is a Stanford mentoring program aimed to increase comprehensive health education for students in the surrounding community in an innovative way. The program itself recruits Stanford students to mentor and teach a science curriculum that utilizes health education videos to encompass various facets of health issues, from immunology to emotional health.

For my Senior Synthesis, I wish to create a series of health education videos for uHealthScout, which provides H.E.L.P. 4 Kids with the curriculum they use within schools. These videos will include, but are not limited to, topics such as Stress & Stress Management, Resilience, and the Immune System. As a part of the Synthesis, I will be conducting my own research on the proposed topics, outlining a script for the videos, designing and creating videos through screencast techniques, and creating a curriculum for in-classroom use. In addition, these videos will be posted online for Stanford students and other community members to utilize as necessary for their science curricula in school. To prepare myself for this project, I will be mentoring alongside the volunteers of H.E.L.P. 4 Kids to gain perspective on what students need in health education curricula.

Because my area of concentration is in the Social Determinants of Child Development, and my prior work experience has focused on education for families, this Senior Synthesis project will appropriately serve as a capstone to my experience in Human Biology.