Project MESA

This past December, Tiffany McKalko, Diya Shriyan, Kevin Jia, and Emma Arnhols represented Project MESA at our Internal Design Review, sharing our latest updates and future plans! From refining our business and funding strategies to working with a Peru-based manufacturer on a cost-reduced design, it’s exciting to see how our project continues to grow. We also had the chance to implement travel feedback from our visit to Peru in May, further improving our gynecological exam table’s accessibility and impact. It was an incredible experience seeing the progress of not just our team, but all the M-HEAL project teams working toward innovative healthcare solutions. Huge shoutout to everyone for their hard work and to M-HEAL for organizing such a rewarding event! Looking forward to what’s ahead!

This past May, some of our team members (Emma Arnhols, Lydia Chen, Evelyn Cho, Urvee Deo, Arya Kamat, Kennedy Knopf, Philomena La Fave, Ike Salinsky, Amulya Setlur) had the opportunity to travel to Peru with one of our partners: FNE INTERNATIONAL . There, we had the opportunity to visit local clinics to gain both patient and physician perspectives on our exam table by holding 25 free screenings for community members. We also hosted focus groups with local residents to gain a more diverse cultural perspective and better meet local lifestyle needs. Finally, our team was in contact with local manufacturers to explore in-country manufacturing options as a potential cost-reduction opportunity. A huge thank you to Michael Cipoletti of FNE and the Za?a community for welcoming us with enthusiasm and continued support. We are excited to apply our learnings in the upcoming semester to improve our table and survey redesign!

Over this past weekend, some of our members (Amy Li, Ella Bylsma, Kennedy Knopf, Lydia Chen, Emma Arnhols, and Maisha Rahman) had the opportunity to represent Project MESA and showcase our work from this past year! We presented a redesign of our portable, gynecological examination table, emphasizing its cost reduction aspects and the various grants sources we secured for this new iteration's manufacturing. Shoutout to all of the other M-HEAL project teams for their hard work this semester and a big thank you to the M-HEAL executive board for organizing this incredible opportunity!!

This past weekend, some of our members (Grace Robertson, Asmita Tuladhar, Huiyi Lin, and Arya Kamat) had the opportunity to represent Project MESA and participate in the MSU HEAL Sexual Health Conference! We were able to present our research detailing the impact of our portable, gynecological examination table in Peru and meet with so many students, faculty, and other conference attendees all passionate about advancing sexual health equity outcomes through community engagement and discussion. Thank you to MSU HEAL organizers for this amazing opportunity! https://lnkd.in/eZZV4qSN