Fourth-year DGSOM student Tijana Temelkovska recently returned from a year in Peru as a South American Program in HIV Prevention Research (SAPHIR) Fellow. SAPHIR is an 11-month program funded by the NIH that combines didactic and practical training in HIV prevention research in Latin America for pre- and post-doctoral physician researchers from the U.S. Each trainee is paired with mentors to focus on a specific area of research while receiving a broad educational overview of all aspects of HIV prevention. Last week, GHP spoke with Tijana to learn more about her experience as a SAPHIR Fellow:
GHP: Why did you decide to apply for the SAPHIR fellowship?
Tijana Temelkovska: During my third year of medical school, I spent a significant amount of time reflecting on what kind of career I wanted to have as a future physician. I had always been interested in global health research, and my experience participating in the Global Short-Term Training Program (GSTTP)* after MS1 and being a part of the GHP Global Health Equity Pathway further confirmed this sentiment. Through my GSTTP project in Malawi, I was exposed to research opportunities in HIV prevention and gender and health equity. I felt that I needed more experience and training in research methodology and study design and more exposure to this type of research to be better prepared to incorporate this work into my future career. SAPHIR offered an ideal opportunity to gain these research skills and further explore my interests with close, supportive mentorship. I also was excited to be involved in HIV prevention research in a new setting and cultural context
GHP: What was the timeline for applying?
Tijana: When I applied for the program, the application deadline was in February 2021. I reached out to faculty members and my Assistant Dean for letters of recommendation right after the winter holidays, in early January. I interviewed for the program in March and was notified of my acceptance about two weeks later. By mid-April, I applied for an academic leave of absence from DGSOM. The fellowship started in mid-August, which gave me time to complete one sub-internship and sit for my Step 2 exam before leaving for the year.
GHP: Why do you think your application was appealing to the review committee? What made you a good fit for the fellowship, and vice versa?
Tijana: I don’t know exactly, but I imagine having prior global health research experience through the GSTTP program helped support my SAPHIR application. Even though the setting and nature of the research were different, GSTTP helped me decide I was serious about pursuing a career in global health research and connected me with amazing mentors who were able to support my SAPHIR application. During the application process, I also expressed that I was specifically interested in a research experience in Peru because I had lived there before and had Spanish language skills that I wanted to continue to utilize and improve. I felt that SAPHIR was a good fit because it could provide me with additional research training and help diversify my global HIV research experience and knowledge base.
GHP: Did anything unexpected happen?
Tijana: I was fortunate to receive a few unexpected opportunities during my SAPHIR year. As part of the program, Fellows are required to submit an original research proposal primarily as an educational exercise, to get practice and receive feedback from mentors. However, sometimes Fellows actually can implement those proposals, which was the case with me. My proposed project will be a mixed-methods, formative study evaluating transgender women’s sexual networks, acceptability of partner notification within these networks, and perceptions of partner notification resources among transgender women diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in Lima. I applied for and received UCLA and local IRB approval, which was a very valuable experience. I also received a grant from the Infectious Diseases Society of America G.E.R.M. Program to support this project.
GHP: Can you tell us about the partner site and any key learnings from working alongside a partner?
Tijana: The partner site in Lima was VíaLibre, a local NGO founded in 1990 with a mission to improve access to sexual, reproductive, and HIV/AIDS-related healthcare. VíaLibre provides health services for people living with HIV, engages in community outreach and advocacy, educates and trains healthcare personnel, and partners with many local and international organizations to conduct HIV prevention research. In my first few weeks in Lima, I was able to rotate through all the departments at VíaLibre to understand better the workflow and how it functioned as a large health and research center. This was not only an incredible learning opportunity but also helped me better define my role at the site and understand how I could support the team in implementing these studies. The team at VíaLibre taught me a great deal about the landscape of HIV prevention in Peru, the social and political context, and the barriers to care that may exist. I am grateful for the valuable opportunity to be present and learn directly from people working in this context every day.
GHP: What advice do you have for other students who are considering applying?
Tijana: Go for it! The SAPHIR Fellowship is an opportunity for immense personal and professional growth. Be proactive about ways you can get involved, and don’t be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone. You will have amazing mentors to support you along the way.
For questions on the SAPHIR program, reach out to Dr. Jesse Clark at JDClark@mednet.ucla.edu or visit their website.
To learn more about Tijana’s previous global health research, you can read her published papers:
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*Since the launch of the new Heals curriculum at DGSOM, the GHP Global Short-Term Training Program has been replaced by a program called Foundations for Discovery, which is part of the Global Health Equity Pathway.
