About Alicia

Hometown:
West Chester, PA

University Partner:
Northeastern University

Degree:
B.S. in Health Sciences

Grant Partner:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Senior Mentor:
Dr. Edwin Alyea, Associate Professor of Medicine

"Unlike most college internships, Steamboat provides an opportunity for Scholars to reflect and learn from their experience. Each Scholar has opened my eyes to different points of view and inspired me to explore new ways of thinking. I also learned that there are various paths you can take to professional success. My mentors have shown me that there are many opportunities to be a leader and a clinical physician assistant, and I hope to further explore these options in the future."

Scholar Background

Growing up in a healthcare environment, Alicia spent time visiting patients and volunteering at the hospital where her mom worked as a nurse. Unfortunately, Alicia’s childhood was also heavily influenced by cancer. She grew up observing several close family members who courageously battled the disease. Spending each day caring for her loved ones helped Alicia realize the importance of cancer research and the hope it provides for patients and their families. Throughout her college career, Alicia volunteered in various departments at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, including the Radiology Department and NICU. A Dean’s Scholarship recipient, Alicia was an officer and executive board member of Lambda Kappa Sigma, a professional organization promoting women in pharmacy, for which she helped to plan fundraising events, including the annual Breast Cancer Walk. After completing her internship at Dana-Farber, Alicia was inspired to establish a “Colleges Against Cancer” chapter at Northeastern with a group of peers, with the hope of establishing a supportive community of students interested in cancer education and advocacy.

Internship Highlight

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Alicia had the opportunity to work alongside the physician assistants (PAs) on the bone marrow transplant team, which usually only accepts PA students on clinical rotations. Alicia participated in morning rounds by collecting vitals, labs, and nursing reports on select patients. By the end of the summer, she understood the process of autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants and how treatment plans are chosen. Alicia also worked on a research project, which enabled her to interact with many influential physicians, PAs, and administrators at both Dana-Farber and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She explored different inpatient care provider frameworks by examining various models involving physician assistants in different hospital departments to determine which was the most effective for the oncology service. She worked closely with her mentors, Dr. Ted Alyea and Deb Yolin, Dana-Farber’s chief physician assistant, who guided her through the process of performing a qualitative research project and aided her in the interpretation of the data.

Where are they now?

Alicia is currently attending the Physician Assistant Program at Drexel University.