Ava Nariman '25 | 2024-25 Fellow

About:

My name is Ava Nariman, and I’m originally from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Spring 2025 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Health and Society. I have since moved to San Diego, where I am pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and working as a student researcher in a lab focused on health disparities among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) refugee and immigrant populations.

The Ellen Barreto Fellowship provided me with a unique opportunity to explore my research interests through a study I designed examining the impacts of socioeconomic status and stress on gastrointestinal symptoms. This experience taught me about the dynamic nature of the research process and inspired me to pursue a community-centered career path. Overall, the fellowship deepened my commitment to health equity and motivated me to focus my research on uplifting and serving minoritized communities.