Jennie Shaw, MPH '13, teamed up with Ray Lum, MPhil, MS, an associate professor at the SPH, to provide meaningful health services for members of Philadelphia’s Chinatown community.

After working in Washington, D.C. to help organize the National Young Leaders Conference and later educational programming for the American Telemedicine Association, she decided to pursue an advanced degree in public health, which would complement her passion for both health and education.

She was attracted to the SPH for its deep community involvement and accessibility of faculty. She is now leading her Community-based Master’s Project at the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC), which is currently in the process of creating a new community center that will provide multiple resources for the community, including residential units, retail and community services, such as a child day care center, senior citizen programming, multi-generational living space and recreational space.

She is researching best practices at similar centers across the country, building cross-discipline collaborations within Drexel University and the region, and assessing the community health needs. Shaw has identified hepatitis B, heart disease, diabetes and cancer as major health concerns for the community.

“Professor Lum and I are working to get various nursing and health professions programs from Drexel University involved in the center, which we hope will positively impact the community’s quality of life,” said Shaw. “We would also like to work with the Hepatitis B Foundation, Alzheimer's Association and Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging in the future.”

An important aspect of Shaw’s work is to help the PCDC address community health concerns in a way that it culturally sensitive and considers complementary forms of medicine, such as traditional Chinese medicine.