Over the course of 10 months, I lived and worked in Bhaktapur, Nepal, as a Fulbright Fogarty Fellow in Public Health. My project examined the effects of brick kiln pollution, specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on brick kiln worker health. This project stems from a larger five-year ongoing occupational health project between Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

My project included personal air sampling for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon identification and quantification in 35 brick kiln workers. Data collection also included obtaining standardized Ocular Surface Disease Index and Somatic Symptom Scale questionnaires, as well as urine samples in 50 brick kiln workers and 50 controls to determine symptom burden and quantity of urine metabolites related to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure. I also had the opportunity to complete a two-week ophthalmology exposure elective at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu. During the rotation I participated in cataract outreach camps and shadowed physicians in all sub-specialties of ophthalmology. It was an amazing experience!