Summer Journeys: Heidi Li ’26 Supporting Medical Research in Tanzania

After completing a medical internship in Tanzania during the Summer of 2023, Heidi Li ’26 was eager to build on that experience. She did so last summer with a return trip to Tanzania, made possible in part by a Meg Page ’74 Fellowship grant.

Heidi’s return to Tanzania took her to a clinical trial lab in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city. She assisted researchers studying the effects of the drug Metformin in pre-diabetic HIV patients.

“I was a member of the META3 clinical trial team, directly supervised by Dr. Therry, a student of Professor Mfinanga the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR); I am deeply grateful to both of them for teaching me this past summer," says Heidi.  We did our work at the Mnazi Mmoja lab. It is one of five sites in Dar es Salaam participating in the META3 trial. There are currently 1,600 patients enrolled in the trial, now in its second year of Phase III, which tests the efficacy of Metformin over a four-year span. If Metformin proves to be beneficial, META3 hopes to publish during Phase IV of the trial, paving the way for the drug to be used as a preventative measure for diabetes in pre-diabetic patients.”

Some trial participants receive Metformin; others receive a placebo. All are required to visit the clinic for analysis at prescribed intervals. Those who visited the Mnazi Mmoja lab last summer were greeted by Heidi.

“My first task when a patient walked in was to take their blood pressure and interpret the result,” says Heidi. “On my first day, Dr. Therry taught me about the blood pressure range of a healthy person, as well as lifestyle changes doctors would recommend for patients with high or low blood pressure readings. I was able to apply this knowledge and correctly interpret patients’ blood pressure as well as give advice if they presented with high blood pressure. In addition, I also measured their height and weight in order to calculate their BMI. After taking the vitals, I input the data into the trial’s online database.”

Dr. Therry also taught Heidi basic Swahili phrases to facilitate her interactions with the trial participants, and introduced an academic component into Heidi’s summer work.

“Dr. Therry asked me to write a one-page paper every night, summarizing a topic of her choosing which she had taught me about that day,” explains Heidi. “For example, after she spent the first day giving me a comprehensive overview of the entire trial, she requested that I write a paper to summarize her teachings and to send it to her by the next day. I was able to learn a great deal through writing that paper; I was able to see how much of the knowledge I actually understood, as well as compile questions for her to answer regarding what I was still unsure about.”

Overall, the experience was both challenging (learning Swahili!) and rewarding for Heidi.

“Through this experience, I learned that my beliefs and values are shaped by my upbringing in a Chinese family while living in the U.S. For example, there is a negative stigma around HIV in both the U.S. and China; as a result, people are dehumanized for their disease. By closely interacting with dozens of HIV patients in Tanzania, I was able to learn about them for who they are as people, rather than for their disease.

“While teaching me how to interact with patients, Dr. Therry also explained that due to low literacy and education rates in Tanzania, many patients do not fully understand the benefits of medical care, and therefore often opt to stay home when sick. Consequently, I learned that ensuring a patient completely understands the reason for any action we take is crucial for their wellbeing.

“Ten years from now, I will fondly remember this internship as my first working experience in a clinical trial, as well as the first time I ventured into the professional world of healthcare.”

Heidi’s travel was made possible in part by a Meg Page ’74 Fellowship grant. Meg Page ’74 Fellowships honor her commitment to compassionate health care. The fellowships are awarded annually to students who wish to explore an experience or course of study devoted to the provision of better health care in areas such as public health, family planning, medical research, mental health, and non-Western practices of healing.