#UMNMCH students Claire Felter (MPH 2025) and Asmeret Abraha (MPH 2026) describe their deployments at Leap Pediatric and Adolescent Care in St. Paul. Through literature reviews and surveys, they have worked to identify how social connectedness impacts health and how this applies to the St. Paul communities that Leap serves. They hope that their work can improve Leap Pediatric’s ability to provide interventions beyond the clinical realm.

Claire is a second-year MCH MPH student minoring in Epidemiology and is graduating in Spring 2025. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Health Psychology from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Beyond her academic career, Claire works as a Lab Manager in the Spencer Lab, which is a preclinical lab that aims to identify the neurocircuitry that underlies the development of drug addiction and relapse. Asmeret is a first-year MCH MPH student who is considering a minor in Data Science and is graduating in Spring 2026. She received her BS in Biology with minors in Public Health and Theology from the University of St. Thomas. 

Claire and Asmeret were interns at Leap Pediatric and Adolescent Care, a non-profit clinic that provides primary care for babies, children, and young adults so that they can be healthy, thrive, and leap forward. The clinic was founded by Julia Joseph-Di Caprio, a pediatrician with expertise in adolescent medicine, with the goal to offer independent, high-quality primary care that meets the unique needs of each family and community. Since health is about more than just clinical care, they wanted to explore how social connections affect health outcomes and find ways Leap Pediatric can support kids outside the clinic. The overall end goal of their internship is to identify and curate resources specifically for the Leap patient population that will increase social connectedness and ultimately improve health outcomes. 

Over the summer, Claire completed a literature review about the relationship between social connectedness and health, carefully considering how social connectedness surveys could best serve the population at Leap Pediatric. The team aimed to choose a survey that was validated in Spanish, had been used in clinical/primary care settings, and was a valid and reliable tool of measurement in diverse populations.  The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was ultimately chosen because of how the questionnaire aligned with the research question and goals of Leap Pediatric. Once Asmeret joined the team, the next step was to administer the survey. A pilot survey was administered in September 2024 to understand the effectiveness and scope of the survey, and allowed the team to identify any barriers or factors that would potentially impact results. This survey is being currently administered and is expected to close at the end of April. Asmeret and Claire will then move on to data analysis using R statistical software. When asked about their experience, Claire and Asmeret say, “during our deployment, we’ve learned how meaningful data collection and interpretation is in informing real-world interventions that go beyond the clinic walls. This experience has not only strengthened our research and analytical skills, but has also deepened our appreciation for patient-centered care. We are excited to carry forward this knowledge and these values into our future work.”

CLAIRE’S BIO: 

Claire graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Biochemistry, and has since been studying addiction through her work in the Spencer Lab. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring restaurants and coffee shops, playing video games, building a PC, and loves to cook and bake (she prides herself on her chocolate chip cookie recipe). After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Claire hopes to conduct clinical research in hopes of advancing innovative solutions to improve health outcomes among individuals. Follow Claire on LinkedIn.

ASMERET’S BIO:

Asmeret received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of St. Thomas. Gearing up to graduation, Asmeret is in the process of taking the MCAT and is getting ready to apply for medical school, with hopes of becoming a pediatrician or OB/GYN. She has a strong interest in doing global health work in her home country of Eritrea after medical school. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, traveling, and experiencing new cultures and trying new foods. Follow Asmeret on LinkedIn.

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