Student Experiential Learning: Meet Kate Brown

A College of Health Fellowship for Experiential Learning Opportunities (FELO) gave Kate Brown ’24 the chance to research the impact of long COVID-19’s impact on quality of life. This past summer, Brown worked with researchers at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City on an independent research study as part of a larger study conducted by Mount Sinai and Yale University. A FELO grant provides funding for experiences that are not typical internships, such as individual research projects or field research with expenses. 

After a COVID infection, symptoms can last for months or even years for certain people. After analyzing data from the larger study, Brown researched the impact of long COVID on three areas: fatigue, cognitive function, and health-related quality of life. Focusing on data from three cohorts — those with long COVID, those who have recovered from COVID, and those who have not had COVID — she specifically looked at how someone’s life could change from long COVID. 

“People with long COVID do have a greater level of fatigue, dysfunction, and worse quality of life compared to others,” she said, describing her findings. “And if I were to continue, I would look into the longer-term effects of these long COVID patients,” adding that the lab is continuing to investigate further. Brown presented her research at a COH symposium this past fall. 

According to Brown, her independent research project was a great experiential learning opportunity. Without the FELO grant, she would not have been able to do it. “I’ve done so many experiential learning experiences, and I’ve realized that those have really contributed to me figuring out what I want to do — enhancing my learning,” she said. 

Brown plans to go to graduate school and is considering a Master of Science in Epidemiology or Biostatistics. This summer, she’ll be attending a program at Columbia University’s Summer Institute for Biostatistics and Data Science to further her studies of these areas.