COM Student Heads to Clinton Global Initiative Meeting

From Mia Taylor, MUSC College of Medicine Student:

A few summers ago, in Berkeley, CA, I met a young woman in her late twenties whose testimony became the springboard of my passion to be an advocate for those who suffer from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Before I knew of her condition, I was personally inspired by her zeal for the education of young people, and for her wilingess to contribute her talents and energy year after year to a system that is severely broken.

She walked slowly most days, trailing behind the crowd of high-school aged kids. Because the hills of northern California are often hard to adjust to, I thought not much of it. I also noticed that she wore long sleeves, a scarf, and a hat regularly. The weather is mild in the Bay Area. Though I was comfortable, with the mid-sixty degree range, I knew not everyone else was. I soon learned during a lunch conversation that she had been diagnosed with SLE, a disease which kept her in pain, caused her to be severely fatigued, and made her dark brown skin sensitive to sunlight amid other symptoms.

I didn’t exactly understand what it meant for her, however I knew that it was bad based on the way people in the past announced the condition to me with an air of heaviness. I soon came to the realization that most people don’t know much about Lupus. It is a complex autoimmune disease with multifactorial (environmental and genetic) etiologies that disproportionately affect minority women. As of today there is no cure. From that moment until now, I have committed myself to learning more about the disease. Recently I have launched the effort to lead the development of an educational program designed to orient patients and their families to the management, research efforts, and supportive resources available for people who suffer with SLE. The M.U.S.C.L.E. (MUSC Lupus Erythematosus) Research Group, a partner in the commitment, is studying genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development of SLE in the Low Country's Sea Island Population, a people who are direct descendants of Sierra Leone.

My commitment has been chosen to be highlighted at the Clinton Global Initiative University 2012 meeting for the purpose of its promotion and further development. I am proud to represent MUSC at this great networking venue. For more information about the meeting please visit CGIU.org. I encourage my fellow students to constantly write down your visions for impacting our community in a positive way and to be on the lookout for ways to make your visions reality, starting by committing yourselves to action!