TEAM: Stampede of Health

Our Team

Anousha Hakim Shooshtari
Team Captain

Anousha is a Mph candidate of Global Health Communicable Diseases and the former President of Timmy Global Health at University of South Florida in the beautiful and sunny Tampa, Florida. Born in Tehran, she moved to the United States to attend college and pursue her dream of becoming a physician. Along the way she found her passion for volunteerism, issues related to infectious diseases and global health by broadening healthcare access to neglected regions of the world. Anousha has been volunteering with Women in Need Foundation and Moffitt Cancer Center Art Therapy department since 2008,  being nominated for the Pillar of the Community Award at The Leadership Awards two years in a row and have been chosen as The Volunteer of the Year 2011 at Moffitt Cancer Center. When she is not spending her free time volunteering and pursuing her career, Anousha enjoys painting, photography, and clay sculpture.

Shawn Alderman
Team Member

Shawn’s goal in life is to enrich his global experience and work with populations that need help to alleviate the burden of disease and poverty. He has obtained his Bachelor’s in Psychology and is currently working on his Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. His strong desire to join in the fight against poverty and health disparities has aspired him to pursue a career in public health. Shawn hopes to draw from his previous experiences volunteering and working in the U.S. healthcare system to expand his knowledge and expertise out into global health advocacy projects. Shawn’s experiences with the underprivileged around Tampa Bay have given him the strength and tools to continue his work in the emergency room at Lakeland Regional Hospital for the past seven years. Shawn hopes to serve in the Peace Corps after graduation from University of South Florida.

Rosanna Ianiro
Team Member

Dr. Rosanna Ianiro is currently pursuing studies in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control at the University of South Florida. She received her Master’s in Public Health in Global Communicable Diseases and is a nationally certified public health professional. Before coming to USF, she worked as a primary care physician in Costa Rica after earning her medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Centro America. Rosanna’s background, as well as the specialty training she received in tropical medicine at Universidad Cayetano Heredia in Peru, makes her a most desired asset on mission trips to Latin America. Besides volunteering with the USF chapters of the Latin Medical Student Association and Timmy Global Health, Rosanna has also lectured USF medical students and ID fellows on cases of tropical infectious diseases and her experiences in working with patients in limited healthcare settings.

 

Gent Bitincka
Team Member

Gent was born in Korce, Albania. He spent the majority of his school years in Toronto, Canada. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BSc in Molecular Microbiology. He is currently pursuing an MD/MPH degree at University of South Florida with a concentration in global communicable disease and will start residency in 2015. While in medical school he experienced the limitations around him as a traditional MD in the ability to have lasting impact on large-scale health and wellness of the population. Such experiences left him feeling uneasy and came to the realization that he wanted to expand his studies further into public health training. He plans to do residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious disease. His ideal career would provide flexibility to pursue Global Health initiatives while retaining a strong and clear commitment to clinical care.

 

Team Essay

Gent Bitincka is a MD/MPH student at University of South Florida, anticipating starting residency in 2015 for internal medicine with further training in critical care. He has lived in 4 different countries, speaks 5 languages, and he is extremely adaptable to differing circumstances. He has been trained in the fast paced environment of emergency department and the delivery of acute care. Given the number of different college chapters that rotate within the sites of Timmy Global Health, he finds taking appropriate documentation can be a great tool for providers in terms of improving efficiency and quality of care. The creativity and resourcefulness of providing medical care in an unfamiliar setting is certainly a motivation.

Shawn Alderman is currently completing his masters in Epidemiology at University of South Florida. He has worked in the busiest ER in the state of Florida for the past 7 years, he has come to learn just how quickly the best laid plans and structure can come apart. Part of the job is to fill in the gaps in patient care created by these unplanned events are quickly filled and patient care is continued seamlessly that can come in handy in the field when working with Timmy Global Health. The key to success is not to lose sight of the goal, and hang in through the rough and stormy parts, to have a passion for what one is doing. This is where my strengths will be of great use for Timmy Global Health.

Anousha Hakim Shooshtari is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Global Health Communicable Diseases and she is the previous president of the University of South Florida Timmy chapter. As an undergraduate she became more and more interested in volunteering and humanitarian efforts in expanding access to healthcare first locally and further down the road globally. Timmy Global Health has given her the opportunity to be a leader and experience the life changing experiences we partake in as the future medical professionals and in the lives of people we come to be a part of.

Rosanna Ianiro is a foreign-trained physician and public health professional (finishing her master’s degree in Global Health) who has a great passion for global health. She has ample experience working in resource-limited settings and serving individuals with restricted access to healthcare throughout the Latin America. Having fluency in Spanish and knowledge of Hispanic culture, allows her to adeptly understand this populations’ particular health concerns. As a tropical medicine specialist, she has had the ability to recognize and manage diseases that affect economically disadvantaged populations.

We are a team of motivated students with different backgrounds and interests but one common belief that the world we live in needs passionate people like us to take part in making a difference for a brighter future. By volunteering with Timmy Global Health we hope to continue giving back to the communities in need and grow as young individuals that hope to someday be part of making strides toward healthier futures.