Switzerland has a history of scientific innovation including the Large Hadron Collider, a world class transportation system, pharmaceutical research, and famous his- torical figures such as Einstein, Paracelsus, and Carl Jung. This team studies the context and consequences of major changes in science, medicine, and technology.
“My name is Salar Khaleghzadegan, and I studied biological sciences and sociology at UMBC. The experience in Switzerland was really amazing for what I was studying. I had spent a lot of time looking at papers and articles about the status of healthcare for those who are undocumented immigrants both in the United States and internationally, but I was so focused on the small details that I really lost sight of some of the bigger pictures.
“Before going to Switzerland, I was really unsure of what I wanted to do. I had the interest in medicine but I saw a lot of problems that healthcare professionals are facing in the United States, so my meeting with Dr. Kesselring really brought back what really mattered. I was able to see that Dr. Kesselring was after all these years of practicing medicine, he was still doing what he had wanted to do as a young physician.
“Having the chance to go to both Switzerland and Italy and viewing two different models of rehabilitation in healthcare in the same short period of time was really beneficial”
Solar Khaleghzadegan, Biological Sciences and Sociology Major
“Having the chance to go to both Switzerland and Italy and viewing two different models of rehabilitation in healthcare in the same short period of time was really beneficial because I was able to see a really highly technological setting in Switzerland versus Italy, where it was much more low-tech, much less expensive, but still seemed to be very effective.
“In Italy I had the chance to visit a program called APA, which stands for Adaptive Physical Activities. That program is designed for individuals who have experienced stroke or who have other disabilities such as back pain or Parkinson’s disease. It’s a way to use exercise and activities in a community and group-based setting to get people back to their hopefully healthier condition.
“In a university setting we really learn extensively about research and become proficient at finding out about the different things that are going on around the world. Sometimes there are cultural differences, and until you actually get the chance to enter that different culture and see the beauty of it, it really doesn’t allow you to completely understand what that particular research is all about. You won’t get your thesis done in a week, but you really get your foot in the door and you get a taste of what international research is about.