As a recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Research/Open Study Award in Bolivia & Perú, Douglas Gurdak had the extraordinary opportunity to travel to both Sucre, Bolivia, the nation’s judicial capital, as well as the capital city of Lima, Perú  this past academic year. In Bolivia, he worked with faculty at the Instituto Chuquisaqueño de Oncología, one of only three total public cancer institutions which serves the southern third of the country. They designed and implemented a breast cancer registry that can be used to organize and analyze patient data for the purpose of guiding future clinical and public health interventions in Sucre. In Perú, Douglas worked with the Universidad de San Martín de Porres en el Centro de Genética y Biología Molecular to investigate a unique cohort of patients with pathogenic variants in multiple cancer susceptibility genes. They aim to characterize this phenomenon, termed Multilocus Inherited Neoplasia Allele Syndrome (MINAS), in Perú as well as contribute to our overall understanding of the clinical outcomes associated with these unique genetic MINAS cases. In his time in the CWRU Spanish program through the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at CWRU, he began studying Spanish in the SPAN 102 course, learning basic grammar and linguistic foundations, and worked his way up to 300 level advanced literature and culture courses that included advanced conversation and writing, Hispanic feminist literature, and healthcare Spanish. He also pursued an interdisciplinary study to explore literary works from transgender Chilean scholars. The Spanish faculty and advisors at CWRU boast a tremendous range of backgrounds and accomplishments and are immensely supportive of students of all language levels and academic interests. Studying in the department not only allowed Douglas Gurdak to live and work abroad, immersed completely in the Spanish language, but provided him with a nuanced cultural and linguistic knowledge that permitted him to engage with the community on a personal level. It enabled Douglas to build both strong professional collaborations in the area of cancer care and public health as well as form strong, meaningful friendships that he will carry with him as he continue to build a life and career focused on global health and affairs.

Douglas majored in Biology (Dr. Corey Speers, Advisor) and minored in Spanish (Dr. Jacqueline Nanfito, Advisor), Ethnic Studies, Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Chemistry.