AHI Student Profiles

Triana Abel-Encarnacion, MD.

Her journey began in the Dominican Republic, where she pursued medical studies. She received the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (MESCYT) Scholarship for Excellence to study in the Fordham University Applied Health Informatics program. This recognition highlighted her academic prowess and potential to contribute to the medical field through health informatics.

Leveraging her background and commitment to public health, Triana is now working in research at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging (CNSA) at the University of Miami. Her focus is on early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, contributing to the understanding and management of these conditions. Her main goal is to contribute to understanding and managing these conditions through innovative data analysis and interpretation techniques.

Triana is driven by a vision to bridge the gap between clinical research and practical healthcare solutions and a dedication to turning her achievements into actionable benefits in the community. She believes that advancements in the study of cognitive disorders must have a direct impact on patient care and the quality of life of both patients and caregivers.

Mishal Ahmed

Mishal Ahmed was in the first AHI class. She previously received a B.Sc. in Nutrition and Health from Roehampton University. After attending the residencies in Oxford, Mishal was inspired to undertake my project on developing effective, free software health records to deliver health care in developing countries. For her capstone project, she was introduced to the international relief organization Humanity First by Naveed Dogar, who in turn connected to the African orphanage in Benin to convert its paper health records into electronic files. As part of the project, she created an online record of a patient’s personal information and medical history data that can be regularly updated over their lifetime. The electronic health record system she has designed allows the orphanage to store information securely, as well as communicate with its governmental regulatory overseers. She will travel to Benin soon to implement her system in the orphanage.

Fernando Castro Gomez, MD.

Dr. Castro Gómez is a Medical Doctor with over 23 years of experience in Clinical and Surgical disease management and control, Public Health Programs Development, Project management, Software Development, Biotechnology and Digital Transformation. After years of working in the clinical field in Colombia and Brazil, Dr. Castro Gómez moved to the U.S. in the winter of 2014 where he started his entrepreneurial journey. Since then, he has been dedicated to projects related to innovation, Digital Solutions implementation and Leadership in the field of healthcare, as well as collaborating with various stakeholders from private sector, governmental organizations, and NGOs.

In January of 2019, Dr. Castro Gómez took over DISC's (Development Innovation System C) daily operations as Chief Operating Officer (COO) as well as the Biotechnology branch as Director. Under his leadership, the multinational company developed the software "COVID-19 Watch," a digital platform created to assist local and national governments in the mitigation of the disease caused by the coronavirus. In 2023, he designed and led the development team of MaternApp, a global public health initiative focused on the prevention of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality across the globe.

Currently, he works for the Department of Human Services of Prince George’s County, Maryland and he is actively engaged as a member in both the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA).

Camille Dorset

Camille Dorset is an innovator, entrepreneur, and advocate. She joined the AHI program in its inaugural cohort. Prior to the program, Ms. Dorset earned a Bachelor's in Biology and worked for several years as a medical assistant in an opthamology practice at New York Presbyterian.

Her thesis in the program was "The Development of an Ophthalmology Medical Kiosk," which Camille created to provide communities in need with access to diagnostic retinal scans, which can indicate early stages of glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, type II diabetes, and diabetic retinopathy. Her love for science and desire to improve health for underrepresented groups fuels Camille's passion for meaningful innovation.

Professionally, Camille continues to work in ophthalmology while pursuing the development of her kiosk. She is also the teaching assistant to AHI's current students. When not working, Camille gives back to her community as a volunteer cheer coach to students from underserved communities in the tri-state area.

Sanjana Prasad (not pictured)

Sanjana Prasad serves as the Program Manager within the Data and Technology team at CHCANYS, leading statewide initiatives focused on EHR training and technical assistance for health centers. She is responsible for developing and refining detailed work plans to achieve target outcomes related to Patient Engagement and Health IT Usability and Adoption. Sanjana facilitates EHR-specific user groups that teach PHCs about workflow optimization and system usability and helps to develop EHR-agnostic curriculum for PHCs. Partnering with PHCs and HCCN leadership, Sanjana supports advocacy initiatives aimed at engaging EHR vendors around improving product functionality such as structured data capture, interoperability, and FHIR capabilities. She plays a key role in evaluating and reporting on the overall impact of HCCN HIT projects, providing valuable insights to inform decision-making and future planning efforts.

Rakhee Sachdeva, Ph.D.

Dr. Rakhee Sachdeva holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Immunology and has completed a postdoctorate at the Columbia University Medical Center where she developed cutting-edge technologies for screening experimental compounds to support drug discovery.

Dr. Sachdeva joined the Health Informatics program in 2022, aiming to harness advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain to improve healthcare systems and patient outcomes while fostering innovation in healthcare. Motivated by her background in molecular and cellular biology, she is invested in working on Health Informatics that will advance precision medicine through the integration of genomic and proteomic data into EHR systems. Dr. Sachdeva currently works for the Population Council, and is a member of both the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the New York chapter of Women in Healthcare.