Meet Mia O'Leary, a student in Brown’s master of public health (MPH) program who spent the spring and summer of 2026 gaining hands-on clinical research experience as a senior clinical research assistant at Brown University Health. 

Working remotely with a team of experienced researchers, O’Leary contributed to a study examining the impact of the newly established Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) program on clinical care in Brown University Health emergency hospitals.

The experience gave O’Leary an opportunity to apply what she has learned through her MPH coursework while developing technical research skills and contributing to work focused on improving care for survivors of sexual assault.

Q: What did your experiential learning experience look like?

A: “I work as a research assistant on a project studying the impact of the newly started Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) program on clinical care in Brown University Health emergency hospitals,” O’Leary said.

Through the project, O’Leary collected and analyzed data related to the SAFE program and gained firsthand experience with clinical research and social emergency medicine.

“It was extremely rewarding to collect and analyze this data and to contribute to improving the care of survivors of sexual assault,” she said.

Throughout the experience, O’Leary worked closely with her research mentors and team members. Her mentors also encouraged her to take her research one step further by presenting the team’s findings at the Brown Emergency Medicine research symposium.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you encountered, and how did you overcome it?

A: “This was my first time presenting clinical research to an academic audience,” she said. “My mentor, Dr. Susan Duffy, helped coach me through my slides and helped me build my confidence in myself prior to the presentation.”

With support from her mentor and faculty at the Brown Emergency Medicine symposium, O’Leary was able to overcome her nerves and present her research to an audience of researchers and faculty.

“The faculty at the Brown Emergency Medicine symposium were also extremely supportive, and it was a very rewarding experience to present and to answer questions about our research,” she said.

Q: What skills did you develop or strengthen through this experience?

A: “Our research meetings gave me a hands-on perspective of how clinical research, especially in social emergency medicine, is conducted,” she said.

The experience also strengthened her technical research skills, including data collection and chart review. Working closely with her mentor gave her opportunities to think critically about the findings and consider where the research could go next.

“Dr. Susan Duffy is an amazing mentor, and she has encouraged me to think about the data and explore potential future research directions,” O’Leary said.

Q: How did this experience shape or influence your academic or career goals?

A: “Working on the SAFE studies solidified my passion in clinical research and highlighted to me the importance of research in improving the lives of vulnerable populations,” she said.

Her experience also allowed her to connect her academic work at Brown with her research interests. Through the MPH program, O’Leary has applied concepts from her coursework to her work in sexual assault research while developing a broader understanding of the issue.

“This experience foundationally shaped my research interests both academically and professionally,” she said.

Q: How did you find and secure this opportunity?

A: O’Leary found the opportunity through direct networking and a recommendation from her research supervisor. Handshake is also a great place to look for opportunities. 

Q: What has been the most valuable part of your experience so far?

A: “The most valuable parts of my experience have been gaining hands-on technical and specialized skills that I couldn't get in the classroom, building a professional network and connecting with mentors in my field, and solidifying my career goals by confirming that this is the exact industry and role I want to pursue,” O’Leary said.